All points on the generalized subject of the nature of religion, as well as the theory of evolution, science in general, and philosophy/theology have been made? Well hee yaw, guess that means that we humans never have to think again, eh? Everything's already been done, we not only have a complete understanding of the Universe but of all possible, fictitious, or erroneous Universes, there's nothing left for mankind to do but lay down and die!
I'd call you a putz, but that'd be misinterpreted as flaming and hence be liable to get you what you want. Putz.
Anyway. I could take potshots at the Bible all day long, and the modern (typically fundie) interpretation yet longer. Actually, since its flaws are well-documented, it'd really add up to about a minute of searching, copying, and pasting. But that's besides the point. The Bible is an excellent framework on which to found religion and/or moral codes, a good history, and an interesting (if dry and abstruse) read. You just have to keep in mind that, even if one is to take it as literally God's word and his Son's (which Jesus seems to dispute in the literal sense, actually, though it may be an error in translation), it has been passed down verbally, modified, censored (by the very bodies extant to preserve it, no less), and distorted in meaning so that the modern form is the literary equivalent of a static-ridden broadcast. Which is simultaneously picking up signals from two or three other bands, which are at times all but indistinguishable from the desired message. The problem then is, interpretation's basically in the eye of the beholder. Jerry Fallwell can read the New Testament and find his message of hate there, plain as day, and I can do the same and find the record of what amounts to recorded history's first great radical libertarian, just as clearly. His will always look like utterly contrived **** to me, and vice versa, but I'll take his word for it that that's what he sees. And there's the story of religion, and why it's so bleeding hard to convince the born-agains of anything- NOTHING can be proven or disproven incontrovertibly if one's sole common "empirical" knowledge is contained in the Bible, because it means completely different things depending on one's preconceptions.
Now. Taking this concept of all interpretations of the Bible being equally apparent to their proponents (with more or less supporting evidence, generally depending on the intellect and passion of the one looking), is it not entirely possible that this was the intention? Assuming God wrote the Bible, could He not have scrambled its message intentionally so that one had to find one's own truth? The old cultural concept of a clear divine edict, the disobedience of which inevitably leads to an extended vacation in Hell, is generally thought to be largely originating from the old authoritarian states and nations, back in the days when the old priests and kings dictated down to the common serf- it was basically a concept developed so that they could say "Do what I say, whether it's blatantly against your own interests or not, or have a naaasty time when my old friend God gets at you when you die. Which will be very shortly if you disobey him, seeing as I, God's messenger, have this big nasty spear." It is not inherent in the Bible itself, with the exception of a few cases such as the Commandments (On most other occasions, God is speaking through a proxy, and it's generally up to the reader to determine whether that proxy has god behind him at all- see the exchange rates on slavery, etc. which most people now take as just historical background). Perhaps the Bible is set up specifically this way so that people can draw their own conclusions, so that beyond a basic core of a few specific morals (violated every day, but that's irrelevant) the practice of religion is sort of a personality litmus test in itself- the way in which people show their true colors, and God's one real test of humanity's faith. Hell, makes more sense than saying that the big mean omniscient being needs to make you fall and scrape your knee to see whether you'll turn around and curse him for it or not.
I think I meant to arrive at a point in there, but it's late, I'm tired, and I'm out of chemicals. Will resume eventually. Demon is a putz.
