As a non-believer in any supreme being, I believe that religious texts have an important role to play in society when considered as philosophies or parables. They contain many valid messages that still apply to a modern, even atheist society about things like fairness, forgiveness and offer guidance to people who feel they need it. Although the practice of organised religion is something I feel is not essential to the modern world and I agree that there are conflicting and deplorable messages contained within many religious texts, I believe that valid lessons can be learned from them.
I believe the Bible should be considered by society in the same way as Plato's elite, a flawed but valuable philosophy that is contextualised within an ancient society that perhaps does directly reflect the modern world
I'm not suggesting religion should be eradicated in the sense of writing rewriting history. Religion should still be taught in schools etc. as a cultural exercise. It is impossible to understand human history and culture from any era or part of the world without a knowledge of religion: what it meant for people to pray, what it meant for Michaelangelo to paint what he did, etc. Furthermore, religious texts and artefacts tell you a lot about particular cultures as well, as they are a reflexion of cultures, and a creator of them.
Parable-like explanations are a useful way to teach things to people, too; but techniques such as this were not newly-invented by the Bible. In the Western tradition, you can find similar practices in ancient Greek literature. Plato's dialogues - written about 500 years before much of the New Testament - immediately spring to mind, in which Sokrates uses a number of witty anecdotes and allegories to debate with other sophists, public figures, etc. So, I don't think it is true to say without the Bible no such means of explanation would exist. Instead of being referred to the Gospels, somebody could be pointed quite easily to other sources.
For argument's sake, if there was a "God" why would we he want to be found out? What would be the motive? To turn everyone into a theist even though he has given them free-will and choice...
An intellectually dishonest post. You say 'if there was a "God"', which implies you are talking about any god, but then move to quote from the Bible and talk about the Christian god. Quoting the Christianity is folly, too, because, as I've touched upon earlier, there is a number of problems with religious texts. There are many varying accounts of the same event, they are not primary sources, there are historical inaccuracies, there are internal contradictions, etc. And this is the only evidence you have for the existence of god(s). It amounts to
nothing.Also, for what's it's worth, the free-will argument also exposes another contradiction in Christian doctrine, and no theologian has ever been able to explain it. The Fall was predestined to happen, and God, in his omniscience, was aware of this. Furthermore, God took no action to suitably deal with Satan, and allowed him to travel to Paradise unhindered. But yet, at the same time, Man was meant to have free will?
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988,
1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998,
1999, 2007McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
