The Bible As Wisdom Literature.

[steve_bank]

DLH avail us of your wisdom derived firm 30n years of biblical study.

Christians now call the bible one of the greatest literary works of all time. I disagree. It 8s a collection of adds and ends form over 2000 years ago.

I used used to have books on Tibetan and Indian restoration.

I remember a few of the stories. A trip down memory lane.

An Indian stpry.

A teacher was lecturing his students. He tells them god is in you, in me and everything.

Feeling the blis of new knowledge a student was walking down a road when an elephant came running towards him bellowing.

He thought to himself god is in me and in the elegant so I have nothing to fear.

The elephant grabbed him with its trunk and tossed him aside.

Bewildered he asked his teacher what went wrong.

The teacher said ‘God in the elephant was speaking to you but god in you was not listening’

From Tibet

A teacher put two students in remote huts. To one he gave a traditionally correct manta and the other one he made up. He told them both to spend few months focusing on the mantras.

When he returned the one with traditionally correct mantra got nothing from it. The one with made up mantra was beaming with joy.

Moral of the story, it is not what you believe it is how you believe it.

A group of monks were walking along a trail came upon a master sitting in front of a wooden image of Buddha. They asked what was one to do to find enlightenment.

The master said ‘Contentment Buddha’s image as I am doing!’


The next day the monks found the master chopping up the wooden Buddha with an axe. Horrified they asked what he was doing.

He said, ‘It is cold and I need firewood.’

Moral of the story, one chops away at one’s preconceptions and attachments.’

In the 60s 70 Japanese Zen became popular. As I remember this one.

A new student meets his teacher and is given a koan, a sort of riddle or puzzle that the student has to answer.

The master says ‘What is the sound of one hand clapping?’.

The student returns and started to recite a logical analytical explanation. The master hits him on the head with his rice bowl and tells him to come back and try again.

The student returns, sits down, and simply waves one hand back and forth. The master smiles.



As to wisdom literature the bible as it is is coarse and inconsistent. From what I read stores like Job were teaching stories used by teachers.

The bible is hopelessly incomplete as to what was taught and written in ancient Jewish culture,.


Which is why there is all the Christian interpretations with all the conflicts. Anyone can read the bible and become a moral authority of god.

If one reads only the bible for 30 years one has no context trom other traditions.

I am not all that well read as some are, but I read enough to see the bible and Christianity in a context

 

[DLH]

DLH avail us of your wisdom derived firm 30n years of biblical study.

Solomon said all is vanity, Jehovah said the inclination of man is evil, and God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.

Christians now call the bible one of the greatest literary works of all time. I disagree. It 8s a collection of adds and ends form over 2000 years ago.

Okay. I believe Richard Dawkins made a good point.

I used used to have books on Tibetan and Indian restoration.

I remember a few of the stories. A trip down memory lane.

An Indian stpry.

A teacher was lecturing his students. He tells them god is in you, in me and everything.

Feeling the blis of new knowledge a student was walking down a road when an elephant came running towards him bellowing.

He thought to himself god is in me and in the elegant so I have nothing to fear.

The elephant grabbed him with its trunk and tossed him aside.

Bewildered he asked his teacher what went wrong.

The teacher said ‘God in the elephant was speaking to you but god in you was not listening’

Do you recall the reaction here when I gave repeatedly my and the dreaded dictionary definition of God?

The same as on every forum I've ever posted it. Pity you don't listen to my God.

From Tibet

A teacher put two students in remote huts. To one he gave a traditionally correct manta and the other one he made up. He told them both to spend few months focusing on the mantras.

When he returned the one with traditionally correct mantra got nothing from it. The one with made up mantra was beaming with joy.

Moral of the story, it is not what you believe it is how you believe it.

steve_bank, is there a point you eventually believe you will get to?

A group of monks were walking along a trail came upon a master sitting in front of a wooden image of Buddha. They asked what was one to do to find enlightenment.

The master said ‘Contentment Buddha’s image as I am doing!’

Contemplate. Okay. Got it.

The next day the monks found the master chopping up the wooden Buddha with an axe. Horrified they asked what he was doing.

He said, ‘It is cold and I need firewood.’

Moral of the story, one chops away at one’s preconceptions and attachments.’

