I would disagree with this. And it's not just pedantic trivia or Biblical inerrancy, but because it seriously affects pretty much everyone's approach to the Bible.
You see, I learned that Abraham has a very odd backstory, and I also learned about the historical context he was born into. While the details are important and fascinating, what I also learned is that that backstory is virtually entirely ignored.
I came to realize that people did not want to wrestle with such a thing because it affected how they treated the Bible. One the one hand, some wanted to dismiss it as fairy tales. On the other, it was just a series or morality tales, even if they made noise about how "true" the Bible was. With a morality tale, they could pretty much read into it whatever morality they cared to.
I took the narrower path, and entered in at the strait gate. My approach was, "Hey, I think these things really happened. Now, the stories may be distorted, corrupted over time, and even edited, and we have to do the difficult and uncertain work of undoing that. But we should be very reluctant to take anything from these stories until that work is done."
I suppose this all comes ultimately from self-interest, and my point is to invite others to go in at the strait gate. That way I won't be alone. I do feel like I will not get many takers.
Old testament vs. New testament
I would disagree with this. And it's not just pedantic trivia or Biblical inerrancy, but because it seriously affects pretty much everyone's approach to the Bible.
You see, I learned that Abraham has a very odd backstory, and I also learned about the historical context he was born into. While the details are important and fascinating, what I also learned is that that backstory is virtually entirely ignored.
I came to realize that people did not want to wrestle with such a thing because it affected how they treated the Bible. One the one hand, some wanted to dismiss it as fairy tales. On the other, it was just a series or morality tales, even if they made noise about how "true" the Bible was. With a morality tale, they could pretty much read into it whatever morality they cared to.
I took the narrower path, and entered in at the strait gate. My approach was, "Hey, I think these things really happened. Now, the stories may be distorted, corrupted over time, and even edited, and we have to do the difficult and uncertain work of undoing that. But we should be very reluctant to take anything from these stories until that work is done."
I suppose this all comes ultimately from self-interest, and my point is to invite others to go in at the strait gate. That way I won't be alone. I do feel like I will not get many takers.
You didn’t leave Christianity though, that’s the new covenant, you left Judaism.
Reading the Bible as a child, I so many wtf moments. I couldn't believe the adults acted like the material was normal..