NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
The Fallibility of the Bible Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord... POne of society s dominantly accepted beliefs is in the belief of a higher power. There are the occasional few who stray from the norm and claim to not believe anything, i. e. atheists, however, the majority of people do think there is an omniscient being watching over us all. Further, they believe this being, be it God, Buddha, Allah, etc, has the ability to inspire human beings to do things in His name.
Most religions have a holy book that was divinely inspired by this higher being. In Christianity, this higher being is called God and this holy book is called the Bible. Supposedly, the authors of the books of the Bible had the Hand of God aiding in their work. Divine dictation was how the Bible was written. I have been raised Roman Catholic and Catholicism thrives on biblical teaching.
I have faith in much of what I grew up with, yet, I find fault with the Bible, both literally and theoretically; it contradicts itself in both ways. Too many people blindly follow the teachings of the Bible and read more into the stories than was originally intended. Perhaps, the Bible was meant as a general guide to living as a decent person in society, but it was not meant for a verse-by-verse application into real life. J. Kellenberger claims that there is religious sensibility found specifically in the Book of Psalms. In the passages, one is supposed to discover the presence of God around us and realize that what truly prevents us from seeing God in our lives is the condition of our hearts.
Why is it believed that there is even a moral aspect to the heart anyway? The heart is an organ that pumps blood through the body; hence, the condition of our hearts is purely medical. God touches our hearts by keeping us alive. No more, no less. Further, our belief system is in our head, not our heart, so there is no reason to read the Bible, much less the psalms, which are merely simplified song-like passages, in order to awaken us to a new understanding of our innermost feelings towards God or our fellow man. The Bible should simply be a storybook, not a basis for a religion, seeing as it is just a collection of stories and tales.
If one were to read the entire Book of Psalms, apparently he would have a revelation and realize the flaws of his innate religious character. The psalms allow our hearts to listen to the word of God (Kellenberger) more accurately and more expediently. How is that? A book is just that, a book. The written word of man cannot be the basis for an entire religion. There is fallacy in the thought that a few authors could attempt to instill a faith in mass amounts of people.
Jack Weir, a biblical scholar and philosopher, believes that there are two main arguments used today to defend the Bible: 1) The Argument for Divine Perfection and 2) The Argument Denying Human Error. These two defenses are used by Bible-beaters in order advocate their point. Basically, the first argument claims that since God spiritually had a hand in writing the books of the Bible there can be no inaccuracy or mistake in the entire book. The second point says basically the same thing; since God had divine intervention in the writing of the Bible, despite human error, error could not exist in this case. However, the Bible contains factual disparities. For instance, in Genesis are two contradictory stories of creation.
In Genesis 1: 20 &# 038; 21, every living creature is brought forth from the waters, including every winged fowl. But in 2: 19 God brings forth every beast of the field and every fowl of the air from dry ground. In Genesis 1: 2, earth comes into existence on the first day, completely underwater. Only by the 3 rd day were waters of the deep collected, and dry land formed.
Yet in Genesis 2: 4 - 6, earth on the first day was dry land, unaltered. The first story has trees made on the 3 rd day and man formed 3 days later (1: 12 - 13 and 26 - 31). In the second version man was made before trees (2: 7, 9). If chapter 1 is true, then fowls were created before man.
If chapter 2 is true, then they were created after man. Version one teaches man was created after all beasts. The second is clear, that Adam was created before beasts. (1: 25, 27 vs. 2: 7, 19). In version one, man and woman are created simultaneously (1: 27) while in version two (2: 7, 20 - 22), man and woman are separate acts of creation.
Thus, if God had a hand in the writing of the Bible, then He contradicted himself. Otherwise, He might have had nothing to do with the composition of the Bible and human flaw just reared its ugly head. The example in Genesis is just one instance of the disparities in the Bible. Matthew quotes Jesus (19: 26), with God all things are possible.
