Are religious texts being taken out of context?

[Demon-Xanth]

From reading stories about what actually happened in regard to a story in the bible, reading biblical stories, as well as other religious stories I have come to the conclusion:

Books such as the bible and it's equivilents are a collection of moral stories and folk lore that is often based on actual events and/or natural phenomena.

Examples:
The "Burning Bush" could've easily been a bush native to the middle easy that spreads it's sees by releasing a flammable vapor and waiting for a spark (such as one caused by a falling rock) to ignite it. When the bush is burned it kills any neighboring plants (as they are killed as well) and opens the seed pods. This is an actual phenomena that isn't really seen elsewhere (bush spontaneously combusting)

Noah's flood was the creation of the black sea. It was passed around orally for a couple thousand years through a few cultures before making it into the bible.

Sodam and Gamora were destroyed, two people were ordered to leave and not look back, one looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. Lesson? Don't look back when walking away from a bad situation.


These lead me to believe that the sources such as the bible are a good place for a historical reference and a source for moral lessons. Though they cannot always be taken literally.

Does anyone else share these views?

 

[GISTechnician]

No

 

[Smaulz]

 

[Pastore]

That is pretty close to a lot of peoples general view on religion. And, IMO I think it is probably the most accurate of all ideas.

But, there is really no way to tell, so I hope this doesn't turn into a flamefest.

 

[BigJohnKC]

<< No >>



Edit: my "No" is in response to your question you asked in your post, not to the question in the title. I think most people take religious texts out of context to prove their own point, and that's all religious texts, including the Bible. I say No to your proposition that the Bible is just a historical book, not the Word of God.

 

[ThePresence]

<<

<< No >>

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[vi edit]

*eyes the ten foot pole hanging on the wall*

 

[snooker]

I agree. It isn't that the 'characters' in these books are not real, but being of higher life with powers to control water etc...? Not likely.

I for one think we are not alone in this great expanse we are in called 'The Universe'.

Think about it. Our solar system is a tiny speck of dust in the Milky Way Galaxy, which is floating ever so closer to the Andromeda Galaxy and will collide with it in the far distant future. Those 2 galaxies are only 2 of thousands in the blackness of space. So earth being the only planet our here with life is definitly not so.