The " New" American Standard Bible.

The Most influential book is often misquoted in
American politics.

2014 might be the year of the "bible". In 2013  a new bible version came out called  'The Voice'.  This new version published by Thomas Nelson  has stirred some controversy , some accuse this version of introducing ***New Age philosophy into scripture . Any case in my last post on ' Moral Outrage' , we had the problem of Duck Dynasty 's  patriarch Phil Robertson  quoting scripture that offends "gays" . There have been over the recent years attempts to water down the bible . Trying to "Clean" it up from sexism , violence , misogynistic elements.  3 years ago a bible was out that was "gender natural" , because feminists wanted to remove evasive language from the text . Watering down the scriptures in not a unique phenomenon . Recently the Mormon's  # ( Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) have re- issued their standard works updating their version of the King James , Book of Mormon,  Doctrine and Covenants and Perl of Great Prince. Mormon's saw that their scriptures need "correcting" because of issues with polygamy , and race. The Jehovah Witnesses too got into the act, their New World Translation  which was revised in 2013 looks now more like a paraphrase text book used to support their  extreme theology.    In this post I will try to explain somethings about the Bible , as you know most professing Christians & Jews swear on the divinity of the book . The bible has been in American politics for the last 200 years , and it has been so misquoted by politicians that Thomas Paine warned Americans about it 200 years ago. 

 The Fanciful Bible of Americanism . and the Real Bible.

The Bible may be the most revered book in America, but it’s also one of the most misquoted. Politicians, motivational speakers, coaches - all types of people  - quote passages that actually have no place in the Bible, religious scholars say. Politician's have made the bible in recently as part of "swearing in " , and part of loyalty , but how farcical  the American system uses the bible as a nation under God . Actually the American system is corrupt like China's .  (China quotes Mao , America quotes Bible ) verses to show bias attitudes towards various minorities . We all know that the bible was used to condone slavery , and witch hunting on American soil . Of course bigotry is not far the pulpit , it's how you use your scriptures to twist the minds of people as in case of argument you can't water down the bible's strict law against homosexuality, yes it's there in Deuteronomy  and Leviticus . The Law of Moses strictly writes in the death penalty even for cross dressing . Recently Pres. Obama got into the twisting scripture for political reasons , in Newtown, Connecticut, quoted several Bible verses, including Matthew 19:14: "Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'" Bible quotes, in and of themselves, are fine.  But when Obama misquotes and/or misinterprets what he quotes, that is not fine.  For example, on March 30, 2012, in an address to supporters at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont, Obama said, "I am my brother's keeper.  I am my sister's keeper."  He was speaking about values and thought this misquote would further his cause.  That Bible quote came from the fourth chapter of Genesis.  The actual verse is: "Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?'  'I don't know,' he replied. 'Am I my brother's keeper?'"  Cain said this to God after murdering his brother Abel and was trying to hide the act from God. When taken in its entirety, not just as one verse Obama lifted out of context, the verses present an entirely different interpretation from what Obama intended.  The misquote was not about values at all.  Obama's misquote and misinterpretation was an attempt to twist the Bible to further his personal political agenda. In 2007 the extreme right wing girl Sarah Palin was on the O’Reilly Factor talking about the National Day of Prayer, but she went a bit further than her usual party line of calling America a Christian nation. “I think we should keep this clean, keep it simple, go back to what our founders and our founding documents meant,” she said. “They’re quite clear that we would create law based on the God of the Bible and the 10 commandments, it’s pretty simple.” She was quoting scripture in a way with fanciful illusion that is in the bible of Americanism , and over stepping the separation of church and state. Like many sacred texts, the Bible can be molded to fit the sorts of expedient, if not facile, interpretations needed in moments of national crisis when the urgent need for self-preservation overwhelms the value of critical self-reflection. This was the case during the Revolution when colonists readily employed martial aspects of biblical history and theology to their own advantage. Not surprisingly, events and figures related to divine judgment figured prominently in the patriotic use of the Bible.

The Bible is the work of Men. It's Jewish first and Greek second.

