Are you really trying to dismiss the entire Bible as simply an attempt at mind control? Because if you are, I have no words.
I was very careful to specifically not do that in my post.
Now you're asking me if I'm trying to dismiss the
ENTIRE BIBLE as
simply an
attempt at
mind control.
If you're a bible guy or a God guy, that's fine. I got no problem with God people or Bible people.
There are plenty of ways to interpret scripture (even the devil can do so for his own purposes) for own needs.
But since you potentially "have no words" for something you essentially assumed about my intentions, this suggests a kind of emotional reaction to my OPINION.
Which suggests you may not question things as much as you'd like others to believe.
The idea of somebody having "no words" to another's opinion doesn't seem to jive with somebody who "questions everything."
Which is fine, makes no difference to me.
My opinion remains the same.
The bible (and other religious texts) CAN EASILY and HAS EASILY been used to make ruling others easier.
Scripture is very much a tool, not something that is self evidently true.
So quote the bible all you like, but don't expect people to share your interpretations.
The same passage can easily be used as a source of self driven inspiration AND a tool of oppression.
And when you talk about the SOURCE, they are passed down as oral tradition for generations before being written down.
And since all oral traditions were passed down by TRIBAL LEADERS, I would suggest that at the very least, the stories that were most likely to be passed down had, at the very least, some element in them that allowed those same tribal leaders to maintain their ruling power.
If you START with the assumption that scripture is GOD given, then this will upset you.
But that assumption has problems all on its own.
Like, how, specifically, did the ideas get from God's mind to the storyteller's mind? Did the storyteller go into a trance, and momentarily lose his free will?
Was it due to magic, beyond the comprehension of humans?
Were the laws of science temporarily suspended while it happened?
What is your opinion on this?
How, specifically, did the passage you quote come into being?
Once upon a time, that particular idea DID NOT EXIST ,and then a time later, it did.
What, specifically, happened in that intermediary time period?