Is Blind Faith in God and the Bible a Modern Invention?

A new book points out that the ancient Christians -- and even early Americans -- did not share the blind faith of today's fundamentalists.

[Light Sensitive]

"She focuses on the 3000 year history of monotheism and the great effort that was put into building flexible, thoughtful religions, on how those religions continue to have a meaningful role in the life of millions, and how the recent history of those religions has led to unfortunate developments that are unique over those three millennia."

"When we see those past societies as ignorant and driven out of unreasoning "myths" it's because we are the oddities of history."

"...blind acceptance - But that's not what the word translated as "faith" meant in Biblical times. It's not even what it meant when the Bible was first translated into English.."

"...term used in most New Testament texts (the Greek word pistis) meant something closer to loyalty or commitment, than unreasoning belief. When Jesus chastised his followers for their lack of faith, or commended a non-Jew for having faith, he wasn't talking about some unspoken creed. He certainly wasn't praising them for seeing that he was divine. He was talking about follow-through, about living up to ideas of selflessness and humbleness. Even the word "belief" has changed from a Middle English sense of "prize" to our modern idea of "accept at face value.""

"Unable to separate logos and mythos, and trying to view everything through a lens of the logos-based society in which they live, fundamentalists reacted not by rediscovering the transcendent ideas of the past, but by inventing something new. Instead of science and religion, they tried to build a scientific religion in which every aspect of the world must conform to a literal interpretation of scripture (one that ignores the inherent, and quite intentional, contradictions built into that text). Blind acceptance had to be inserted into the mix because only blind acceptance allows stepping around the wreck trying to force mythos to conform to logos makes of both.."

[Light Sensitive]

sounds like another good book from Ms. Armstrong...shes a great writer, scholar, and presenter...

cant wait to read this one...

[Light Sensitive]

" If you look for reviews of Amrstrong's book, you'll find that that the harshest reviews are not from the general "secular" press, but from fundamentalists. "Demon inspired" is one of the milder phrases you'll encounter.."

"Like all religious fundamentalists, the new athesists believe that they alone are in possession of the truth; like Christian fundamentalists they read scripture in an entirely literal manner and seem to never have heard of the long tradition of allegoric or Talmudic interpretation..."

agree -!!!

"In fact, the new atheists are not radical enough. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim theologians have insisted for centuries that God does not exist and that there is "nothing" out there... "

oh yes, Im sold from this passage alone...the historical reality of theologic development and philosophy is what is absent in most modern xtians arguments for blind faith...

[Light Sensitive]

Having read a few of her other books, I will offer that Ms. Armstrong will use the scientific method to her own ends and than say its not applicable for the new Atheists to do -

She is really just misunderstanding these New Atheists, rather than looking further into their tracts and others who are rallying more agaisnt the primitivism of the Fundys, the abhorent perversions of their alleged faith/religion and that their holy book shoudlbe be used where it doesnt belong, like in the world of science and civil legal systems...

shes a great historian and author, but she has not yet addressed the view of religious extremism that atheists are most concerned about...

[Light Sensitive]

I suggest another book from the New Atheists.

"The New Atheism; Taking a stand for science and reason" Victor Stenger

great summation of the new atheism...and puts it in historical context as both old and prevailing thru history as well as being truly new...

[SongBookz]

Light Sensitive wrote:

Having read a few of her other books, I will offer that Ms. Armstrong will use the scientific method to her own ends and than say its not applicable for the new Atheists to do -
She is really just misunderstanding these New Atheists, rather than looking further into their tracts and others who are rallying more agaisnt the primitivism of the Fundys, the abhorent perversions of their alleged faith/religion and that their holy book shoudlbe be used where it doesnt belong, like in the world of science and civil legal systems...
shes a great historian and author, but she has not yet addressed the view of religious extremism that atheists are most concerned about...

Problem is, progressive and Liberal theists are also standing up against Fundamentalists. This book is in my stack to be read (well, on my Kindle anyway), but I have tried many times to make the same point myself - Fundamentalists and the New Atheists tend to be cut from the same cloth - and neither can see it.

I've read a few of her books and am looking forward to this one Right after I finish "Say You're One of Them" by Uwem Akpan.

[ccrider]

Light Sensitive: be careful what you read.

[Light Sensitive]

ccrider wrote:

Light Sensitive: be careful what you read.

why? Im a voracious reader...and so far I have never been hurt by anythng Ive read...?

why do you say this? please dont tell me youre one of those who distrust information, knowledge, inquiry, etc...?

[Patriot]

A Song of Praise from me to you - Turn it up - Enjoy and be at Peace!

And remember - In the very heart of His Word He states -

"It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." Psalm 118:8

You have His Word on it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch...

http://www.wake-up.org/Alpha/Subjindex.htm

[Thinking]

Praise indeed for your friends, then...

Patriot wrote:

"It is better to trust in the lord than to put confidence in man."

[NW Hominid]

The only good Blind Faith includes Eric Clapton and Stevie Windwood...