The perfect Holy Book?

Question

If we accept that the Bible was written by a bunch of people who were trying to lay down some rules about how to live, isn't it probably that the NT was written in response to the same outcry we see here on Y!A regarding the moral terpitude in the OT? I personally don't believe the OT or the NT, but I think most of the really immoral stuff - slaughter of the innocents, flood, Lot & his daughters, etc. - is in the OT. The really unbelieveable (or "miraculous," if you believe in the Bible) stuff is in the NT. Both of these are major flaws to me. If I decided to accept a Holy Book of some sort, it would have to be both moral and rooted in the physical world. I'm not saying there can't be a - as atheists put it - "sky pixie," but if sucha pixie is there, he should only play as big a role in the book as is evidenced in every day life, which is to say, as something many of us suspect but none can quantify.

What would you look for in a Holy Book? Do you think humanity really needs Holy Books, or do they just sow the seeds of war?

Answer 1

To understand the criteron of a perfect holy book,
one must look for the following:

No Contradictions {God doesnt contradict himself}

Each Righteous individual God blesses should be a example worthy of following { in the case of Lot for e.g incest and alcohol not a very good example for people to follow.}

Laws for the everday life {Love thy enemy and give him the other cheek, not very good advice for one ready to hurt you}

Easy to understand, All followers should be able to comprehend it if it is really a word of God. {Not too many parables}

It cant be "inspired by God" as to continually editing it as though writing a novel {Now who in the world wrote the bible, I know God isnt the Author, people still dont know the names of the people who wrote it, thats a big problem}

It has to be a revelation which is intact, and unchanged forever {A big expectation, but trust me, very considerate.}

Not Racist and Sexist {Now how many of you know what happened in genesis, when one of Noah's sons was Cursed and made a servant of his two other brothers, and woman's rights are hard to find, anyone who can name them list them plz}

I think thats my criteron for the "PERFECT HOLY BOOK"

Answer 2

Great question. The sheer lunacy of the answers should give you pause.

The 'major flaws' you point out in the OT and the NT are definitely the problem, but not in the way you suppose. Rather, they are a matter of misunderstanding. AND, your support of a small role for a 'sky pixie' - or what I term, personified deity - having a part in every day life is NOT THE SOLUTION. This idea has in fact been the PROBLEM from the beginning.

Sacred texts may contain "rules for everyday life" but this is almost entirely irrelevant to their purpose. They all are speaking (metaphorically) about the intersection of being/reality, about mankind's capacity for psychological transformation and it's affect on reality - individually and en masse. We have evolved to the point - even though the sciences are still primitive - to grasp that there is a fundamental relationship between human consciousness and the material reality.

Every great adept who has ever lived has attempted to provide a 'way/path' to transcend the conditioned identity and affect the world for good. BECAUSE, otherwise, we are in fact doing the opposite. The intersection of psychology/physics, being/reality, mind/matter is fundamental to everything we are experiencing in every moment of our lives.

Answer 3

I believe that religions are lifestyles and books in which the details of these lifestyles are given are the holy books of every religion. Lifestyle includes stability of family and social units, good qualities development, morality, hygiene, law & order, protection of property etc. The lifestyle depends on the environment and resources. You have expressed correctly that the modern book of lifestyle would have to be both moral and rooted in the present environment of physical world. It also should include modern scientific information, proved to be true by experiments.

Answer 4

"The Tao of Pooh" is a good holy book.

Pooh has a certain way about him, a way of doing things which has made him the world's most beloved bear. And Pooh's Way, as Benjamin Hoff brilliantly demonstrates, seems strangely close to the ancient Chinese principles of Taoism. The 'Tao of Pooh' explains Taoism by Winnie the Pooh and explaines Winnie the Pooh by Taoism. It makes you understand what A.A. Milne probably meant when he said he didn't write the Pooh-books for children in the first place.

Answer 5

Your question goes directly to the root of the conflict between religious sects. At the same time it also points out the major articles of faith that most believers have to wrestle with at some time in their life.

In this article I shall refer to The Supreme Being with masculine pronouns. Please realize that not for one minute do I think God has a penis and a beard. It simply comforts me to think of The Almighty as my father. If you are more comfortable thinking of The Divine as being female, or neuter, then please feel free to do so. (Although having an omnipotent being suffering from PMS, or cramps and bloating, is not very comforting to me. hehehe.)

Is the Holy Book absolutely the perfectly written word of God with no mistakes? Or, was the Holy Book written by people inspired by God to try to tell us in words about something that by definition can not be understood in words?

