I have a question and I want some real well thought out answers to this question. I've taken some anthropology classes at the U and all of those classes talked about religions of the different regions. I even had a class about the history of religion in the middle east. Now what I want to know is this: Do you take everything in the Old Testament, more precisely the portion before Noah, or do you read it as having a lot of good, interesting stories that tell you how you should be living your life? Stories full of values and morals and figures to look up to because of their actions in the text. I'm not saying that the Bible is false or that it didn't really happen. The fact of the matter is the Bible was written down hundreds and sometimes thousands of years after it happened. And the stories told in the Old Testament are not unique to Christianity. These stories are found in middle eastern religions regulary. They all influenced each other. Even a religion like the ones practiced in Egypt that you may look at as being different shares a lot with the Judeo-Christian traditions. Some things these religions have in common is a creation story, a disaster story, a predicted savior, and an end of times and judgment story. The stories may differ a little but when you look at them all in general they have a lot of similarities. At one point in the evolution of religion there was a god name Yaweh who we believe to be our God. The thing is he appeared before Judeo-Christian writings and in a different religion. He took over and removed the other gods leaving one all powerful god. I don't know if that story is true but knowing what we belive, that there are other gods and that we have the chance to become gods, it would make sense that maybe at one time there were other gods here on earth with Adam and Eve. Plus, we know from the temple and the scriptures that there were other people being taught the gospel of Satan and that Adam and Eve weren't listening or subscribing to those teachings. Who were these other people that Satan was teaching? It's an interesting thought. One that has always given me pause.
Now these thoughts all came about when Cheryl and I were having a conversation about the Bible. I pointed out that it seems like there are two different gods: an Old Testament god and a New Testament god. The Old Testament god is the scary, vindictive, unforgiving god and the New Testament god is one full of forgivness, charity, and turning the other cheek. Old Testament (OT) god says and eye for an eye where New Testament (NT) god says turn the other cheek. I've heard it said that God will never give up on you yet he gave up on all the people in Noah's day and he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. OT god was a strict task master that said if you don't do everything by the book then you have no chance. NT god said that as long as you treat others as you would have them treat you you'll be fine. Now of course he said that through Jesus but as Jesus was God's mouthpiece we have to assume that it came straight from Him. But it really seems like two different gods in these two books.
Now if you want to take it further and compare those 2 to the god in the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants there is a little difference there as well. The god in the Book of Mormon is almost a composite of the Bible gods. He is a by the books god but he is forgiving. He does have some instances where it seems like he has given up on a group of people because of their wickedness and they are destroyed by the righteous. On the other hand the Book of Mormon is full of stories of redemption like Alma. I think the Book of Mormon (BOM) god is the most complex and seemingly human of the gods portrayed in the 3 books.
Then you have the modern god in the Doctrine and Covenants. This god is hard to describe because there isn't much written about him from the perspective of the people who have seen him through visions and had revelations from him. Judging from the Prophets of the LDS church and the Apostles he is a very kind and forgiving god but he has high expectations from his children. I think that is the real god. There are rules that have been set forth but those rules aren't hard and fast like rules set forth in the OT. You can be forgiven if you're willing to do the work. And you are rewarded for following the rules by not having to deal with the consequences of making bad decisions.
So this takes us back to the original argument; should the Bible be read as a history book or should it be read as a book with a lot of good stories about how we should live and what will happen if we should make the wrong choice? Were Adam and Eve really born 6000 years ago? Was the whole world really flooded and one man was able to build a ship and have 2 of every animal on it in the world? Was Lot's wife really turned into a pillar of salt because she turned around and looked at the city as she was leaving? Did Moses really lead the people through the desert by following a pillar of fire from the sky? Did he really talk with a burning bush? You've got me. I read those stories with a grain of salt. I don't think they all happened literally. I think some may have happened and I think that most have been blown out of proportion as stories do when they are passed down through generations orally. Then you have the poorly translated King James version where whole passages were left out because they thought the same meaning could be given in less words. We still don't know how much was really left out.
Having said all that I must say that I do believe Jesus to be the savior of the world. I believe that if you follow the commandments and the teachings in the Bible and the Book of Mormon you will live a very righteous life. I believe in the process of repentance and forgivness. I have a strong testimony of those things. And yet I don't believe the Bible should be taken literally as it is written. I am probably in the minority with this but that is the conclusion I have come to with my studies. I'm not discouraging anyone from reading those books, I'm actually encouraging people to read them. I just know the consequences that come from people reading books and taking them literally. It never leads to good things. We end up with religious extremists. We have Muslims blowing up buildings and cars and people because of a passage that says the Infidels should die. We have abortion clinics being bombed in the name of religion. We had a whole war between European Christians and Middle Eastern Muslims in the name of religion because of what they read in a book. That's not right. That's not what the book was written to inspire. That's not what any religious book was written to inspire. There is not one religion in the world that preaches hatred of others, that preaches violence against non-believers.
Those are called extremests.
Thanks for reading.