Okay. Good advice. Though I prefer the four noble truth's concept of letting go, in the case of practicality it's a fair cop. Paul said when he was a baby he had baby food, though I don't think it was Gerber, and as an adult he caught hell for eating meat, which he thought was kind of silly but said to keep the ignorant from becoming confused he would go ahead and not eat meat devoted to pagan gods.

Robert Zimmerman said they persecuted Jesus too and they told him you ain't him.

In the 60s 70 Japanese Zen became popular. As I remember this one.

A new student meets his teacher and is given a koan, a sort of riddle or puzzle that the student has to answer.

The master says ‘What is the sound of one hand clapping?’.

The student returns and started to recite a logical analytical explanation. The master hits him on the head with his rice bowl and tells him to come back and try again.

The student returns, sits down, and simply waves one hand back and forth. The master smiles.

I used a more vulgar but not so subtle animated emoji image to you in another thread.

As to wisdom literature the bible as it is is coarse and inconsistent. From what I read stores like Job were teaching stories used by teachers.

The bible is hopelessly incomplete as to what was taught and written in ancient Jewish culture,.

Which is why there is all the Christian interpretations with all the conflicts. Anyone can read the bible and become a moral authority of god.

If one reads only the bible for 30 years one has no context trom other traditions.

I am not all that well read as some are, but I read enough to see the bible and Christianity in a context

Alright then. I'm glad we could have this little chat.

 

[steve_bank]

I have never read Dawkins or any atheist authors on atheism. I watched a few minutes of an interviewee He seemed more agnostic than atheist, but who cares.

I don't watch radon videos posted. How does the bible affect YOUR life and how you live in the world?

That is all you have for bible life wisdom after 30 years of study?

 

[DLH]

How does the bible affect YOUR life and how you live in the world?

Why are you always asking me that? I don't get it. How does the bible affect YOUR life and how you live in the world? How does Frank Herbert's Dune or Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's series affect MY life and how I live in the world? How does anything I've read? How does my having read many of your posts affect my life and how I live in the world?

I have never read Dawkins or any atheist authors on atheism. I watched a few minutes of an interviewee He seemed more agnostic than atheist, but who cares. I don't watch radon videos posted.

This is sort of interesting to me. Why don't you watch random videos? Random? Do you mean videos posted by specific people or of a specific subject? Who cares about Richard Dawkins? I certainly don't.

That is all you have for bible life wisdom after 30 years of study?

Wisdom? I have wisdom?

I think one of the problems I have with people who are either opposed to or a part of Christendom is very much the same, and I think the reason for that is that there is some sort of odd connection to the Bible that to me seems fabricated, regarding I guess what we could call morality? Like reading the Bible is some transcendental or metaphysical experience which somehow provokes some sort of pretense in morality. And the opposition goes wild as if a Chimp who has been left out of a gift exchange.

 

[steve_bank]

You do not understand the question?

You insist the bible is the words of a god.

God says to live a certain way in the bible. Do you live by god's rules?

How will you measure up to how you lived on Judgement Day?

I can begin to go trough the moral dictates attributed to Jesus who you think will return and '
'the world will feel his precedence'.

Do you live by the words of Jesus?

If not then what is the point of 30 years of bible study and all your posts?

Back to cognitive dissonance. You quote and promote the bible but you do not live by the bible.

To paraphrase Jesus. 'do as they say not what they do' referring to those he called hypocrites.

So again, how do the words in the bible guide your life? Something basic like the 10 Commandments?

Jesus condemned fornication and reinforced the Mosaic laws on divorce. Is it acceptable to divorce your wife when get tired of her?

If you can;t or will not answer then I label you as a fraud.

Are yiu making money somewhere on all this?

 

[DLH]

You do not understand the question?​

I don't understand the nature of the question and I doubt the sincerity of who is asking and their reasoning behind it. You want to expose a believer as a hypocrite, and thus the same for the religion? I'm a sinner. We're all sinners. I'm a hypocrite. I don't put on a show of pretense for the unbeliever or the believer. I'm like the tax collector, not the Pharisee. You can find lots of things wrong with me, my beliefs and my words. I see mistakes in every post I make. I'm full of shit like everyone else. And the religion? Apostate Christianity? Bullshit. Only a fool would be a Christian or be offended by Christianity. It's (your objection, believer vs unbeliever) about control. It's foolish.

