The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
New Documentary! "For the Bible Tells Me So" --religion and homosexuality
delalluvia:
--- Quote from: ineedcrayons on June 21, 2007, 08:57:34 am ---I can't comment on what Afghani people do or don't know about the Koran. But I have observed that among American Christians, many have heard the Bible says this or that -- and will go around telling you so -- without really knowing what it does say. The oral tradition here does not seem to be very precise.
--- End quote ---
Agree. Anyone can quote the Bible/Qu'ran/whathaveyou, but they do need to know in what context what was said. If not, then they're just parroting words and likely losing the true meaning and intent.
moremojo:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on June 19, 2007, 08:51:35 pm ---Now, that's very interesting. I suppose I'd been uncritically assuming that Muslims were more well-read in the Koran than many so-called Christians are in the Bible, but apparently that isn't always the case.
--- End quote ---
It is my understanding that the majority of Muslims worldwide do not speak or read Arabic, which is the language of the Koran, and, according to orthodox belief, is the only language through which God's message can truly and properly be understood (translations of the Koran into other languages are, at best, equivocal interpretations). Non-Arabic speaking Muslims must rely on local clerics to convey the scripture's meaning to them...essentially translating it for them!
To further complicate this issue, the language of the Koran is an archaic form of Arabic that is significantly different from the dialects that are spoken today; even among Arabic-speaking Muslims, special study must be made to adequately understand the text. A friend of mine once offered the analogy of Beowulf having become the sacred book of the English-speaking peoples, replete with reverence for the Old English in which it is written, and specialization being required of those wishing to read and interpret the work for themselves.
shortfiction:
I posted the link below at IMDB and thought I'd put it here too. It's about this issue and more specifically about Leviticus.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bibh.htm
Some comments:
The verse in question is clearly open to a number of interpretations and translations, possibly mistranslations as well.
Leviticus and, I think, Deuteronomy are filled with condemnations of things that many of us engage in on a regular basis--i.e., wearing blended fabrics, women wearing men's fashions, eating pork and shellfish, menstruating women entering holy places, working on the Sabbath, etc. Yet few people seem to think that these count anymore as abominations or wickedness.
I recommend reading Misquoting Jesus for a look at how scribal errors, biases and agendas have changed the original Biblical texts.
Also recommended: John Shelby Spong's The sins of Scripture.
It always bothers me when someone says, "Well, THIS is what the Bible says." Which Bible? Which translation? Which version? In what context? Can we be absolutely sure that the words came directly from God?
There are also verses, if I'm not mistaken, telling people to stone their rebellious teens to death; and verses saying men should stone their wives to death if they find that the wives are not virgins when getting married.
Do we actually follow such rules anymore? No, not that I'm aware of. I'm not saying that none of the rules is a good idea, but we are not living 2K years in the past.
I've been rambling, but I hope I got a point or two across.
southendmd:
I got your point, shortfiction, and welcome aboard.
It's called "selective bible verse quoting". People just pick what's convenient and meshes with their bias or ideology, ignoring that which is inconvenient or doesn't match up with what they already think.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: shortfiction on July 03, 2007, 02:14:24 pm ---Also recommended: John Shelby Spong's The sins of Scripture.
--- End quote ---
I recommend anything by John Shelby Spong. :D
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version