Earlier today I shared an article about a recent survey which shows that many believers don't know as much as they think when it comes to their own or other religious belief systems. As far as Christians are concerned, I am gaining a better understanding of why they may not understand their own faith very well -- A great deal of the Old Testament is mindless dribble!
As I slowly wend my way through the first books of the Bible for the Tao Bible series, I must say that I had forgotten what a boring read it is. There are countless lists of people's names, specific building construction measurements and nit-picky instructions on too many mundane facets of ancient life.
It's really maddening and so hard for me to believe that a supreme entity would care one iota for the vast majority of this crap. It's no wonder far too many Christians don't know very much about the Jewish heritage their faith system was built upon.
Reading federal tax codes would be more interesting than this! (I plan to trudge onwards, nonetheless.)
As I slowly wend my way through the first books of the Bible for the Tao Bible series, I must say that I had forgotten what a boring read it is. There are countless lists of people's names, specific building construction measurements and nit-picky instructions on too many mundane facets of ancient life.
It's really maddening and so hard for me to believe that a supreme entity would care one iota for the vast majority of this crap. It's no wonder far too many Christians don't know very much about the Jewish heritage their faith system was built upon.
Reading federal tax codes would be more interesting than this! (I plan to trudge onwards, nonetheless.)
Your survey has confirmed my own experience and those I've heard of in conversations I've had with Sunni Muslim and Sikh colleagues at work.
ReplyDeletePart of the problem is that the priesthood just quotes the bits that suit them and leaves the rest. I seem to remember Mark Twain commenting on this once.
As for me, I'm quite attracted by the Zen Buddhist approach, "All holy books are as waste paper".