Shouldn't it just be one sentance, Hi this is God and Jesus died for your sins and if you belief this I will reward you and if you don't then I will punish you.
The rest of it is subject to interpretation, and we don't follow it anymore. Example is Exodus 21:20-21. We don't allow people to beat their slaves anymore. So we don't need it anymore do we? And Leviticus 11:9-12, saying shrimp eating is an abomination, I guess we don't need that anymore.
Do we need a sentance for who doesn't get into heaven, say we include after my sentance 1 Corinthians 6:9, or Rev 22:15 where it says dogs don't get in.
What do you think?
2006-08-13 03:55:48 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
But don't they need preachers,pastors and the like to interpret the book and apply it to modern life, if it was that simple it would certainly cut out the middle men!
2006-08-13 04:07:14 · answer #1 · answered by Katy_Kat 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This question seems to be about the New testament, not the Bible, since most of the Bible was written before Jesus was alive. The majority of the new testament is about just how God will reward or punish peeople who do or do not believe. I guess some people needed examples. Besides, the simple sentence you suggest would have been too easy to translate from the (insert any one of the biblical languages), and the priests would have been out of work. The rest is probably examples to help people function in the world, since anyone actually foolish or frightened enough to accept the Biblical stories would be hard pressed to make it on their own merit.
2006-08-13 16:44:43 · answer #2 · answered by neil s 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think the bible is long because not all people are gullible. If we all were, the bible would require only a few words to get all of us to claim to be believers. The length of the bible is to wear down the thinkers who don't believe everything they read. It gives them something to read and debate. As the debaters grow in number, so will the bible. Someone will (err, miraculously) find more books in a cave somewhere.
Ever notice how a used car salesman's initially brief pitch tends to grow and drag on and on when a potential buyer appears hesitant to buy?. (Bible preachers probably noticed the same thing in the early days and decided they needed more text if they were going to make a living at this religion racket.) Also, if you look into a used car salesman's eyes when you're about to tell him you're not buying what he's saying, you may notice that the saleman sometimes seems to be mentally praying that he can come up with words that you'll believe. Such observations have lead many to strongly suspect that used car salesmen are the origin of prayer.
Also, purely from a business perspective, I don't think churches could succeed financially if they didn't have a lot of stories to tell. Can you imagine telling the same short bible story over and over again every Sunday and expect people to donate money for that? In my opinion, the church is a business that uses the bible as a money making tool. Ever see the bumper sticker that reads "If money is the source to all evil, why are churches always begging for it?"
For those who might think my sense of humor blasphemous, let me add that when you die, many also suspect that it's not going to be a matter of heaven or hell, but rather the choice of either remaining underground performing the humble job of "pushing daisies," or choosing to be reincarnated and possibly not being so gullible in your next life.
2006-08-13 12:07:00 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The Mosaic law passed away so quoting it and asking why the governments don't follow it is a little bizarre expecially since you have been told this time and time again. It would be good if you actually read the answers to your questions. The intention from Yahoo is that you would actually learn something. That is the purpose of their forums besides advertising of course!
2006-08-13 11:02:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
because there was a life before us and pple like moses,judah and so on were the strong pple.so it try to give us examples and tipps of how some people got to succed and so we can use them.
i think it is a story of a live just the same us wer'e living as you know God can see everthing we do.
it is a story of teachings of how you can live a life as a christian.e.g just the way you learn maths or any subject to use in dairly today life.
2006-08-13 12:15:12 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
They didn't have TVs, computers or radios back then, so reading was the major pastime.
Who can afford a slave to beat anymore anyway, and I don't even like shrimp, and it's probably HUMAN dogs that don't get into Heaven.
2006-08-13 11:02:16 · answer #6 · answered by arvecar 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
The first book of the bible is only a few pages. It tells of how God screwed up. He made man.
The rest of it is long. Because, this is where he has been trying to fix it.
2006-08-13 11:05:50 · answer #7 · answered by Cal 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
well maybe god figured that some folks need a very long explanation and a little history lesson, mankind has many books that are a lot longer, but the bible covers many years, who cares how long it is anyway, no ones forcing you to read it...stop worrying and enjoy life, be happy just because you can........peace man
2006-08-13 11:03:14 · answer #8 · answered by nocateman 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It was never meant to be in the form it presently is so it's length was not taken into account when it was put together as such. Each chapter was meant to be a writing that stood on it's own.
2006-08-13 11:03:13 · answer #9 · answered by genaddt 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
That's not enough to keep people mesmerized. If you want to control someone you need to keep their mind busy on what you're telling them so they won't have time to look at other options.
You need a little mystery so you can "interpet" it for those who can't
It's not easy being in control
2006-08-13 11:12:38 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