pro/anti prejudices and the bible (for VanHoose)

Joseph Crea Joseph.Crea@worldnet.att.net
Sat, 31 Jan 1998 06:15:00 +0000 (00886248900, 19980131061458.AAA22858@LOCALNAME) 

Hello, Pat!

At 11:58 PM 1/30/98 -0500, vanhoose wrote:

>vanhoose wrote:

>> 

>> Phipps, John wrote:

>> 

>> > Getting to the bible... you (I am assuming) believe that the bible is a

>> > message from the creator of the universe.  If that is true, it is the

>> > most super amazing thing ever... but can you give me a good reason to

>> > think that this book you have is *really* what christianity says it is,

>> > rather than just some thing written by ordinary people?

>> 

>> PAT

>>   Dear John,

>> These are some of the facts about the Bible that seem to me to indicate

>> that it could not have simply been written by human beings:

>>   1. It was written over the course of 1600 years and 60 generations.

>>   2. It was written by more than 40 people.  these people were, among

>> other things, kings, fishermen, scholars, and peasants.

>>   3. God, through the Holy Spirit, directed some authors to write his

>> message immediately and allowed others to pass on his message through

>> the generations.

>>   4. The Bible was written on three continents - Asia, Africa, and

>> Europe - and in many different types of places such as prisons, palaces,

>> in the wilderness, and on the road.

>>   5. The Bible was written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and

>> Greek.

>>   6. The Bible includes history, prayers, worship songs, poems,

>> prophecies, and letters.

>>   7. Biblical authors wrote about many controversial subjects yet

>> maintained one consistent theme: God loves us and forgives us for our

>> sins.

>> 

>> This would be like having a book that was begun around 400 A.D. in the

>> "Dark Ages" and after having parts added on until the present, come up

>> with a volume that has the same theme running through the entire book.



CREA
    As I've mentioned before on this list, various recensions (Chinese &
Tibetan) of the Tripitaka (Buddhist canon) are definitely in the running
according to your criteria.  However, as you have been so methodical as to
list them, I felt that it would only be right to respond with equal
attention to details.

   (1) Parts were "composed" as early as the 6th century BCE, and texts
continued to be added to the canon (in the Tibetan canon as "Terma" hidden
texts) even in this century.  This covers some 2,500 years rather than your
paltry 1,600 years.  

    (2) The number of authors is signifcantly greater than 40 (the
Theraagatha & Therigatha portions alone, lists more than 100 authors).
    
    (3)  Buddha, as the eternal Dharma-kaaya, acting through his
Sambogha-kaaya and his Nirmaa.na-kaaya directed some authors to write his
message immediately and others (Nagaajuna, for example) composed works that
were hidden until it was the proper time for them to be revealed (see also
the various Terma texts).

    (4)  While the Tripitaka was written/composed on only one continent, the
area involved is easily equal to or greater than that involved in the
production of the Bible.

     (5)  The texts of the Tripitaka are recorded in Pa.li, Sanksrit,
Prakrit, Tibetan, and Chinese.

    (6)  The Tripitaka also includes a wide variety of literary forms:
history, praises to the Buddha, poetry, prophecies, and letters, to name a few.

    (7)  The "authors" of the Tripitaka wrote, as well, about many
controversial subjects and yet maintained one consistent theme:  The
Suffering found in life and how to bring it to an end through enlightenment.



With Mettaa,

Joseph Crea
<Joseph.Crea@worldnet.att.net>