Should the bible be used in arguments outside Christinaity

Framework: To win this debate I must show that the Bible ought to be used in arguments "outside" of Christianity. If I prove that the Bible ought to be used for any non-Christian purpose, I have won this debate. A) Social Sciences The Bible is a historical document like any other. It references a wide array of historical societies including the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Israelites, and Babylonians. As an ancient text it can be useful in historical investigations as a source for comparing and contrasting with other historical texts. The Bible also gives an excellent account of the ancient Israelites, detailing religious customs, laws, and important rulers. The mythical content of the Bible ought not invalidate it as a historical document since many ancient texts contain clearly unfactual content. The Iliad is just one example of a text with mythical components that is still used as a resource for historians [1]. B) Judaism and Islam The Old Testament of the Bible is a religious text in the religion of Judaism; the Bible is viewed as revelation from God by Muslims. The Bible then clearly has use outside of Christianity. [2] C) Jesus as Philosopher The sayings and parables of Jesus have philosophical content independent of the Christian religion. Many have drawn on the philosophy of Jesus as a strong argument for nonviolence and alternate forms of political resistance. Outside of Christianity there is plenty of room to evaluate the merits of Jesus as a philosopher alongside other ancient philosophers such as Seneca, Aristotle, and Hume. This point also means that the Bible is relevant in the public sphere of politics. We draw on philosophers like Locke for political guidance, it is equally justified to draw on Jesus. The nonviolent philosophy of Jesus was successfully implemented in the US to effect political change by the Civil Rights activist Martin Luther King. The strategies and arguments of MLK transcend religious divisions precisely because of the philosophical merits of Jesus. D) Religiously Inclusive Societies Societies such as the US are religiously inclusive- they include a range of religious groups. In order for such a society to function, these religious groups must cooperate and come to consensus. During the political process of consensus building it is useful for groups to communicate their interests and values with each other and to communicate the grounding for those interests and values. When Christianity is a part of a religiously inclusive society, the Bible is then necessarily and legitimately a part of the secular political discourse. To repeat the above in a more concrete sense: If an atheist, a Muslim, and a Christian are deciding when to meet to build a barn it is totally legitimate for the Muslim to say "the Koran asks us to rest on Friday" and for the Christian to say "the Bible asks us to respect the Sabbath. " The Bible becomes relevant in the secular problem of barn building because the secular problem includes Christians. The use of the Bible in political discourse is entirely justified, regardless of whether or not the political sphere transcends the interest of Christians. Conclusion: I have offered 4 independent reasons why the Bible should be used outside of Christianity. All I need is one good reason to win this debate, but I have given four. Even if my opponent totally disproves 3 of these arguments, I will still have demonstrated the resolution to be true. [1] . http://en.wikipedia.org... [2] . http://en.wikipedia.org...