Paradigms

There are many perspectives on the subjects this wiki covers. I find it is helpful to be able to shift between these perspectives. It not only allows one to see things from other's points of view but also helps to explain the most confusing aspects of these characters.

Perspectives to Consider

Consider the contexts

Break the subjects into time periods

Break the subjects into Geographic Regions

Consider the Genre

Consider the contemporary historical events

The Perspective of an Ancient Jew at each point in "Old Testament" history. Agnostic of Jesus. Agnostic of The Prophets. Most importantly, agnostic of the Christian doctrines that formed in the centuries after Jesus and over the 2 mellenia since and the doctrines that formed over the last centuries (you might be surprised which of your own "ancient" beliefs are barely 200 years old)

When reading what any modern group says about angels (or their orthodoxy) it is important to realize that their claims are true. The are standing on top of the evolving and building ideas that are directly between them and the common denominators. It is good to understand the "purest" doctrines and beliefs in regards to what is most ancient but even those ancient correct beliefs were themselves the result of evolution, amalgam and perspective. It just depends on what parts got fossilized so to speak. As holy texts, doctrines, creeds, songs, buildings, traditions. Living traditions are evolving and changing, fossilized ones are rigid and absolute. But even when part of a faith is turned to a bone- Like the Protestant Christian Cannon- the interpretation of that text is alive- moving- flexing- it is the muscle and organs clinging to the bone and growing, reacting...

Read it as a pre-Israelite Ancient near-easterner. (Abraham)

Read it as a Babylonian or an Egyptian or a Greek or Roman.

Read it as fledgling nation. (Exodus, Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Kings)

Read it as an established but fracturing nation. (Chronicles, Isaiah)

Read it as a nation trying to rebuild and reinterpret their past (Daniel, Ezekiel)

Read it as an ancient person who did not know what we know now about space and stars and wind and geology, plate tectonics, the planet, biology, reproduction, germs, microorganisms... animal behavior, the depths of the ocean... This is not to say that ancient man was unintelligent. No one is unintelligent for working with the best information they have available. We can do no more than listen to what our experts say they think is true and work from there and they did no different. But we must understand that we cannont read our science into their texts. We must read their texts to understand what was their science.

We must read it with their culture in mind. They regularly did things that we would consider barbaric and conversely we do things they would mock just as derisively. Warfare and Morality have evolved. Honor codes have risen and fallen. We must understand what was right and wrong for them

What 1st person sources do we have that speak to the mindsets, indentions and beliefs of the writer's, authors, editors, redactors of scripture?

Or in leu of 1st person sources -what evidence do we have to their thoughts and beliefs?

Preconceptions (eg. characteristics of God and theology (Prophet of Zod Video))

before reading we reinterpret each passage to agree with our preconceptions rather than reading and listening and trying to glean the ancient perspective

By blank which parts of the bible blank

more a reflection of modern than ancient beliefs

I think what I was trying to say is that our interpretations of the bible are more a reflection of our own modern context than they are a reflection of the ancient contexts.

Doesn't seem that profound... the idea that it is ironic that we are looking to the past for answers/guidance but we are using our modern context to determine what the ancients said to inform our present... idk