About the Bible and the Enlightenment?

Question

not trying to cause a big disagreement, promise. it was a topic discussed in philosophy today.

alright, so during the Enlightenment, philosophes emphasized thinking for yourelf, and not believing only in what someone else told you. so why did people (and still do) take the Bible as the absolute truth. correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't other people write the Bible, according to what "god" said? and no one questioned them for hearing 'the word of god'?

so all in all, if you are an enlightened being, why do you believe in the Bible? again, not raising problems, raising a question

Answer 1

ROFLMAO you are obviously not from around here! ROFL not trying to cause disagreement.........hahahahahahaha.

Edit: Sorry about that I actually had to stop laughing at the naiveté of your question. I mean no offense I find it refreshing to see.

Ever since I started coming to this board that argument has RAGED nonstop. There can be no enlightenment without spiritual growth, there can be NO spiritual growth while arrogantly believing that you posses all the answers.

Truth can not be taught it must be found by the person seeking it. A Spiritual Master may guide you to finding Truth but can not show it to you. This is all assuming you are speaking of spiritual enlightenment an NOT philosophical enlightenment. This article covers what you are asking fairly well:

http://www.deikman.com/eval.html

The tao that can be described
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be spoken
is not the eternal Name.

The nameless is the boundary of Heaven and Earth.
The named is the mother of creation.

Freed from desire, you can see the hidden mystery.
By having desire, you can only see what is visibly real.

Yet mystery and reality
emerge from the same source.
This source is called darkness.

Darkness born from darkness.
The beginning of all understanding.

Answer 2

:) it's exactly as u say... we don't believe in the bible JUST because someone supposedly "enlightened" wrote it..altho they are considered enlightened because they were alive at the time of Jesus. however, if what the word Speaks to you, and helps you to learn in a completely new way, see the world in a different light.... your OWN enlightenment... *that* is what people choose to believe. its faith, in something that Makes Sense, and Helps Me to strive to be a better person each day. :) w/o some of the things i've learned, and discussed, and thought about, and argued about, from the bible and bible study as well as applying it to daily life.. i never would've discovered what it is that is MY purpose in believing in Christianity..and by reading the bible NOW, versus before when i was not truly ready to understand, i am gleaning and learning SO MUCH positivity and understanding and love and light from the bible..and that is what allows me to not question the Word of God..it Speaks to me, and Makes Sense..and Helps me.

:) and i do not try to say this to PROVE to you that it "is the right way, and the Only way". i say, it is the right way for ME, thru trial and error, from going to church my whole life, falling away during college, and Choosing to come back now at 26 years old. it is something that has helped enlighten Me....and i encourage everyone to continuously seek, ask questions, learn, and hopefully discover what Speaks to your heart and mind, what is Right in your heart and mind, and that will help and encourage u to be Healthy, Happy, and Positive in your daily life. :) that is what we should all be seeking; whether it is the bible, or the koran, or buddhism, or anything.......seek and u will find the truth. good luck~

Answer 3

I don't.

I believe that many of those involved in the Enlightenment (e.g., the founding fathers of the US, French intelligentsia, etc) also questioned the Bible -- but you had to be really careful back then. Only a hundred years earlier people like Galileo were put under house arrest for challenging scientific principles that contradicted Aristotle (because contradicting Aristotle implied that you were contradicting Aquinas which implied you were contradicting the Church which meant that you were contradicting God).

So yes -- they wanted to think for themselves. They founded countries based on humanism, not religion. But they put on a good face for the religious.

Answer 4

Hmmm...I'm wondering what you believe that hasn't been told you by someone else....

Generally, people get information from other people about what works or doesn't, about what's true or isn't. They then make a choice based on their own experiences about which of those ideas they wish to believe. Given that possibility, enlightened people - like any others - believe what they do because it seems to them to be right, true, or effective.

Answer 5

If you ever hear Him you will be changed forever and there will be no further doubt.

I earnestly pray that you do.
God bless you.