iceage writes:
I don't believe there is scrap of god in the OT stories.
PurpleDawn writes:
Did you mean scrap of good or actually scrap of god?
No scrap of god.
The OT with its prescription of blood sacrifices, slavery, calls to arms with the offer of fresh virgins and booty, denigration and devaluation of women, etc. describe the mind of man and evolution of culture, not the mind of God in any such way.
There are those who believe that since the topic is the divine, therefore the bible must have value in describing God even if so darkly and muddied by the imperfect understanding of humans. Not so, I believe.
For example, I can attempt to understand alien life; I can draw images, assume a characterization and envision alien native environments, but just because i attempt to understand does not mean that I come anywhere close and in all probability would be far from the mark.
In accessing the OT, I use Occam's razor. Does the OT describe somehow the nature of the being that created the universe, with all of its splendor and complexities; or is it more likely that the OT stories are just the recorded myths, superstitions and nationalistic tendencies of early civilized humans? Which by the way, are very similar and not out-of-the ordinary to the writings and beliefs of other regional cultures of the same time. I go with the latter.
In light of this, how can I say that the OT is evil? And not just temporal, situational and regional?
Since evil is not universally defined, the lot of us, could end up discussing in circles and maybe end up saying the same thing differently. Therefore to define evil, I lean towards Albert Schweitzer's (a very good example of a Christian) definition of evil:
Albert Schweitzer writes:
Therefore, I see that evil is what annihilates, hampers, or hinders life. And this holds good whether I regard it physically or spiritually. Goodness, by the same token, is the saving or helping of life, the enabling of whatever life I can to attain its highest development.
This is an absolute and reasonable ethical foundation. However it also unavoidably condemns the notion of blood sacrifice, slavery, and genocide as evil.
Edited by iceage, : No reason given.
Edited by iceage, : No reason given.