accusations that religious people pick and choose from their books.

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by Blade96, Jun 12, 2013.

  1. Blade96

    Blade96 shotokan karateka

    I'll make a religious thread. :)

    I have seen many people say one of their criticisms of the religious is that they pick and choose from their respective books what to follow. And I think they do too. But - I have thought about it and to be honest do we really want them to follow everything what their book says. Because there is a lot of nasty stuff in those books that we wouldnt dream of doing today. Thats what I think now when I hear this criticism.

    What say you?
     
  2. Kave

    Kave Lunatic

    I don't think a lot of people actually pick and choose. With regards to Christianity specifically, most don't even read the bible let alone secondary texts. People seem to rely solely on their ministers/priests, and it is these people that are doing the picking and choosing.
     
  3. philosoraptor

    philosoraptor carnivore in a top hat Supporter

    I think in general it's a response to the argument that religion instills morality or that it is the basis for morality, and, in this context it is a good one. Because religious people pick and choose, they are obviously setting forth some alternate criteria that existed before they even evaluated the contents of their book. In this way, it is obvious that the basis of their morality is contemporary society and not their religious texts. I am glad that the religious do not follow their texts (mostly) just as I am glad that I do not live in the societies that wrote those books.
     
  4. Hannibal

    Hannibal Cry HAVOC and let slip the Dogs of War!!! Supporter

    It's only an issue if you are of the "word of God/Gods" school of thought rather than the "allegorical illustrations of certain concepts" camp
     
  5. Kave

    Kave Lunatic

    Not really, there are plenty of "allegorical illustrations of certain concepts" and more than a few of them are extremely distasteful by modern moral standards, the issue of which allegories to focus on still arises. You don't have to be a biblical inerrantist to find difficulty with passages of the bible.
     
  6. Hannibal

    Hannibal Cry HAVOC and let slip the Dogs of War!!! Supporter

    Such passages can be placed within a social and historical context. The bible is a man made document and as such has the flaws associated with such. An allegorical reading means context can be inferred and a message/core point obtained even if the actual passage is problematic

    If, however you are a "this is the direct word of God" advocate you do not have that luxury as an eternal being is most certainly not excised by societal and cultural variations
     
  7. Kave

    Kave Lunatic

    I agree that inerrantists have major issues in terms of the content of the bible, but even those who read it allegorically and claim that it is not inerrant, would (or should) morally have serious issues with the biblical ethics. Many who claim the bible is not inerrant still claim it as a major source of their ethics (although they tend to not have read the book). With passages such as Judges 19:22-30 (or even the similar Genesis 19:5-8), you can read it allegorically and extract core meanings, the problem is that those core meanings are distasteful. You would really have to twist that passage severely to get a core message that modern people would find moderately acceptable. The greatest argument against Christianity is the bible.
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2013
  8. LilBunnyRabbit

    LilBunnyRabbit Old One

    I say that I'd much rather see people follow one simple rule than books with hundreds of pages. It's a very simply rule as well. Four words can sum it up - and it's applicable in every situation you can imagine.

    Do not be unpleasant.

    My usual phrasing is blunter, but this is a family forum after all.

    The problem with inferring context from a holy book is that it's still claiming some sort of divine authority - the reader is just getting to put their own particular slant on it. This often does not end well.
     

Share This Page