Having actually read the KJV version of the Bible some thirty years ago, I must say it is both the most beautiful and ugly set of books I have ever read. One one hand you have the pig-ignorant bronze age proscriptions of Leviticus and Deuteronomy along with the simple-minded creation story involving the self-hatred of original sin (yet apparently necessary for what follows), the tedious and easily forgettable lineages of Kings and Chronicles, god directed genocide and an unhealthy focus on uncircumcised penises, and the desert-baked rantings of self-described Abrahamic prophets. There are a few high notes, such as the essence of Exodus, Job, Psalms, and the old-timey porn of Song of Solomon just to name a few.
Then you have the New Testament. The Gospels, with a few off notes, kick ass as the greatest story ever told as it hits all the right buttons of community (indeed real Communism), the concept of absolute forgiveness, sacrifice for a moral cause, and of course salvation. Even an atheist should admire the balls it took to stand up to the friggin' Roman Empire the way Jesus did.
Then as usual there is an afterword which largely detracts, especially Paul's misogyny (a long line of the frustrated and closeted as in Schopenhauer among others unfortunately continues), to be topped off by what can only be explained by the deepest Amanita Muscaria trip in all history.
As to this foundational document of Christianity, to me in a way. it says both everything and nothing like the Tao or a Zen koan, but I suppose that is a large part of it's appeal. The Bhagavad Gita is similar in tone to the gospels except Krishna didn't die on a cross.
As to Christians, I can only quote Gandhi "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. While there are some exceptions, including several on this forum to what Gandhi said, I can't identify with most Christians. It seems to me the Bible is a mirror more than a guidebook in most ways, as it says anything anyone wants it to say. Shakespeare said it better than I could:
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart.
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!
Indeed, on this forum I have similarly run into some who fit this description. I wonder if the paradise some seek after death may actually be what they get like a Twilight Zone episode. Some get jewels, gold, and hymns, until they become so bored they commit suicide in heaven, while others eternally learn or become a part of God.
I suppose I should sum up by actually stating what my beliefs are. I am a product of place, time, and my own study. I am largely a product of those coastal Californians, Steinbeck, Campbell, and Ed Ricketts with a healthy dose of the Grateful Dead. I am largely, but not exclusively, a Spinoza Pantheist with a lot of Christian leanings, because I was brought up in that version of reality.
In the words of God and Popeye, I am what I am.
Edited by anglagard, : BAC>.02
Read not to contradict and confute, not to believe and take for granted, not to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider. - Francis Bacon
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