Someone on a forum once said to me that I needed to get over myself. I told him I got over myself years ago, and that he was the one that needed to get over me. You need to get over me. I'm not your scapegoat, I'm not your ideological enemy, I'm not towering over you on a pedestal, I'm not here to "judge," "save," or "convert" you. I'm interested in what you think, and more so why you think it but I don't care about you or specifically what you think about me. I'm a fucker, I'm a cunt, I'm real.

When I first got online someone on a forum accused me of hiding behind anonymity, so I started posting my real email and street address, name and telephone number. I used to taunt atheists for fun. Get as fucked up as I could on whiskey and weed and just taunt them for fun. I didn't pretend to be good. I told them they better hurry because I have a bottle in one hand and a pipe in the other and I will be blacked out very shortly.

You're not going to get pretense with me. I don't put on a show for anyone.
​

You insist the bible is the words of a god.​

Yes, for what that's worth. The Bible is the fallible imperfect translation of Jehovah God's infallible perfect word. His message to humanity.
​

God says to live a certain way in the bible. Do you live by god's rules?​

Where does it say that, exactly? Rules? You mean the 10 commandments? Those were rules long ago, before Christ but not after. Do I live by them no longer as rules but instead as a guide, an example? Yes. So did Adam, Moses, David, Solomon, the disciples. Adam disobeyed God because he was afraid of being alone, and then he tried to blame Eve and God himself for it. Moses killed a man for insulting his father, in his rage he neglected to give Jehovah credit for the water from a rock and so he didn't set foot in the promised land he himself led the people to. David sent a good man to certain death so he could fuck the man's wife even though he already had multiple wives. Solomon, who was given great wisdom by God himself - I don't even want to go there.

You see?

This is all bullshit. You are simply projecting the false sense of morality the uninformed apostate Christians have thrust upon you because you feel threatened and insulted by it. It's nothing to do with me.
​

How will you measure up to how you lived on Judgement Day?​

Judgment day is a one-thousand-year period in which those throughout human history that haven't had the opportunity to judge for themselves are allowed to do so. People who lived in places and times where the message wasn't received. Thus, the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous Paul referred to at Acts 34:15. Judgment day for you and I and our contemporaries is right now. We judge ourselves here. Today.

As an unbeliever I was much more moral than after I became a believer. I went through a period of time I call "Dark Days." Not very original, is it? Drugs, alcohol, promiscuous homosexuality. For a time, I realized that to abstain from homosexuality was beyond my faith and ability. I had no illusions as to where that put me in God's eyes. I chose that lifestyle over God knowing full well my responsibility. Knowing the result.
​

I can begin to go trough the moral dictates attributed to Jesus who you think will return and '
'the world will feel his precedence'.​

No. You can't. Because nowhere in scripture is Jesus meant to return. He did what he came to do. He accomplished it. Precedence? You mean presence?
​

Do you live by the words of Jesus?​

Live by words? Which words? I'm a sinner. We are all sinners. I'm no part of the world, as he and his followers are no part of the world.
​

If not then what is the point of 30 years of bible study and all your posts?​

Point? I examine it. I correct myself. I learn.
​

Back to cognitive dissonance. You quote and promote the bible but you do not live by the bible.​

You don't know how I live and you don't know the Bible. You project bullshit because you're ignorant and petty. Notice that most people here at IIDB are not interested in what I or the Bible or God or Jesus or you say about the subject? @steve_bank and @pood are upset with fake morals and in a sense beholding to them. @Politesse is apparently very slightly interested on an academic or intellectual level, perhaps having to do with social interests and perhaps with a nomenclature of godly proportions quotes a king with a great truth you should consider. The truth about stories is that that's all we are. @DBT I think actually has a genuine interest that pesters him/her. @ideologyhunter is a drive by court jester with a nasty disposition. Me? I'm a little misunderstood. Neither here nor there.

