Religion

Act_of_Reparation

(9,116 posts)

40. Yes, explain to us dummies what history is.

Tue Dec 18, 2018, 08:20 AM

Dec 2018

History, by my reckoning, is an attempt to chronicle antecedent events to provide understanding for those who were not there, particularly future generations. There isn't a single book of the bible I've read that even remotely appears to serve this end. The ultimate goal is not historical understanding, but promulgation of religious belief. These are not historical chronicles. They are myths with real historical figures as characters. If we are to consider Exodus historical because Pharaoh was a real guy, we may as well move "Cold Mountain", "Dances With Wolves", and "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" over to the non-fiction section posthaste.

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If the Bible is primarily metaphorical or allegorical, it's a work of fiction. [View all] MineralMan Dec 2018 OP

keep swinging away don Fullduplexxx Dec 2018 #1

Don? MineralMan Dec 2018 #2

+1000 demosincebirth Dec 2018 #5

I think the whole question was best examined in this (admittedly fictitious) scene: DFW Dec 2018 #3

Very good, indeed! MineralMan Dec 2018 #4

My absolute most favorite scene in the entire series of West Wing!!!! nt AZ8theist Dec 2018 #16

I have many DFW Dec 2018 #17

I have many as well, ... AZ8theist Dec 2018 #20

I think CJ and the General is a little better, but this is close :) /nt LongtimeAZDem Dec 2018 #29

IMO it's for sure some of it was LSD inspired and/or written by psychos. And then there are the RKP5637 Dec 2018 #6

Reductio ad absurdum FBaggins Dec 2018 #7

So which one(s) don't include hocus pocus? Major Nikon Dec 2018 #10

An excellent question. MineralMan Dec 2018 #12

Or... Major Nikon Dec 2018 #15

Well, I saw a talking mule on TV. MineralMan Dec 2018 #23

Might be from the other side of the gene pool tho Major Nikon Dec 2018 #24

Which ones are "clearly historical"? Act_of_Reparation Dec 2018 #11

Another excellent question. MineralMan Dec 2018 #13

The point you're missing... FBaggins Dec 2018 #38

Oh, my... MineralMan Dec 2018 #39

Yes, explain to us dummies what history is. Act_of_Reparation Dec 2018 #40

What's absurd is any claim that any part of the Bible MineralMan Dec 2018 #14

Ah, c'mon, Mineral!! AZ8theist Dec 2018 #18

Well, there's that. MineralMan Dec 2018 #22

While they have found towns mentioned in the bible, Nantucket also exists, LakeSuperiorView Dec 2018 #21

Jesus metaphored over the Sea of Galilee, which does exist Major Nikon Dec 2018 #25

What, no cream cheese? LakeSuperiorView Dec 2018 #27

There had to be metaphorical condiments to go with the metaphorical lox. Major Nikon Dec 2018 #30

The schmear goes without saying. MineralMan Dec 2018 #33

I already dispute the "nonfiction" classification DFW Dec 2018 #19

Easier to pretend talking snakes, donkeys, and bushes are real Major Nikon Dec 2018 #28

History? edhopper Dec 2018 #31

There you have it. Fiction guarded WhiteTara Dec 2018 #8

More analogous to the Iliad & the Odyssey, IMO, but certainly you are correct. malchickiwick Dec 2018 #9

historical fiction... handmade34 Dec 2018 #26

God did not write edhopper Dec 2018 #32

Thank goodness. God spoke Elizabethan English. MineralMan Dec 2018 #34

And it was after the great vowel shift. edhopper Dec 2018 #35

Food for thought? guillaumeb Dec 2018 #36

Nothing wrong with leftovers. MineralMan Dec 2018 #37