Abolish The Bible?

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I wonder if they should abolish the bible

Which one?

I’m obviously very critical of the collection of books that make up the Bible, especially when it is used as an infallible moral guidebook and inerrant basis for belief (not that there isn’t valuable things in there!). I just wish that it could be read as we read other ancient pieces of literature. I wouldn’t want to do away with the Iliad, Odyssey, or Ovid’s Metamorphoses even though there are many problematic passages in these works, as there is in just about any other ancient text. Of course, people don’t believe those works are divinely inspired and applicable for our day. Having said that, there’s a lot of literary value in certain portions of the Bible (poetry, fables, myths, stories, historical fiction, etc.) that inspired thought, art, literature, music, etc. for millennia. We can learn a lot about the beliefs and practices of ancient peoples in it as well.

I’m trying to say that: no, we shouldn’t abolish the Bible. I think we need to learn how to read it.

Last edited by TwilightPrincess on 14 Jan 2025, 1:04 pm, edited 3 times in total.

There's really very little point in doing so, even if we ignore the practical issues in doing so. The religion is clearly in decline in the US, and as other countries develop further, there's really only so long that you can keep people scared of not doing whatever their interpretation of it's contents say.

It's hard to point to anything contained in there that requires religion to benefit from, and in much of the US, you don't have the entirety of towns centered around Churches these days. That's likely to eventually spread through whatever other countries aren't already seeing it starting to chip away. The kind of religious fundamentalism that's required to maintain relevance is just too constrictive to be permanently accepted when people are aware that it doesn't have to be like that.

Owning a Bible is illegal in North Korea.

You likewise cannot distribute Bibles in Saudi Arabia.

I wouldn't support banning books like the Bible, Quran, Talmud, Book of Mormon, etc, but we should change how we interact with them. They should be viewed in the same way the Iliad and the Epic of Gilgamesh are viewed.

That's how I view it, but that doesn't mean that everyone else has to view it that way.

The Bible is fun to read. The Koran and the Book of Mormon are rubbish.

What makes them different in your eyes?

A lot of the Koran is derivative from the Bible, for example, Joseph

https://quran.com/en/yusuf

I preferred the Bible's narrative.

The Koran is also condemning people to Hell all the time--something that the Bible doesn't do (at least in the Old Testament), and gets tiresome.



More from Mark Twain: https://www.mrm.org/twain-bom

I also read as much of the book as I could tolerate.

The Talmud is basically like reading a very long legal document. Not of any interest to anyone who isn't Jewish. Not entertaining at all.

The Koran and Book of Mormon are similar in that they both claim to have been written (or dictated) by one man.

Here’s my opinion: Joe Smith was a lousy writer. He was obviously just trying to emulate the style of the King James Bible in his writing while being extremely repetitive in doing so, especially in his word choices. With that being said, I find the Book of Mormon entertaining. I have a very fond memory of my son and I reading it together while we were staying in a hotel. There was much giggling involved by both of us because it’s so badly written. That’s NOT to say that all of the Bible is well-written, original, or entertaining (very far from it), but there is a fair amount of interesting content there which continues to serve as a meaningful source of inspiration to writers and artists.

I laughed some with the Quran, too. I recall some very funny passages consisting of something like “Allah is all loving, merciful, and just” followed directly by: “If you have one thought out of line, you’ll burn in Hell forever.” That sort of thing.

I think there is literary merit in some of the Bible and, perhaps, to a lesser extent in the Quran as well. The Book of Mormon…not so much.

I feel each Bible should carry a caution label on it: caution; can cause illusions of grandeur and the feeling that everyone else should adhere to your views of morality

They ban all kinds of books because they think they're bad for children. Like the ones that might make kids find reading fun or think that it's okay to be attracted to the same sex. But I doubt the Bible will ever be banned. Go ffffffigure.

Some parts are certainly inappropriate for children. IMO, there’s far too much violence in it in its various forms to be suitable for young kids. Certain passages bothered me when I was growing up and led to anxiety and nightmares, but my church urged families to work their way through the entire Bible together.

https://sacred-texts.com/aor/twain/letearth.htm

I'm glad I grew up in the internet age, poor kids.

I first learned about masturbation in the Watchtower.