IF you take any Holy Book as being the "Direct Word Of God Almighty" which shall be taken at face value, and never questioned upon fear of eternal damnation, then it is easy to see why there is religious strife in the world.
Studying the Old Testament there are so many inconsistancies that it is difficult to believe God wrote this. Either God could not make up his mind, or changed his mind. Either way it is not very inspiring or comforting.

If you are studying a different Holy Book, and I believe that only mine is the Word of God, then you are a heathen, and a pagan, and an unbeliever. The Old Testament and the Koran both have specific examples of how to deal with unbelievers, but, generally, if they will not see the light and come around to your enlightened point of view, then you should kill them.
Take a look at the Middle East today and I think that is what we are seeing in action. The murders being committed there are no longer a crime. Instead they become a religious necessity ordained by scripture.

To Jews the most holy scripture is the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament of the Holy Bible. According to legend Moses single-handedly wrote the Torah. Some scholars believe that Moses merely transcribed stories that had been part of the oral history of Jews for centuries.

According to legend Mohammed single-handedly wrote the Koran. If you compare the Koran to the Torah you will find many similarities. In fact it seems that many scriptures from the Torah were directly translated to the Koran.

On the other hand, if you take the scriptures to be written by men who were inspired by God then you have a drastically different result.
The inconsistancies are more easily understood as perhaps human error while attempting to do the work of God.

The New Testament is in many ways a radical departure from any previous scripture. Never in the New Testament is there a direction to kill your enemy. Instead you are compelled to "turn the other cheek."
Both the Jews and the Moslems acknowlege Jesus of Nazareth as a prophet, but neither religions believe that he was the Son of God.

I think that your insistence that a Holy Book be somehow perfect by your definition is self-defeating. It seems to me that all of the Holy Books of this planet are moral, and at the same time they are rooted very much in this physical world.
What is your objection to them? They don't reflect the divine? They display the weaknesses and frailties and vanities of human kind?

I can learn from anything in this earth. I do not accept any of these books as being the end all, do all, last word. They were written by people. As such they can not be perfect.

Your reference to some athiest's belief in a "sky pixie," is revealing. Aren't they acknowleging that something bigger than themselves exists? Aren't they saying that something which defies identification, and denies definition, does exist? Sure, they are belittling it, but at the same time, how can you belittle that which does not exist?

I do not know if this answer helps you, but I hope that it does. I wish you well in your quest for enlightenment. I pray that God, the One True God, no matter what name you may use for Him, guide you, and teach you, and keep you safe from harm.

Thank you for the question. It has been a while since I reflected upon these matters. It is good for me to return to these issues from time to time because I may have grown to a better understanding.
In a way it restores my faith to question these things from time to time. I have never been fond of blind faith because it can be too easily led astray.

Answer 6

If it was something that just laid down rules on how to live, then why throw in the fact that Jesus Christ Died on the Cross for our sins, so we could be made clean?Why would it even mention Jesus doing miracles, or how the earth was created. Why mention about the antichrist. unfortunately this is not just a book that tells us how to live, but it is a BOok of GOds Word, and His Word is True. His word told us about the past, and it is telling us about the future. If you havent noticed, there is already chaos going around, because we are in the ends of the World, read Revelations, it tells you alot about what is going on.

SO if this book was just made to lay rules down then,
Why didnt they just call the book, THe way to Live

SO if it just laying down rules, then I guess It wouldnt hurt to follow The PERFECT HOLY BOOK

Answer 7

The perfect holy book is the one that shows us our position in this cosmic menifestation and the one that introduce us with our real shelf.
For me the perfect Holy Book is Srimad Bhagawatam and Geeta.

Answer 8

Heb 4:12 The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart.
Heb 4:13 There is nothing that can be hid from God; everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before his eyes. And it is to him that we must all give an account of ourselves.

As a believer, I believe each and everyone will be judged accordingly. So I rest my case here. Whether you are searching for eternal life or eternal condemnation.

Answer 9

Holy Bible (Seventh Bible) isn't Holy Holy in the end written:
"The GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ with you all. Amen."

POINT:
Repeating Law is Law Law.
His Grace is NOT Law Law.

Grace with you all. Amen.

Answer 10

I would look for a book that points to facts and spiritual ideals that are higher than my intellect can apprehend. To me, that is proof that there is something out there higher and more ineffable than my human mind can completely grasp.

But it would have to give me intimations of that ineffability too, or else it would all be over my head and meaningless to me.

I guess the bible does all that in general.