Well, understand, that I was a "believer with reservations and needing some evidence." But, I put it on like a mantle and began to experiment with it. I figured that if there was any truth to the Jesus story, getting the best translation would get me closer to "the Word." That's when I discovered big problems and realized that people sure felt comfortable making stuff up.
I thought that too. However, after reading the archaeology and analyses I've listed above (and a whole lot more), I realized that the OT was a "created" history, retrojected into the past, and not much could be known about Israel/Judea by reading it. What could be studied would be the mental processes of those who made stuff up.
I sure read a lot of apologetic literature and, in the beginning, tried to accept it as reasonable. It wasn't, however, and anybody with firing neurons could see that, so I rapidly shifted gears. I decided that the more I knew about the whole topic, the better able I would be to see when an author was prestidigitating.
Well, I read enough by believers to not want to waste my time with it anymore.
But I find atheists and total mythicists to be equally annoying. Something motivated people to write that stuff, to imagine it, to present it as real, and that is more interesting to me.
It would be hard not to believe to some extent when you are brought up in a family that included "professionals" in the field. My great grandfather was not only a minister in the Methodist church, he was a professor of Greek at a theological seminary. The whole family was oriented around religious belief.
I also knew, from early in my life, that spirit was a real phenomenon because I had unusual experiences that could be assessed objectively.
I read enough literature from believers in preparation for writing FPTM and even cited a number of them therein if only as examples of what errors blind belief can lead to. There are many books I read but did not cite nor list in the Bibliography because there was nothing of real value in them. Nevertheless, I read them.
"Well, understand, that I was a "believer with reservations and needing some evidence." But, I put it on like a mantle and began to experiment with it. I figured that if there was any truth to the Jesus story, getting the best translation would get me closer to "the Word." That's when I discovered big problems and realized that people sure felt comfortable making stuff up."
I perfectly understand you needed proof. Hence my "fides quaerens intellectum". Also, I don't think it was just about you. I know that you had little children then and you probably wondered what you were going to say to them. You didn't want to tell them made-up tales, you wanted to tell them the truth, I guess.
“I thought that too. However, after reading the archaeology and analyses I've listed above (and a whole lot more), I realized that the OT was a "created" history, retrojected into the past, and not much could be known about Israel/Judea by reading it. What could be studied would be the mental processes of those who made stuff up.”
It is possible that I was not entirely clear when I wrote about the Bible as being relevant from a historical, cultural, and anthropological perspective. I knew about probable distortions quite a long time ago, my mother told me about it, who was also interested in this subject to some extent. Hence, when speaking of history, culture and anthropology, I mean that, first of all, for many people, the Bible is a historical work, while I was interested in where the authors drew their inspiration from, and how it could be related to the cultural background, and how explain myth-making from an anthropological perspective.
“I sure read a lot of apologetic literature and, in the beginning, tried to accept it as reasonable. It wasn't, however, and anybody with firing neurons could see that, so I rapidly shifted gears. I decided that the more I knew about the whole topic, the better able I would be to see when an author was prestidigitating.”
The point that amazes me the most is that I personally know professors of theology who have also read a lot in their lives, some of them also deal with archeology, others with historical research, and somehow, despite their extensive knowledge, there are some deeply believers among them. This is a phenomenon for me. I guess it's a psychological issue, some kind of denial, fear.
“Well, I read enough by believers to not want to waste my time with it anymore.
But I find atheists and total mythicists to be equally annoying. Something motivated people to write that stuff, to imagine it, to present it as real, and that is more interesting to me.”
I agree with every sentence you wrote here. Yes, atheists can be extremely irritating. One example for me is Richard Dawkins, who allegedly considers himself an atheist, but when I listen to his statements, I have the impression that he lacks every consistency in his views.
“It would be hard not to believe to some extent when you are brought up in a family that included "professionals" in the field. My great grandfather was not only a minister in the Methodist church, he was a professor of Greek at a theological seminary. The whole family was oriented around religious belief.
I also knew, from early in my life, that spirit was a real phenomenon because I had unusual experiences that could be assessed objectively.”
In my family there used to be strong religious traditions and there were also professors of theology and religious people there, but I am talking more about the generation of my great-grandparents. I was not brought up in faith anymore. My mother told me about inconsistencies in the Bible since I was a child, and when I was little she often read the literature on the subject.
As for mystical or paranormal experiences, it also applies to me from an early age, but I have never associated it with the Christian faith. I knew that there was something more in this world, something that lay beyond the visible edge, beyond the shell of materialism. Despite many experiences, I was always very skeptical. I tried to explain to myself rationally why I see some things and others do not see them, why I have prophetic dreams, why strange events are happening around me. What fully convinced me was the materialization of objects in front of my own eyes.
“I read enough literature from believers in preparation for writing FPTM and even cited a number of them therein if only as examples of what errors blind belief can lead to. There are many books I read but did not cite nor list in the Bibliography because there was nothing of real value in them. Nevertheless, I read them.”
Yes, I have noted some of the items you cite. So let's continue this journey! Thank you for another comprehensive answer, Laura.