They call me the seeker. I've been looking low and high. I asked . . . . never mind. I've run that into the ground. I think it's time for Phase III don't you? Huh?
​

To paraphrase Jesus. 'do as they say not what they do' referring to those he called hypocrites.​

Hypocrite. From the Greek "one who answers." Roman and Greek theatre where everything was magnified. Costumes, bullhorns, props. A big show. Think about it steve_banks. What do I say? Am I putting on a show? Oddly enough, I am not. What you see is what you get. I may use costumes, bullhorns and props, but not to impress.
​

So again, how do the words in the bible guide your life? Something basic like the 10 Commandments?​

More like Micah 5:8. When we think of humble, we think lowly, modest. And while that's true, it can also become a show in and of itself. False modesty. To the ancient Hebrew apparently it meant to be aware of one's own strengths and weaknesses. Self-aware would be a more accurate translation.
​

Jesus condemned fornication and reinforced the Mosaic laws on divorce. Is it acceptable to divorce your wife when get tired of her?​

No. Nor to fornicate.
​

If you can;t or will not answer then I label you as a fraud.​

You should do that. We are all frauds. We play stories out, masks and costumes we change accordingly.
​

Are yiu making money somewhere on all this?​

No. In fact, my site has no advertising. I won't allow it. I used to pay for my web hosting and domain myself, but I've once again abandoned the idea of such a thing being useful and the joy of actually doing it has subsided. In the past I have spent thousands on advertising and numerous hours perfecting Search Engine Optimization, but that was silly. Also, you may have not noticed that at the bottom of each page is a license agreement that allows anyone to copy the text of the site so long as they don't charge for it. I used to have a disclaimer which read:
​

Fair Use
This website contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner, though credited to the owner wherever possible. Such material is used here in an effort to assist in the research and instruction contained in the website. This constitutes a fair use of such material as provided in section 107 of the US copyright law, but applies only to the videos and images used throughout the website, and not the original written material therein. The original written material is licensed under a Creative Commons attribution non-commercial share alike 4.0 international license and may be used without permission so long as you agree not to use it strictly for commercial purposes and that you allow others to do the same. Freely you have received and so freely give. (Matthew 10:8) Put simply, I don't own or have authority over the images, videos and written material attributed to other people on this site; I do own and have authority over the written material here that is mine and you are free to use it as you wish so long as you do so freely and afford others the same opportunity.

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. If your image has been used here which you wish to have removed, please notify the website owner through email and it will be removed.

 

[steve_bank]

The possibilities are

1. You are incompetent and do not know what you are doing.
2. You do know what you are doing and are essentially dishonest and unethical.
3. You are a crackpot bible thumped.

It is a toss up but I lean to #3.

 

[DLH]

The possibilities are

1. You are incompetent and do not know what you are doing.
2. You do know what you are doing and are essentially dishonest and unethical.
3. You are a crackpot bible thumped.

It is a toss up but I lean to #3.

1. You're a phony hypocrite without the sense to know what you're talking about.
2. This isn't about us. It's about something bigger. Fake ideology.
3. You are a crackpot Bible thumped.

All of the above.

Phase III

 

[ideologyhunter]

​

​

​

​

​

You don't know how I live and you don't know the Bible. You project bullshit because you're ignorant and petty. Notice that most people here at IIDB are not interested in what I or the Bible or God or Jesus or you say about the subject? @steve_bank and @pood are upset with fake morals and in a sense beholding to them. @Politesse is apparently very slightly interested on an academic or intellectual level, perhaps having to do with social interests and perhaps with a nomenclature of godly proportions quotes a king with a great truth you should consider. The truth about stories is that that's all we are. @DBT I think actually has a genuine interest that pesters him/her. @ideologyhunter is a drive by court jester with a nasty disposition. Me? I'm a little misunderstood. Neither here nor there.

​

There must be some place on earth where you can post these long insufferable jeremiads without getting mocked. This isn't it. Why are you still coming to our playground?
"Drive by court jester with a nasty disposition"...you made my day!! Thank you. That tells me that my Phase I has been successful, and now on to Phase II. I'm walkin' on air.

 

[DLH]

There must be some place on earth where you can post these long insufferable jeremiads without getting mocked. This isn't it. Why are you still coming to our playground?

This isn't your playground anymore, it's mine.

"Drive by court jester with a nasty disposition"...you made my day!! Thank you.

You are most welcome, sir.

That tells me that my Phase I has been successful, and now on to Phase II. I'm walkin' on air.

Excellent!

 

[pood]

The possibilities are

1. You are incompetent and do not know what you are doing.
2. You do know what you are doing and are essentially dishonest and unethical.
3. You are a crackpot bible thumped.

It is a toss up but I lean to #3.

1. You're a phony hypocrite without the sense to know what you're talking about.
2. This isn't about us. It's about something bigger. Fake ideology.
3. You are a crackpot Bible thumped.

