I refuse to believe anybody actually reads the Bible. It’s not really laid out in such a way as to be readable, it’s just a bunch of events that ostensibly happened that you’re supposed to gleam some sort of lesson from. It’s really boring actually.
Great point. The idea that a relatively normal person would completely turn their life around just because they read the New Testament is fairly absurd, especially if their issue is depression and not something that’s talked about more directly in the text like how you’re supposed to be compassionate and forgiving instead of hateful. Maybe if you’re already very religious, your old church is always preaching against compassion and forgiveness and you’re the bookish type.
I’m not a Christian, but I think you’re misunderstanding how “holy” texts are supposed to work. They aren’t designed to be a riveting story, or even to make any sense in order. They’ve been translated so many times that they are a labyrinth of words compared to whatever the original intent was. The only way they function now is like sifting through word salad to find the occasional insightful line that resonates with you.
That isn’t necessarily bad—it can actually make the kernels of wisdom more impactful when you’ve been using your interpretive brain to get through the rest of it—but the problem lies in people finding meaning or justification in the horrible bits.
I actually think Jewish scholars have the right idea in a way: they treat the Torah as a story, a mathematical puzzle, and a secret code all at the same time. The wisdom is in the interpretation, not the literalness of it. People are supposed to question it because there is no predefined truth to swallow from it.
The New Testament is basically just a collection of witness accounts and letters. Papyrus was expensive so some things do have to be kept short and sweet.
Although they generally have only been translated once. Modern Bible translations go directly from the original greek.
That’s how a lot of eye witness accounts go, and the writers of the Bible aren’t even eye witnesses. It’s no wonder that everybody has a totally different version of events.
I refuse to believe anybody actually reads the Bible. It’s not really laid out in such a way as to be readable, it’s just a bunch of events that ostensibly happened that you’re supposed to gleam some sort of lesson from. It’s really boring actually.
It doesn’t really form a compelling narrative.
Great point. The idea that a relatively normal person would completely turn their life around just because they read the New Testament is fairly absurd, especially if their issue is depression and not something that’s talked about more directly in the text like how you’re supposed to be compassionate and forgiving instead of hateful. Maybe if you’re already very religious, your old church is always preaching against compassion and forgiveness and you’re the bookish type.
Depends why you’re depressed. The book of romans is pretty reassuring
I’m not a Christian, but I think you’re misunderstanding how “holy” texts are supposed to work. They aren’t designed to be a riveting story, or even to make any sense in order. They’ve been translated so many times that they are a labyrinth of words compared to whatever the original intent was. The only way they function now is like sifting through word salad to find the occasional insightful line that resonates with you.
That isn’t necessarily bad—it can actually make the kernels of wisdom more impactful when you’ve been using your interpretive brain to get through the rest of it—but the problem lies in people finding meaning or justification in the horrible bits.
I actually think Jewish scholars have the right idea in a way: they treat the Torah as a story, a mathematical puzzle, and a secret code all at the same time. The wisdom is in the interpretation, not the literalness of it. People are supposed to question it because there is no predefined truth to swallow from it.
The New Testament is basically just a collection of witness accounts and letters. Papyrus was expensive so some things do have to be kept short and sweet.
Although they generally have only been translated once. Modern Bible translations go directly from the original greek.
Though not first hand witness accounts.
It also jumps around a bunch, with several people telling, supposedly, the same story but it happens differently each time.
That’s how a lot of eye witness accounts go, and the writers of the Bible aren’t even eye witnesses. It’s no wonder that everybody has a totally different version of events.