An interesting graphic about Easter (Dial-up warning large)

[intaglio]

63. Oh, yes, agreed

but the problem is when the texts are so riddled with, conflicts, inconsistencies, incongruities and outright falsehoods that they cannot be taken seriously without completely suspending disbelief.

Now, if something is touted as fiction I am very happy to suspend that disbelief for the duration of my reading, but I do not let that suspension continue after I have closed the covers. But that is the exact, polar opposite of what I am supposed to do when I read the Bible; in that case I am supposed to let that horribly flawed text guide my beliefs for the rest of my life. Imagine trying to use Neuromancer as the basis for computer science or the Lensman books as a guide to ethics, human relationships, physics and biology!

Imagine accepting Aristotle or Pythagoras or Euclid as the sole guides to the uses and study of mathematics; what if medical professionals were told to use the methods and surviving words of Galen or Paracelsus as the sole basis for treatment? Yet people do try to use the Bible (or other holy books) as histories or ethical guides or therapy for mental distress or (sadly) treatment for physical ills.

If I raise my doubts about the Bible and the tales therein then I am told to accept the guidance of a local wise man who has studied this book and whose livelihood depends upon the beliefs others hold, beliefs that are derived from that dubious book. If doubts continue or I find actual historical falsehoods then I can be referred up the chain of authority or told to study exegeses which derive their authenticity from assuming the book they are explaining is true or from prior authorities whose eminence is based upon a supposed holiness because they have served the hierarchy that touts the doubtful book as holy writ.

How far down this rabbit hole of arguments from authority, circular reasoning and appeals to popularity am I supposed to go? Early in my life I tried this but my sense of the ridiculous kept getting in the way. Now I just close the cover on the fiction and seek to be ethical based upon human reason and empathy, I find comfort from sharing my fears, joy from the surprises and wonders of the everyday. Life is more or less difficult for all people but religion and the words contained in Holy Writ are not the answer to those difficulties.