Rubottom: Bible errors often spoil worldview

[Alex]

Bible errors often spoil worldview
Greg Rubottom
8 Mar 2013
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20130309/OPINIONS02/303090019

I hate lies. A lie, once believed, makes all of our subsequent thinking, and therefore, our entire worldview, conform to that lie.

If I could eradicate just one lie from the face of the earth for the good of all mankind, I know what lie it would be. It would be that baldfaced lie that declares the Bible is the unfailing word of God.

Any honest person seeking truth should be capable, in this day and age, of discovering the truth about the Bible. It is a book filled with invaluable wisdom, along with hundreds of contradicting statements and untold numbers of blatant falsehoods — authored by imperfect people like you and me.

But many prefer to live in a predetermined superstitious world. A world where biblical authors are filled with all wisdom and foreknowledge while 21st century man remains an unenlightened being not yet able to fully comprehend the perfection of this magical prophetic book.

America is suffering greatly for its belief in biblical inerrancy, particularly politically.

Our political world has become overrun with doomsday Bible worshippers, people who cynically believe civilization is destined for destruction, with no prospects for peace without an Armageddon forever in our future.

They infect our political process with the rotten fruit of this self-fulfilling malignant worldview. They can’t fearlessly seek or envision a truly better future for our children.

Instead, they instinctively seek to protect themselves and their loved ones from the desolation they themselves help manifest in the world through the power of their negative expectations.

I recently lost my closest friend to meningitis. He was 39. My friend was one of the most caring and thoughtful people I have ever known.

I told my sister I wanted to attend the remembrance services like I wanted a root canal on all my teeth. This is because I knew the service would be held in the church where my friend grew up — a church he needed to leave behind on his search for truth.

During the services the pastor recalled how my friend had experienced a radical transformation in his life as a young man, a transformation that had instilled in him a faith in God and a desire to serve others.

The pastor then recalled the concerns some church members had had for my friend. If this young man has been “saved,” some had said, then why does he continue to wear long hair — for the Bible clearly teaches it is a “shame” for a man to wear long hair?

I am intelligent enough to understand, through rational thinking, that it is not a “shame” for a man to wear long hair. The “shame” is that educated pastors continue to teach Biblical inerrancy or even tolerate the belief in their congregations.

Our fundamentalist Christians friends are fond of saying, “Love the sinner but hate the sin.” I agree. I love my fundamentalist friends, but I hate their unpardonable sin of believing the Bible is without error.

Greg Rubottom lives in Springfield and can be contacted at www.jesusbasics.com



Alex's comment:  這篇文章言簡意刻地道出基督宗教的核心問題所在。基督宗教的最根本問題在於獲取知識方法上的偏差：將一本古書的可信性與權威看得過高，脫離它的本質—人寫的會錯的文學作品，抬高到「神話語」的絕對地位，繼而從中提取知識，再建築世界觀。這樣，世界觀便被建築在極端狹窄的基礎之上—一本書。更合理而穩妥的做法是將世界觀建築在廣闊的全人類經驗之上，包括從所有社會文化現象（例如世界宗教）、哲學、觀察和實驗取得之數據。