Did Matthew or Jesus forget something? In the Book of Judges (1: 19) God is not almighty, as he helped rid Judah of inhabitants of the mountain, but could not drive out those in the valley because they had chariots of iron. This God of miracles apparently can move the largest body in the solar system, the Sun (or at least stop planet earth), in order to prolong daylight for Joshua's military revenge (or to move the suns shadow 10 degrees backward [ 2 Kings 20: 10 - 11 or Isaiah 38: 7 - 8 ]). Yet this same mover of heavens is cowered by mere horses and buggies made of iron? I wonder what would happen if God decided to attack a modern 1950 Buick?
Exodus 31: 17: Like a man, God rests and can be refreshed. Isaiah scorns such contemptible weakness. In 40: 28 he insists God, creator of the ends of the earth, fainter not, neither is weary. An infinite God cannot tire, nor needs to be or can be refreshed.
Due to all the inconsistencies, believing it word-for-word is destructive to human life and experience (Weir). Reading and believing the iniquities in the Bible cause iniquities in life. What role should the Bible play in people s lives? The answer seems simple; the Bible should not play a role with large import. It should merely be a tool that Christians use to aid in their knowledge of their Lord, not a step-by-step manual for how to live life nor an accurate representation of Jesus s life while on earth. Howard Kainz, a writer of philosophical journals agrees with the basic thought that the Bible is overrated in its role as the Word of God.
He has read about the atrocities carried out by God s Chosen People, even after an alleged divine command, which resemble genocidal behavior. The Bible is taught in school because it is an establishment of certain religions. While being seen as a purely positive influence, as I was brought up with, it truly could have a negative impact on youth that read it verbatim. Even adult readers who continuously fill their minds with the horrific accounts in the Scripture may be influenced by the tales.
Bible scholars assert that the stories are not historical or factual, however, there is a certain degree of scriptural interpretation that needs to be done. Why would a work of God need to be edited? If He has Divine Perfection, His work cannot be improved, much less by the average, uninspired human mind. The epistrophe is what Paul MacDonald, a philosophical theologian, discusses mostly.
He claims one must lose an old belief in order to gain a new one. Through a conversion of soul and mind, both person and world are transformed. He applies that to the Bible. He infers that people who have been inculcated with the Holy Book their entire lives can remove its importance from their lives with the desire. MacDonald sees the difficulty as the difference between religious believers and philosophers. Simple religious believers embrace any random conjecture presented to them merely based on its religion, where as philosophers attempt to account for everything that happens.
The average person accepts instead of criticizes, while the philosopher constructs arguments for and against. The Bible claims there are no rational arguments to defend the existence of God, in other words, one s belief must be based on faith. I personally find this hard to accept because it justifies the lack of God before there is a need to justify it. To claim that belief must be based on personal faith and personal faith alone indicates bias or prejudice and an explanation for straying from your belief. If it is your faith anyway, there are no consequences for one s actions, hence, one can theoretically choose to act how one deems suitable.
Basically, one can construe God s beliefs into whatever he or she chooses. Due to inconclusive data in regards to a Christian God, society, full of meager religious sheep, opts to believe in something and call it God. The Bible lacks substantiation of this God, thus returning to the original mindset that blind faith is based on self-conviction. The Bible neither proves the existence of God nor is an accurate representation of how life should be lived. It contradicts the Christian teachings at times in order to tell a story. Though the Christian faith portrays the Holy Book as the guide to life in general, through its inaccuracies and flaws it should not be the backbone of the faith as it is now.
Works Cited Page 1. The Fool of the Psalms and Religious Epistomology. Kellenberger, J. 2. Biblical Terrorism: With a Platonic Deconstruction. Kainz, Howard. 3.
Philosophical Conversion. MacDonald, Paul S. 4. Biblical Infallibility: A Philosophical Analysis. Weir, Jack.
Free research essays on topics related to: books of the bible, word of god, man and woman, dry land, existence of god
Research essay sample on Man And Woman Existence Of God
