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How were you taught? The Bible, religious vs historical - 7/5/2008 10:20:40 PM
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MamaPyratekk
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From: NC
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I couldn't think of a title that quite captured what I was going for, but I did my best haha.
Anyhow, I was thinking back to my childhood recently. I was thinking about how even when I shunned Christianity (during my mid teens up until less than a year ago), and even when I was at one point a practicing Pagan (for about a year at age 18), I still prayed to God. I recently decided to think about why I did this exactly. I realized that when I grew up, I never was taught the Bible as a religious text per se. My grandparents who raised me never really seemed religious. Though looking back I realize that they actually taught me biblical stories as more of history lessons. So even during my period of darkness, when I was far from the Lord, I still believed in everything the Bible said...I was just choosing not to follow it. I know that may sound odd, but that's the realization I've come to.
Anyhow, so I'm curious...if you grew up in a Christian home...
Were you taught the Bible as it being a religious text, a historical text, or both? And how do you/will you teach it to your children?
((I hope this is in the right section, I wasn't sure where to ask it!))
_____________________________
~Christina~
Wife to Alex, Mom to Jacob, S2B Mom to Summer, Fur-Mom to Roxy, and Fishy-Mom to: Snuffy, Ernie, Oliver, Opal, and Loco
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RE: How were you taught? The Bible, religious vs histo... - 7/5/2008 10:59:23 PM
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LCannon
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From: Lebanon, OR
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Since I was born/raised in the 'church culture'(and thankfully so!)I suppose my education started as 'religious', a faith and belief pursuit, historical came later although my parents, family and associates were eager to make concrete applications from history and stories both personal and from the Bible.
_____________________________
"It may be that when the angels go about their task of praising God they play
only Bach. I am sure, however, that when they are together en famille they
play Mozart and then too our dear Lord listens with special pleasure."(Karl Barth)
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RE: How were you taught? The Bible, religious vs histo... - 7/6/2008 12:46:35 AM
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MrFribbles
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I would say both, if I understand correctly.
I was raised to understand the stories in the Bible as being literally, historically true, but I also knew they were more than just true historic stories - they definitely held religious value, too.
Does that answer your question?
_____________________________
You're a door without a key,
A field without a fence.
You've made a holy fool of me,
And I've thanked you ever since.
- Aaron Weiss
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RE: How were you taught? The Bible, religious vs histo... - 7/6/2008 8:58:54 AM
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mvic
Posts: 1547
Joined: 1/17/2008
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The Bible was taught to me as a book of Faith and not necessarily a book of facts. Sure, it is inspired by God but it does not necessarily mean that every word is true fact.
Let me explain before I'm attacked from all quarters.
The Bible was not written in English. When it was written they did not have recording equipment as we have now. A lot of the writing was as a result of interviews by word of mouth, after Jesus died and was resurrected - e.g. the Gospel of Luke. So there is plenty of room for errors in translation and interpretation of local dialects and idioms.
For example - when someone has a tantrum today we say "keep your hair on"; meaning calm down, take it easy, stop that. We don't expect many years from now future generations to interpret this saying as an admonition to cutting or shaving one's hair or beards do we? Otherwise Jean Luke Picard will be in real trouble!
Similarly, there are plenty of sayings and passages in the Bible which we should not take too literally.
Hence, it is a book of Faith, inspired by God, to teach us the way to get to Him.
_____________________________
Christian words of comfort at http://www.holyvisions.co.uk
Welcome to my Blog
MEI VITA INDICO CHRISTUS
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RE: How were you taught? The Bible, religious vs histo... - 7/6/2008 11:15:58 AM
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makarizo
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tough question...hmmmmm
I was raised in a super ultra conservative religious house. and a statement like that says absolute nothing about the love of Christ..... it should, but it doesn't.
we never missed church, had devotions on a regular basis, broke bread together, watched, and listened to religious programs. my father was very involved in church.
and in the midst of all that do good, supposed to, ceremony stuff, hidden behind the walls of our house, was an abused boy who felt soooooo unloved, so rejected.
God was good to me, and let me (I was able to) read the bible at a very early age (4) KJV and all, and it was there that I found a Saviour who loved me, accepted me, made His home in me, died for me, and saved me.
i have often wondered what a person really means when they say they are "saved"
the simple answer to your question is this - I was taught as a child (by my parents) that the bible is a religious book filled with rules that many people will go to hell for not keeping.
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RE: How were you taught? The Bible, religious vs histo... - 7/6/2008 1:55:20 PM
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Covaan_Meshuga
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I was reared to pay more attention to what the church said about the Bible than what the Bible had to say. According to the way I was reared, what the person in the pulpit said was G-d's words to my ears no matter what the Bible said, and what the church decided took precedence over what the Bible said. If I had an argument against what the church/preacher said, because I believe the Bible said something else, I was invariably wrong.
