Religion is and always has been a major influence on the everyday lives of all humans. From the very beginning, even primitive peoples worshipped some for of deity and of course there were always those individuals that claimed intimate knowledge of and a special relationship with those deities. In this way religious leaders became extremely powerful. Every modern religion has its own holy book. For the Christians, this is the Scriptures but there are good reasons why I am not a Bible student.
Religious leaders tell their congregations that the scriptures is the Word of God and therefore holy. This is most certainly not the truth, says critics. The scriptures are nothing but a collection of writings of many different human beings. To portray these writings as the Holy Word of God is mischievous in the extreme, they state. And because these works have been written by humans, they are subject to common human failure.
Many others ignore the scriptures because, they say, this collection of books have been assembled by humans and that the present content of the scriptures have been chosen from thousands of potential writings. Critics say that only those works that underwrote the personal views of those that selected the books to be included were chosen. It was therefore the product of a church that needed to justify its own doctrines.
Then there is the fact that so many people simply do not know what to make of the official view of the scriptures. There are those, highly qualified and experience religious leaders, that maintain that the scriptures are holy, inspired by God and totally without error. But then there are also those, equally well qualified and experienced theologians that hold forth that the scriptures are to be seen as cryptic writings that needs expert interpretation.
The bulk of the scriptures were originally written in Hebrew or Greek. Sceptics say that much of thee original meaning has been lost in the numerous translations that have been made over time. In addition, when translated into a specific language, the entire content of the original material is phrased to fit in with the cultural make up of those that speak that language.
The very idea that man has free choice is firmly negated by the scriptures, sceptics quickly point out. Man is presented with a single option and this is to either do exactly as they are told or be condemned to eternal punishment in hell. This hardly freedom of choice, says the critics. Christians are sternly reminded that all other deities are false gods and that all other religions are heresies.
Some of the more outspoken critics say that the scriptures are hypocritical. They point out that the vast majority of people are suffering from debilitating poverty and even persecution. This cannot possibly be related to the message that Christianity will set people free, will empower them and will ensure that God Himself will look after them. These people have no reason to believe in these empty promises.
There are those that are actually very serious students of the scriptures, but not to become enlightened, but to disprove the the ideas set forth in this work. But there are also those that insist that it is a holy book that contains valuable instruction to the devout. Perhaps man does have freedom of choice.
Religious leaders tell their congregations that the scriptures is the Word of God and therefore holy. This is most certainly not the truth, says critics. The scriptures are nothing but a collection of writings of many different human beings. To portray these writings as the Holy Word of God is mischievous in the extreme, they state. And because these works have been written by humans, they are subject to common human failure.
Many others ignore the scriptures because, they say, this collection of books have been assembled by humans and that the present content of the scriptures have been chosen from thousands of potential writings. Critics say that only those works that underwrote the personal views of those that selected the books to be included were chosen. It was therefore the product of a church that needed to justify its own doctrines.
Then there is the fact that so many people simply do not know what to make of the official view of the scriptures. There are those, highly qualified and experience religious leaders, that maintain that the scriptures are holy, inspired by God and totally without error. But then there are also those, equally well qualified and experienced theologians that hold forth that the scriptures are to be seen as cryptic writings that needs expert interpretation.
The bulk of the scriptures were originally written in Hebrew or Greek. Sceptics say that much of thee original meaning has been lost in the numerous translations that have been made over time. In addition, when translated into a specific language, the entire content of the original material is phrased to fit in with the cultural make up of those that speak that language.
The very idea that man has free choice is firmly negated by the scriptures, sceptics quickly point out. Man is presented with a single option and this is to either do exactly as they are told or be condemned to eternal punishment in hell. This hardly freedom of choice, says the critics. Christians are sternly reminded that all other deities are false gods and that all other religions are heresies.
Some of the more outspoken critics say that the scriptures are hypocritical. They point out that the vast majority of people are suffering from debilitating poverty and even persecution. This cannot possibly be related to the message that Christianity will set people free, will empower them and will ensure that God Himself will look after them. These people have no reason to believe in these empty promises.
There are those that are actually very serious students of the scriptures, but not to become enlightened, but to disprove the the ideas set forth in this work. But there are also those that insist that it is a holy book that contains valuable instruction to the devout. Perhaps man does have freedom of choice.
About the Author:
Find out more about why I am not a Bible student by visiting nowthink.com today. To learn all about our current projects and get detailed information on alternative religions, click the links at http://www.nowthink.com/bible-student .
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