The Bible is the most important book of all time

Let's be clear about several things first. I said that there simply isn't much in the way of wisdom in the Bible. A few bits here and there, but for the most part if you open the book to a random page you'll more likely find somebody being killed than some wisdom staring back at you. I never said meaningless, just lacking in the meaning you seem to want apt to give it. I said the Bible is not filled with wisdom on every page. This statement, is acceptable by anybody who has read the books of the Bible, or even just some part of the begats. As for the things you say are "INCREDIBLY important" I will accept that morality is important. However, I don't believe that has anything to do with religion. Religion and morality have about as much to do with each other as eye color and eye sight. I said that the Poor Richard's Almanack had more wisdom. Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy wealthy and wise. In fact, if they followed Poor Richard's they might have better advice as far as religion goes: "God helps those who help themselves." You pull a bizarre theory out of your hind-end about Jesus running away to India and learning about the Buddha. First off, no. Secondly, hell no. Finally, the fact that you can find equally wise fragments in the teachings of the Buddha is evidence for my original claim: there's no special amazing wisdom in the Bible. In fact, you're going to a lot of trouble to claim that Jesus was a plagiarizing fool. The first is a description in contrast to the one of John the Baptist. The next few are the extremely widely known ones, great commandment, few bits from the sermon on the mount, the golden rule. Okay, you've cited .001% of the Bible, and already needed to go for the bits everybody knows! On top of that there are some just bad advice in there: Don't be a slave to two masters? How about don't own slaves? That could have saved us a civil war. I never said their weren't good bits. I said that they weren't original and they weren't frequent. You cited the three bits everybody knows as your evidence against this, and on top of that cited them with similar quotes from an outside source which predates the Christian gospels? Which case are you trying to make here, the Bible is an important book or that the teachings of Buddha are more important and Jesus was just a wisdom thief? "The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." - Oddly enough, this is the reason the Witnesses don't celebrate Christmas, it is too cold to have sheep out during December. >>"Instead of just smearing the good Christians of the world as the rest of the scum liberal socialist media do" I confine my words to religion. And in this case, I was pointing out that the Bible had infrequent bits of wisdom and they weren't original. That point is one you aptly proved by picking out all the main bits and showing how the Buddha had them first. --------------------------------------------------------------- Somehow you pretend I made a number of claims that I clearly did not and attack a straw man. Not only a straw man, but you attacked my statement with a good argument in favor of the statement. Aside from your odd sort of rant, there are several clear problems with your argument. First, the Bible is a set of books, not a book. You are confusing the Bible with Christianity. Throughout most of Christian history the Bible was unreadable by the common people. It wasn't until Martin Luther that anybody outside of the priests got access to the book. Certainly there's an argument to be made that Christianity is a major force in world history. You seem to just be ranting against straw men of things I never argued and proving original case at the same time. You seem to argue that the teachings of the Buddha are more important then the Bible. I would argue that Origin of Species (origin of Biology), Principia (origin of Physics), On the Spirit of Laws (origin of modern democracies), and the dictionary are all extremely important in real and demonstrative ways. The Bible, as seen today, is more of a concept than a book. I mean, if you had read the Bible, and took what is in the Bible to be the meaning of the Bible we wouldn't be having this debate. The concept that the Bible is this all-wise source of wisdom and ethics is the myth I was trying to correct. It's not a book, it's a collection of books and a lot of them aren't very good. The good bits are few and far between. The importance of the Bible isn't as a book, it's as a concept. Actually reading the book is a great path to atheism. However, using the book as a rallying call for Christianity is important. Frankly, for all the importance you put on the book and has been put on the book, it could be blank. For most of history nobody was able to read, for much more of it they weren't allowed to read, and nowadays those who do go to great lengths to avoid vast tracts of the Bible. Let me put this into perspective. Randomly chosen (each book given a number using a script give me a random number between the two, then a random number between the different chapters), 1 Chronicles 25: 25:1 Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was: 25:2 Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, which prophesied according to the order of the king. 25:3 Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise the LORD."The sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six." 25:4 Of Heman: the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamtiezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth: 25:5 All these were the sons of Heman the king's seer in the words of God, to lift up the horn. And God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. 25:6 All these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the king's order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman. 25:7 So the number of them, with their brethren that were instructed in the songs of the LORD, even all that were cunning, was two hundred fourscore and eight. 25:8 And they cast lots, ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar. 25:9 Now the first lot came forth for Asaph to Joseph: the second to Gedaliah, who with his brethren and sons were twelve: 25:10 The third to Zaccur, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: 25:11 The fourth to Izri, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: 25:12 The fifth to Nethaniah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: 25:13 The sixth to Bukkiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: 25:14 The seventh to Jesharelah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: 25:15 The eighth to Jeshaiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: 25:16 The ninth to Mattaniah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: 25:17 The tenth to Shimei, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: 25:18 The eleventh to Azareel, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: 25:19 The twelfth to Hashabiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ... Overflowing with wisdom? Go ahead and try it yourself. The concept of the Bible makes it important, the book is largely unimportant. Even after being able to read it, most people today don't... and rightly so.