Today, I don't give a hoot what any leader says/does if it doesn't line up with the Bible. If these do not line up in every way, they need to revise their thoughts/actions until they do line up. And I need to do the same.
As a grandmother, yes, I look back at how I taught my children and cringe. I reared them far differently than I was reared, but I still taught them that what the church said was everything. Fortunately, my children, as adults, were smart enough to leave that church, one at the same time I did and one a bit later.
_____________________________
Abiyah
"Ladies and gentlemen, there are things that you will only be able to learn by the weakest among us, and when you snuff them out, you are the one that loses." ~~Gianna Jesson, 1977 LA, CA, saline abortion survivor
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RE: How were you taught? The Bible, religious vs histo... - 7/7/2008 12:39:09 AM
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blueshadow
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From: Texas
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Hmm...This is a difficult question for me to answer.
I don't remember really being taught the Bible. When I was 5-ish, I was in AWANA and memorized Bible verses. I learned all the Bible stories little children generally do, and I thought they were cool stories and liked the fact that I knew them. After that, though, I always read the Bible of my own volition. I'm pretty sure I always read it as the truth, and important, because God is real. Even today I tend to read the Bible pretty literally and dislike certain theological ideas like that of the "documentary hypothesis."
So I guess I was taught/taught myself that the Bible was both religious and historical.
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RE: How were you taught? The Bible, religious vs histo... - 7/7/2008 2:17:31 AM
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Annie64
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From: Indianapolis, IN
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quote:
ORIGINAL: MrFribbles
I would say both, if I understand correctly.
I was raised to understand the stories in the Bible as being literally, historically true, but I also knew they were more than just true historic stories - they definitely held religious value, too.
Does that answer your question?
Ditto. And that is what I still believe and have taught my children as well.
_____________________________
On Christ the solid rock I stand
ALL other ground is sinking sand.
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RE: How were you taught? The Bible, religious vs histo... - 7/17/2008 11:07:42 AM
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lightbeamrider
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Having been raised Catholic i was taught biblical accounts as historical fact. Jesus Christ as a historical figure born of virgin crucified and resurrected from the dead. Many do not take scripture as literal history because it contains supernatural events. The supernatural is rejected from the get go and is relegated to the realm of fiction...santa clause and the easter bunny. Most wrongly assume scripture is like the book Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell. A fictional story based on actual history. Some seperate secular history and sacred history, in the former, the supernatural is not allowed and in the latter the supernatural is. Folks who reject scripture based on the supernatural reject it now and 2000 yrs ago. Even as an unbeliever i did not, outright, reject the supernatural. When it came to the supernatural i was agnostic, it could neither be proven or disproven. Have noticed Bibles are sold in the non fiction section of Barnes and Nobel while Gone With The Wind and The DaVinci Code are to be found in the fiction section. Certainly the first 4 verses in Luke indicates literal history. Ancient writers had their own way of putting things down and it is ethnocentric of us to reject their accounts based on 21st century standards. In 1899, Physicist Lord Kelvin is quoted as saying..."Radio has no future. Heavier than air flying machines are impossible. X-Rays will prove to be a hoax." Admiral William Leahy said..."The (atomic) bomb will never go off. I speak as an expert in explosives." Folks can be sincerely wrong.
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RE: How were you taught? The Bible, religious vs histo... - 7/17/2008 12:59:25 PM
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Covaan_Meshuga
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From: a mother who let me live
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quote:
ORIGINAL: I-Luv-My-Flowers
I learned everything as historical fact. When I was little my Mom read to me from the Picture Bible (a comic book of the major bible stories) and after I read that maybe ten times on my own did I finally tackle the Bible and see it as a "religious" text.
I had an extremely difficult time understanding the old testament stories (particularly wars with other peoples that don't exist anymore) and having a good grounding in my Picture Bible before-hand helped me to grasp the religious significance when I read my Bible.
Charity! Thank you for writing that! I am a strong advocate of the Picture Bible, and every time I bring it up, I get brushed off. Now, I am reading what you have said, relating directly to the fact that the Picture Bible benefitted you! Thank you!
I gave this Bible to my children, when they were children. I have given it to children and to those with learning disabilities. I will continue to give it. Probably because of you.
_____________________________
Abiyah
"Ladies and gentlemen, there are things that you will only be able to learn by the weakest among us, and when you snuff them out, you are the one that loses." ~~Gianna Jesson, 1977 LA, CA, saline abortion survivor
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