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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   5889 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 21, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Wait, this is a conspiracy theory?

I think it’s the most reasonable—and interesting—reading of the Bible. The books are clearly laden with meaning, partly from the enormous weight of history, partly from the composition process. It says things that are obviously, literally false, but have reasonable interpretations or poetic license. Biblical aesthetics are so strong that they have dominated Western cultural products. I don’t think you get that without some layers of narrative and allegory.

Biblical aesthetics are so strong that they have dominated Western cultural products. I don’t think you get that without some layers of narrative and allegory.

It's possible, or possible it works the other way around. Our culture has been shaped by the Bible for thousands of years, so of course now the morals it teaches seem to slot very well into the rest of our understanding of the world. You will hear sayings, moral teachings, etc. and then years later hear them from the Bible and think "that sounds like what I believe" when really those teachings came from the Bible in the first place.

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