A question about sacred texts!

[Dor]

I see lots of people on here that question the validity of the Bible ie. was it inspired by God or written by man and has it been altered or corrupted...Well what I want to know is why we do not ever have the posts questioning:

The Holy Quran, Hadith, