Being a student of religion, I am fascinated by the mythology often portrayed as a true history by the religious adherents. The case in point is the Bible. What is being propagandized, as the “Word of God,” is regrettably a true mythology, which had far-reaching effects in the past, present, and in all likelihood, will shape the future as well.
Today I am presenting not a debate but a critical analysis of the Bible. The following three presentations will teach you about the insights of the deeper roots of the Bible:
1. The video movie entitled, “The Naked Truth” is roughly two hours long. It penetrates the mythology of both the Old and New Testaments in relation to other religious mythologies including that of Hinduism and Buddhism. You will find this movie to be fascinating. Please click on this website and enjoy the contents:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8251447278663885234&q=naked+truth&hl=en
2. Often I have encountered Christians who will depict Jesus’ teachings as models of modern ethical and moral standards ideally suited for today’s complex society. They might not shy away from even agreeing with you that Jesus’ teachings represent a far greater improvement over what is written in the Old Testament. For example, (see Matthew 22:36-40), take the case of one of Jesus’ teachings: “Love Thy Neighbor.” On the surface no one can deny the utter beauty of “love thy neighbor.” But if you have read the entire Bible carefully and judged the “love thy neighbor” within its broader context, then the hidden and not-so-hidden meanings manifest not only differently but also as outright unpleasant.
Today we revisit the doctrine of “Love Thy Neighbor.” For that I am indebted to Dr. John Hartung. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology and Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the State University of New York. He earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from Harvard University, where he was a student of, and teaching fellow for, Bernard D. Davis, Irven B. DeVore, Paul H. Harvey, William D. Hamilton, Melvin J. Konner, Robert L. Trivers and Edward O. Wilson. About half of Dr. Hartung's 100 plus publications are in social science, with the rest in medicine. Professor Hartung authored the article titled, “Love Thy Neighbor: The Evolution of In-Group Morality” which was published in SKEPTIC magazine (3:4 pp. 86-99, 1995). With his permission I reproduce that article (with slight modification) here.
3. Following the publication of the above article, SKEPTIC published a forum discussion in 1996 (4:1 pp. 24-31). I reproduce that discussion here with the permission from Dr. Hartung.
The world's major religions espouse a moral code that includes injunctions against murder, theft, and lying — or so conventional 19th- and 20th-century Western wisdom would have it. Evidence put forth here argues that this convention is a conceit which does not apply to the West's own religious foundations.
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