All of the above.

Phase III

Ladies and gentlemen, we have officially entered Phase III!!!

 

[pood]

And it’s no longer our playground! We have been assimilated into the Yay Hovah Hive Mind!

 

[DLH]

Phase III

Ladies and gentlemen, we have officially entered Phase III!!!

And the crowd goes wild!

 

[DLH]

And it’s no longer our playground! We have been assimilated into the Yay Hovah Hive Mind!

It's so adorable that you think that bothers me. It's similar to the Turkish or Indonesian, isn't it.

 

[ideologyhunter]

A Prophecy! (Trumpet Fanfare)
A prophecy.
I. Phase III will be a series of faith manifestos of such poetic virtuosity that our first reaction will be, What was that? Did I just hear the voice of God?
II. Our second reaction will be, "I think I just glimpsed the ultimate truth. HE'S RIGHT. He's right about the ancient texts. They aren't daffy. Jehovah isn't a dipshit."
III. Mass conversions on bent knees. iidb becomes dlhfb.org (fb = fan base). The site opens a store with DLH merch, starting with a leather bound, limited edition anthology of all his posts. Politesse finds him a spot as professor of theology and hygiene at a community college.
IV. The fans become so obsessed and inquisitive that it is revealed that DLH is actually a domestic long hair cat with a smoky coat, insolent green eyes, and a long swishing tail. The cat has access to a laptop, and the rest is history.
V. Some of you in the generation reading this now will be alive when this comes to pass.
VI. On the other hand, I am a drive by court jester with a nasty disposition. You must decide if my heart has been changed.
VII. -- End of prophecy --

 

[pood]

The DLH merch will have to include copies of the Oxford Dictionary signed by DLH, with the definition “God is a theater balcony” marked off with a red circle. .

 

[DLH]

The DLH merch will have to include copies of the Oxford Dictionary signed by DLH, with the definition “God is a theater balcony” marked off with a red circle. .

Like Trump's Bible, all gold and shit just to piss the idiots off. A forward by steve_bank and embossed with DLH.

 

[DLH]

A Prophecy! (Trumpet Fanfare)
A prophecy.
I. Phase III will be a series of faith manifestos of such poetic virtuosity that our first reaction will be, What was that? Did I just hear the voice of God?

Quote the opposite. Phase III is a simple approach. A practical look. I'm working on the evolution thread for @pood even as we speak in another tab.

II. Our second reaction will be, "I think I just glimpsed the ultimate truth. HE'S RIGHT. He's right about the ancient texts. They aren't daffy. Jehovah isn't a dipshit."

No. I wouldn't want to do that. Why would I? It would be like inviting the swine to the banquet.

III. Mass conversions on bent knees. iidb becomes dlhfb.org (fb = fan base). The site opens a store with DLH merch, starting with a leather bound, limited edition anthology of all his posts.

You guys really take me seriously as you think you are, don't you?! Or not. To you it's a joke. You think it isn't to me? Packaging is important. No leather bound, more like perforate it, we'll put it on a roll.

Politesse finds him a spot as professor of theology and hygiene at a community college.

I would rather die than suffer such indignity. Y'all may be a joke, but I'm not a comedian or a shill for stupid.

IV. The fans become so obsessed and inquisitive that it is revealed that DLH is actually a domestic long hair cat with a smoky coat, insolent green eyes, and a long swishing tail. The cat has access to a laptop, and the rest is history.

This I like. It's almost funny.

V. Some of you in the generation reading this now will be alive when this comes to pass.

Is it too difficult for you to read? Ask @Politesse to explain it to you. He got it. Apparently.

VI. On the other hand, I am a drive by court jester with a nasty disposition. You must decide if my heart has been changed.

It isn't your heart. It's your brain.

VII. -- End of prophecy --

No.

 

[Politesse]

Politesse finds him a spot as professor of theology and hygiene at a community college.

Only if he meets the min quals and the Board approves a new department formation.

 

[DLH]

Politesse finds him a spot as professor of theology and hygiene at a community college.

Only if he meets the min quals and the Board approves a new department formation.

If they have room for it after Nordic Lesianism or Memeology. What a joke. Pony up some cash and any dipshit with a PhD will spout any bullshit you want or need.

Unlike this forum which is free.