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Originally Posted by Ohio
History tells us that they had a strong oral tradition passed down from the beginning of time. According to chronology, Abraham had a 3rd hand account of creation via Adam, Methuselah and Shem. Moses, who wrote the Pentateuch, had a 6th hand account.
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Well, that depends on whose "history" you are talking about - Karen Armstrong's "A History of God" discusses the theory of four different authors for the Pentateuch, which, she claims, was finalised in 5BC. Without any other particular evidence, it's as valid a claim as some of the claims here for Moses writing it (and would actually account better for the vastly different styles and names for God used in the early books of the OT).
This isn't the point, for me. If you say God wrote it, I'm happy with that. I respect that view. I would even submit to that view myself, burn my Karen Armstrong collection using Harry Potter Vol 1 for kindling, BUT for one thing. This view has become poison. It is used to ram Christianity down people's throats, to divide, to sell. I won't accept it as my personal creed because to do so is like joining a gang - and the next step is to go earn your stripes. The next step is to say "This is the holy word of God...you can ONLY know God through this book".
And to me, that is unacceptable. "We can only know God through the bible" is a very closed-minded and violent approach - the Pharisees come straight to mind. Sure, Jesus used the scriptures to defeat the devil in the wilderness. This shows the scriptures must have a central place in our lives. 2 Timothy 3:16 puts this as well as anyone.
But at the same time, we can never ever say, with Jesus as our honest guide, that God
only reaches us through the scripture? Someone here said "without the bible, you only have your imagination" - well, I don't agree on the language, I think we could have a big discussion elsewhere on the terminology of imagination, soul, spirit, mind, but in essence, yes, ALL we have is our spirits, souls, minds. If we think God can't reach that essence of us without writing a book..... then to me that's a very limited, impotent god, nothing like the God, the Father, the Almighty of the Nicene Creed.
I am not rejecting the bible. It is clearly God-inspired, without even falling back on the circular argument of "the bible says it is God-inspired". But God didn't inspire those authors by writing a book for them, but by speaking directly to them, as He speaks to us every second of the day (if we would only listen). I believe, for example, God also inspired Karen Armstrong in her introduction on Genesis, which has some beautiful concepts of how the conflicting creation accounts reveal a God which can never be understood on human terms. I don't have to say she is "right" to enjoy this idea. I don't have to say "you can only know God through Karen Armstrong"...
It's a mystery, folks, and ignorance is holy. The devil loves it when people think they have the answers, because then they start behaving oddly, leaving the church to set up exclusive ministries, investing in motorhome manufacturers....
I'll leave it with one of my favourite verses, from Ephesians, which is about the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles under Christ.
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"He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him, we both have access to the Father by One Spirit". Ephesians 2:17.
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Stay happy