 I for honestly do not ascribe to any religion . I have many sacred books ( bibles , qurans , torahs )of various faiths in my book collection . The bible tells a story , its myth , and it is not always moral . So many people were killed over this book . The bible was the book that rewrote western society . I believe that there is good in many faiths , and that how you view your attitudes is slowly based on how you read your bible . I don't believe that the bible is the word of any supernatural being . As I explain it took me awhile to come to this conclusion that the  Bible itself is full of inconsistencies. How can it be an accurate historical record, when the various books contradict each other? , reading "god" into the bible , and ascribing a belief in one god in ancient times was akin to atheism in our day .  The Jewish story of the bible has been altogether written out of American religious practice . Remember the first bible was Jewish  as far as we know . It came to hands of the Greeks , and pretty much it was  the Hellenization  of the text that laid the foundation for Christianity to make it as their own "myth". Here is a moral lesson about the bible that I will conclude here. 

A Texas State University professor assigns the Bible as reading material in her mythology class – and in particular asks students to read the Genesis creation story among the many tales of folklore she doles out – but at least one student says she was offended by the coursework.The inclusion of the Bible reading assignment gave the student the impression that among modern monotheistic religions, Christianity is unfairly singled out.

“I felt like (the professor) was trying to make some sort of statement,” the student said in an interview with The College Fix. “It’s fine to criticize the Bible. I criticize the Bible. But don’t put (the Bible) in a mythology class.”

The student, an agnostic deist, asked to remain anonymous because of concerns she has over her admissions into a graduate school.

By including the Bible, the student said she concluded the professor was trying to instruct students that whatever they believed was also mythology. The student said she thinks this instruction extended to the students reviewing their own beliefs and trying to figure out how far they were from the dead religions included in the coursework.

She added that using the Bible in a mythology course is offensive because it essentially trivializes the Bible, equating it with other legends reviewed in class, such as a Native American tale about a woman who has sex with a coyote.

The student said she found it insulting that the professor would include the Bible, as relevant and consequential to people’s lives as it is, in the same coursework as the coyote story, adding she never understood the purpose of the bestiality tale, calling it “ridiculous” and noting other students were also “a little bit baffled” by it.

“I want to keep my mind open, which is what the classroom expects of me,” the student said. “But in return, I’d like her to keep her mind open.”

The mythology professor in question, Robin Cohen, defended her syllabus in an interview with The College Fix, saying she does not mean to offend students.

Nevertheless, Cohen said, she includes the creation story in Genesis – and specifically from the King James version – because it teaches students about “translation,” or how a story takes on new meaning over time. She said many students are also familiar with the Bible and the creation narrative.

As for why she doesn’t include the Torah or Koran in her class, she added: “Obviously in a mythology course, you can’t cover everything.”

Cohen also defended the use of the coyote story in her class, saying most scholars of Native American society would strongly object to the notion that an oral tradition is inferior to a written tradition, such as the Bible.

“If you think about it, it takes a lot more cultural engagement to maintain an extensive system of stories that are handed down orally because it depends on it being alive and on people telling it,” Cohen said. “They’re not written down so if people stop telling the stories then they die.”

Cohen said she has never received a complaint from a student about using the Bible in her mythology class, and said the student with concerns should have approached her.

“She had something to say, she should have spoken up,” Cohen said. “Nobody needs to be afraid to speak up in my class.”

NOTES AND COMMENTS:

 *** The Message bible version by Eugene Peterson also cased a commotion among Christians , because Peterson freely re-wrote verses into a modern phraseology , his bible is vary enjoyable although . Another NEW bible that has been put out in 2013 is the  ++ THE CEPHER it claims to be  the most complete and accurate English translation and transliteration of sacred scripture in the world today.This bible version has included various Apocrypha , sacred names . It's a massive work that every bible scholar should have. # The Mormon's have updated their scriptures over the last 40 years since 1979 , what is fascinating are the changes  in the Doctrine and Covenants regarding blacks and admitting them into the priesthood , the watered down of , and changing  (updating ) meanings to the words in holy text is vary common with sects who are struggling to go mainstream in the American public . Christian Scientists have yet to do the same to the works of Mary Baker Eddy  ( Science and Health ) whom had also a profound affect in the Americanization of the Hebrew bible.

++Visit URL : http://cepher.net/