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Posted by Introspective I have always had an interest in the biblical scriptures ever since I was very young due to my parents being devout Catholics. With my Catholic upbringing I have read the scriptures on a regular bases and I have even served as an alter boy during the Catholic Masss each day before school and every Sunday. I never felt forced to follow the literal interpretation of the Catholic mandates and I never interpreted the scriptures literally. When I grew older I made it a point to find the time to study theology so that I can gain a clearer understanding as to how and why the scriptures were written. I took theology courses in college and I also studied theology on my own and what I have found is that most Modern theologians and Historians have begun to rely more on Archeology to gain a deeper insight as to the time period the nation of Israel was founded and when that region was first inhabited. Many theologians and Historians are beginning to conclude due to empirical evidence that the Old Testament stories of Abraham, Moses, Joshua, etc....... are false. There is also tangible Archeological evidence that the cities and buildings mentioned in the bible did not exist in the time period that Abraham, Moses, Joshua, etc......supposedly lived. The cities mentioned and the accounts of the Old Testaments mythological wars did not happen because archeology and other historical evidence have proven otherwise. When it comes to the biblical story of King David there is also no historical evidence outside of the scriptures that he existed and the buildings and cities mentioned in the David stories did not exist in that time period they existed when the biblical text were written centuries later. The biblical writers used buildings and cities as reference points to tell their stories. They were communicating their theology in story form to the Israelites about their relationship to the god of Abraham. The biblical writers were also using the scriptures and the biblical stories as a means of giving the Israelites a national identity. It has also been discovered that when the Jews were in captivity in Persia they incorporated the Babylonian mythology into their belief system including the belief in Reincarnation. There were other cultures that were in slaved in Persia along with the Jews and the Jews were also influenced by their beliefs as well. The ancient Jews also believed in multiple gods because they were influenced by the Babylonian beliefs. A great misconception among modern day Christians is that the ancient Jews believed in a monolithic god. The concept of a one Supreme Being came much later in history long after the Old Testament Scriptures were written. The ancient Jews during their captivity in Persia came in contact with many cultures that believed in Reincarnation but none of those cultures believed in a one supreme god. That concept was foreign to them and although the ancient Jews believed in multiple gods they worshiped the god of Abraham. The Jews later believed that it was the god of Abraham that delivered them from the Babylonian captivity. When you study the ancient Jewish and the ancient Babylonian beliefs you can see a whole array of Babylonian beliefs throughout the biblical text and various other cultural mythologies. The Jews during the time the scriptures were written did not have a reference point to develop a concept for the belief in a single supreme deity. The reason was the various cultures that the Jews had contact with at that time believed in multiple gods. However, many cultures believed in Reincarnation due to the fact that the concept of Reincarnation predates written language. We have a better understanding of the biblical text today then any other time in history because we are taking a scientific approach in studying the scriptures rather then taking the scriptures literally. Modern Theology is using History, Archeology, and Mythology to come to a greater understanding of how the bible was written. The biblical writers were influenced by the mythology of their day and other cultures. When the scriptures were written 99% of the people could not read or write and stories were passed down orally that is why the biblical text is not an historical account of what took place it is theological literature. Theologians have also come to understand the biblical writers perception of their relationship to the god of Abraham as a people and as a nation. We also gain a greater understanding as to how the theological literature was written by simply studying the scriptures in light of more recent historical and archeological discoveries. When I studied the New Testament and the history of the Catholic Church I began to realize that the Catholic Churchs teachings are steep in mythology as well which dominates the churches theology. There are a large number of theologians and scholars that rely on history and archeology to gain a deeper understanding of the New Testament scriptures. However, Historians and Theologians have searched for historical and archeological evidence to shed light on the New Testament but they have found no evidence that Jesus was in fact an historical figure. They have concluded that just as the Old Testament cannot be studied as an historical accounting of what took place so to the New Testament cannot be studied as a history Book but rather as theological literature and as a continuum of the Old Testament. Many theologians have also found that the various New Testament writers were conveying the god of Abrahams relationship to the Jewish people in story form and they used the mythological figure of Jesus as being the new Moses for the Jewish people. Many theologians have not only found Jesus to be a mythological figure but they have also found historical evidence that St. Paul was in fact the founder of the Christian Church. It is due to discoveries of Gnostic literature that Theologians surmise that St. Paul was once a member of the Essenses a Gnostic sect because he shared their beliefs. He used his own theology and the Essenses writings to build his own vision of a spiritual Jewish lifestyle. St. Paul and the Essenses used the myth of Jesus as a means to overthrow the streaked Jewish laws that governed and dominated the Jewish Lifestyle. St. Paul believed that the Jewish laws inhibit spiritual growth and he used the stories of Jesus as a means to converting the Jewish people away from the streaked Jewish mandates to a more spiritual lifestyle. St. Paul used the Essenses beliefs and his own Christian vision when he built the Christian sect that later developed into the Christian religion. Continued below on part 2
on 10/23/2004, 8:58 pm
64.12.116.7
My understanding of the Biblical Scriptures....... Part 1
Religious scholars have gained a better understanding of the Jewish culture and the various historical influences that influenced their culture due to historical and archeological discoveries. The various mythological influences are also being taken into account as to how the surrounding cultures mythological beliefs impacted the ancient Jewish beliefs. These influences had a direct impact on their cultural development and we can gain a better understanding of this when we read the scriptures not as an historical account of what took place but as theological literature.
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