Why is the Bible held in such high regard?

Question

How do those who base so much of their lives on the Bible deal with the fact that it was written by people thousands of years ago who not only could not conceive of what society would be like today, they couldn't even master such simplicities as indoor plumbing that we take for granted today. Think about that? I know there will be the usual replies stating "its the word of God" and "it has stood the test of time", but the reality is, its a bunch of
stories put forth based on principals that surely stand the test of time but are not exactly difficult to come by. I mean, "do onto others as you wish them to do to you"...well yeah, common ense. "Thou shall not kill"...uh huh, don't think I need the Bible to know this one. What about the Bible makes you think its so pecial? Please don't tell me its because people have always held it as the word of God...it was written in a time when even the simplest of magic tricks were thought to have been miracles.

The question was posted with the intent to create some thought provoking answers. This was obviously too difficult a task for some as the "its the word of God" and "it stood the test of time" answers popped up as nauseum.

Let's try this again. Being that we all tend to have a defined idea of morality, and even non religious philosophers have historically come to the same conclusions about what is right and wrong, how are you convinced that the Bible is anything more than a collection of great philosophical writings passed on throughout the time? Those who are convinced merely on faith that its the word of God, what led you to this conviction?

Please, try to avoid the simple answers stated above, or the unnecessary comments in regard to your thoughts on my own faith..as I am merely posing a thought provoking question, not commenting on right or wrong nor providing my opinion on the topic.

Answer 1

What you have to realize is that christianity went through a very very long period of very very violent expansion. Why is it held in such high regard? Because for 1500 years if you were European and didn't hold it in high regard you were probably going to eventually be killed. Over the generations it became what everyone did and now it still remains as widely accepted simply because the generations before accepted it.

Answer 2

It's really easy to look at something we have, and say, "Well that wasn't so hard to come by." This is what you've done in the Golden Rule and the prohibition against murder. If you didn't have these moral laws, what would you base your moral law on? In places where a great philosopher has not discovered the Golden Rule, the attitude tends to be more along the lines of "Do unto others before they do unto you." (Meaning it's okay to lie, cheat, and steal, because everyone is doing it.) This was the attitude of ancient South America, before the Europeans came. They had no concept that killing those who lost a game of basketball might be morally wrong. They had no concept that driving into the neighboring village to steal food and rape women might be hurtful. Revenge was plentiful, yet there was no one who bothered to say, "Wait, this isn't right." And yet these people were intelligent enough to develop a sophisticated calendar that didn't require a leap year, to track the stars, to build great pyramids without either the wheel or beasts of burden. I wouldn't call them dumb, but you seemingly would, since you think you could discover a moral law that evaded their best thinkers for centuries.

The books of the Bible were written between two and six thousand years ago. However, they are still relevant. It is just as important not to commit murder today as it was 2000+ years ago. It is just as important to treat each other with respect. I think that calling the principle's it provides "easy to come by," all you demonstrate is your own inability to detach what you have learned from what you know intrinsically. That being so, I'm not sure I trust you to go without laws such as "Do not murder," and "Do not steal," which come to us from the Bible.

Answer 3

The Bible is only held in high regard by the mentally ill, and certainly not held in any regard by the vast majority of people who have above average intelligence.

My view of the Bible is as follows. The Bible is trash.

The Bible is the biggest load of garbage and codswallop ever written by man, and I’m sure it will go down in history as the greatest load of gobbledygook ever to inflict such traumatic mental and physical damage on humanity, but still today, some people sadly believe the Bible to be true. That’s very sad indeed. Very sad.

When people quote various passages from the Bible, for example ...

Mathew 5:29-30 God encouraged self-mutilation.
Isaiah 13:15-18 God allowed women raped and little children slaughtered.
Genesis 6:11-17 and 7:11-24 God is the greatest mass murder in history.

What happens? Religious people pop up from under every stone with the same old garbage. “That was the old Bible, or we’ve changed the meaning, or wrong interpretation, or we’ve changed the context, or the quotes are out of context or or or, excuse after excuse.”

The fact is, they are Bible quotes, and the Bible is full of evil atrocities which religious people continually cover up, yet seem happy to drum into the minds of gullible little children. This is such a shameful disgrace in a civilised world.

If religious people are unable to apply commonsense and logic to develop a simple moral code to live by, then perhaps they could strip out of the Bible the evil, murders, rapes, abuse, and all traumatic references. Granted there will not be a lot left to read, but at least religious people may end up with a decent moral code to follow based on good, and not scare the living daylights out of innocent little children.

Answer 4

Christians hold the Bible in high regard because it is a testament and in some ways, a historical record, of their faith. What is truly remarkable is that in general, the social issues of concern today were of concern in ancient times. Social relations are not more diverse or puzzling now than they were in ancient times--everything can be reduced to the same problems that people encountered in ancient times--only technology has changed, and the problems from technology have ancient counterparts. Each ancient myth has some piece of truth in it; the stories of the Bible have truths that include history.

Answer 5

You are correct in that the Bible sometimes points out the obvious and what is or should be common sense.

But God made a way to reveal things about himself, mistakes of the past, prophets messages, the story of Jesus. The Bible is a good way to communicate that indeed.

The Bible represents the narrative of 2 of the worlds largest religions. It is a masterpiece of literature and history and was written by over 40 authors over the coarse of 1500 years that neither contradicts in history or theology. It was the 1st volume of books ever put into print and continues to be the best seller of all time!

Answer 6

Because the bible never changes, everything and everyone else does. JESUS Is the same,yesterday,today and forever more. You may not want to kill anyone but do you follow the rest of the guidelines that it present that conforms to morality. No one is born into morality by knowing what right from wrong is. Jesus is the word of God manifested in the flesh when he was on this earth. He was Sinless and Perfect.
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Answer 7

the bible IS the Word of God. without it, there would be more chaos in the world. all the western civilization was founded on the bible. our legal system was derived from the bible. back when the bible was started, they did not have the luxuries that we have. all the stuff that we have nowadays was slowly modified over the generations. transportation was either by foot or by mule and cart. now we use multiple vehicles that even 100 years ago were works of magic. back then a miracle was just that, a miracle. nowadays we have to look hard to find a miracle because we have so much stuf to distract us from the important issues. back then, they always focused on the issues that were there. they did not have to be told of the important issues. now we have to be told of every issue all the time because we are distracted so much.

Answer 8

The Dead Sea Scrolls are being translated and there is nearly no difference in those writings and the Word of God in a newly published English Bible. That is a miracle.

On the other hand, you seem to have a bone to pick with Christianity, the Bible and the Word of God so I impart to you this one bit of irrefutable truth: We all get to test our theory.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through me."

Good luck.

Answer 9

The Bible is held in such high regard because millions of people view it to be a vital communication direct from God to mankind.

Answer 10

If you don't allow us to answer truthfully why ask? What makes you believe that your view is the correct one? Because you believe you are right, correct? The Bible is the Word, it is God breathed (2nd Timothy 3:16 and 2nd Peter 1:20 & 21) I believe that, and I believe I am right. So nothing has changed.