Religion is and always has been a major influence on the everyday lives of all humans. From the very beginning, even primitive peoples worshipped some for of deity and of course there were always those individuals that claimed intimate knowledge of and a special relationship with those deities. In this way religious leaders became extremely powerful. Every modern religion has its own holy book. For the Christians, this is the Scriptures but there are good reasons why I am not a Bible student.
Many people hold the opinion that the scriptures have not been written by God, as theologians would like everyone to believe. Instead, it consists of a collection of letters, stories and books written by humans. Some of these books and writings are even inspirational or entertaining, but they are nevertheless the subjective products of fallible humans that cannot be taken as holy.
The way in which the content of the scriptures were decided is also still a major issue. It was a group of eminent church officials that decided what would be included in the official version of the Word of God. This was done arbitrarily, say critics and thousands of other religious Christian writings were excluded because they did not fit into doctrines that the then church leaders wanted to promote.
Then there is the fact that so many people simply do not know what to make of the official view of the scriptures. There are those, highly qualified and experience religious leaders, that maintain that the scriptures are holy, inspired by God and totally without error. But then there are also those, equally well qualified and experienced theologians that hold forth that the scriptures are to be seen as cryptic writings that needs expert interpretation.
The bulk of the scriptures were originally written in Hebrew or Greek. Sceptics say that much of thee original meaning has been lost in the numerous translations that have been made over time. In addition, when translated into a specific language, the entire content of the original material is phrased to fit in with the cultural make up of those that speak that language.
The very idea that man has free choice is firmly negated by the scriptures, sceptics quickly point out. Man is presented with a single option and this is to either do exactly as they are told or be condemned to eternal punishment in hell. This hardly freedom of choice, says the critics. Christians are sternly reminded that all other deities are false gods and that all other religions are heresies.
Some of the more outspoken critics say that the scriptures are hypocritical. They point out that the vast majority of people are suffering from debilitating poverty and even persecution. This cannot possibly be related to the message that Christianity will set people free, will empower them and will ensure that God Himself will look after them. These people have no reason to believe in these empty promises.
Man does have free choice. It is the right of every person to believe or not to believe the teachings and messages contained in the scriptures. One would hope, however, that those that believe do not show prejudice against those that believe differently.
Many people hold the opinion that the scriptures have not been written by God, as theologians would like everyone to believe. Instead, it consists of a collection of letters, stories and books written by humans. Some of these books and writings are even inspirational or entertaining, but they are nevertheless the subjective products of fallible humans that cannot be taken as holy.
The way in which the content of the scriptures were decided is also still a major issue. It was a group of eminent church officials that decided what would be included in the official version of the Word of God. This was done arbitrarily, say critics and thousands of other religious Christian writings were excluded because they did not fit into doctrines that the then church leaders wanted to promote.
Then there is the fact that so many people simply do not know what to make of the official view of the scriptures. There are those, highly qualified and experience religious leaders, that maintain that the scriptures are holy, inspired by God and totally without error. But then there are also those, equally well qualified and experienced theologians that hold forth that the scriptures are to be seen as cryptic writings that needs expert interpretation.
The bulk of the scriptures were originally written in Hebrew or Greek. Sceptics say that much of thee original meaning has been lost in the numerous translations that have been made over time. In addition, when translated into a specific language, the entire content of the original material is phrased to fit in with the cultural make up of those that speak that language.
The very idea that man has free choice is firmly negated by the scriptures, sceptics quickly point out. Man is presented with a single option and this is to either do exactly as they are told or be condemned to eternal punishment in hell. This hardly freedom of choice, says the critics. Christians are sternly reminded that all other deities are false gods and that all other religions are heresies.
Some of the more outspoken critics say that the scriptures are hypocritical. They point out that the vast majority of people are suffering from debilitating poverty and even persecution. This cannot possibly be related to the message that Christianity will set people free, will empower them and will ensure that God Himself will look after them. These people have no reason to believe in these empty promises.
Man does have free choice. It is the right of every person to believe or not to believe the teachings and messages contained in the scriptures. One would hope, however, that those that believe do not show prejudice against those that believe differently.
About the Author:
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