The Vegas, The Koran, Hymn of Ra, Epic of Gilgamesh, etc? Why is it that this book survived over all others? Please don't give cop out answers like "Because it's true" or "Because we have Jesus". Give some actual though provoking answers.
2006-09-20 06:30:23 · 14 answers · asked by nihilistic_reality 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
It is more believable just for the fact that so many people are christians. And just because it has survived, that alone doens't speak for itself.
2006-09-20 06:34:08 · update #1
If your proof is your relationship with Jesus, what do you say for Muslims with their relationship with Mohammad and Allah, or Hindus with relationship to Krishna and the Brahma?
2006-09-20 06:36:38 · update #2
Betafish...If your answer then is because it is true, then why has Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and all of the other countless ancient religions still practiced today survived?
2006-09-20 06:40:59 · update #3
not going to happen - simply because there aren't any answers other than then ones you understandably do not want to hear....
The reason it survived better than others? Well, it got embraced by a Roman Emporer, who decided it was good stuff to keep the masses quiet. So it got adapted to include most of the exisiting pagan holidays and principles.... the early church also quickly recognized it as a powerful tool to control the masses, keep them from asking questions and best of all, make them filthy rich....
This scheme pretty much continued through the centuries and the book got adapted to aid the goals of the churches.
Just recently, if you so will, have people begun to seriously question the authenticity of said book with a certain success. As a result of this rational thought process the influence of the bible on the daily lives of people is becoming less and less in the civilized world, with the stunning exception of the US - Europe can be more or less considered 'atheistic', or better 'rationalistic'.
So to sum it up in two words - why the bible? -> Clever Marketing
2006-09-20 06:40:23 · answer #1 · answered by elwoodo0oo 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I disagree with your premise. I don't think that the Bible is any more believable than a number of other sacred texts. They're all explanations of how a particular group of people saw the world and their place in it. As such, the truth of these texts is relative and usually metaphorical, but is relevant to those who accept them.
Survivability has everything to do with politics. Christianity was greatly assisted by the Roman Empire which spread it far and wide and created the sorts of conditions in which belief in a beautiful afterlife had great appeal. The Europeans then took it even farther and wider. It could have been another text.
The Hymn of Ra is an interesting case because it was written as Ra's status was being challenged, after more than 1000 years of supremacy. Egyptians deities had a curious way of shifting in significance with the rise and fall of political powers too. But Ra was still a major player more than 13 dynasties later.
Torah has survived because the Jewish people have managed to survive. The Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism are showing the same sort of perseverance, so let's put those texts in the list. The Vedas absolutely ain't going anywhere, neither is the Koran, so there's no reason to say that the Christian canon has anymore survivability or believability than they do.
2006-09-20 14:30:03 · answer #2 · answered by The angels have the phone box. 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've never heard of the Vegas, so I can't comment as to that.
The Koran, however, is said to come from Muhammad, who could neither read nor write. Uthman ibn Affan is the one that was supposed to have standardized the Koran exactly because there were debates over what the text should be. Yet there is no such tradition in Christian circles. The text of the Bible was never "standardized." It was simply passed from believing generation to believing generation until the present day.
We don't have a complete copy of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The story of the flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh gives a perfect cube for the ark, which would not have stayed upright in the water. There is a reason boats today are long. The same reason is the reason the ark in the Bible is long.
2006-09-20 13:42:24 · answer #3 · answered by Sifu Shaun 3 · 0⤊ 4⤋
Your own belief will what make any of the books believeable for you. If someone tells you that his Book is much truer than the other books, then you have to read it, digest it, and understand it. Now, after reading it, make a decision as to which one do you think you will choose as the true Book. You have to experience what you have claimed is true. But always remember your truth may not be the truth for others and you have to respect that.
2006-09-20 13:40:37 · answer #4 · answered by Rallie Florencio C 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It's not more believable than any other work of historical fiction. In response to the above poster: this means the Q'ran, Bible, Torah are all equally believable, and that the writings of Buddah are more believable than any of them...
And preacher (below): Buddhism is 500 years older than Christianity...
2006-09-20 13:32:17 · answer #5 · answered by Blackacre 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
In reality, nothing. It just happens to be believable to more people, since christianity is the world's largest religion. In my personal opinion, when compared to other religious texts, it stands about average in terms of believability.
2006-09-20 13:46:30 · answer #6 · answered by Danzarth 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because it is inspired by God. God is the author of the Bible. He just used human hands to physically write it.
Because the Bible is true in all matters to which it speaks and contains no error, it is infallible. Thus it is a sure and certain guide for life in this fallen and sinful age. With the regenerating work and abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer the Bible can be understood and followed. There is no other literature or set of ideals that provide certain direction for sinners. Since it may be trusted as being God's inscripturated speech, it is authoritative as the textbook for life. What it says we must hear and heed because it is the work of our Lord and Savior. As believers we are not only bound to its clear teachings but to every good and necessary reference that can be drawn from its pages. It alone is our authority for faith and practice.
2006-09-20 14:00:02 · answer #7 · answered by cnm 4 · 0⤊ 4⤋
The Bible should be called Middle Eastern Mythology.
2006-09-20 13:33:53 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Why is an answer you don't agree with a "cop out"? If someone honestly believes that the God of the Bible is the one and true living God...then wouldn't that be the obvious answer to the question for that person?
It has persisted because it is true.
2006-09-20 13:38:17 · answer #9 · answered by Open Heart Searchery 7 · 0⤊ 5⤋
Most Christians that are "sold out" for God have had a true personal one on one experience with Jesus. Therefore, we are witnesses to His being alive in us. If we know Jesus is real then we believe the Bible. The prophets prophesied of Jesus' life. death and Resurrection.
Our proof is in our relationship with Christ.
Love in Jesus' name
2006-09-20 13:34:49 · answer #10 · answered by oaluvslife29 2 · 0⤊ 5⤋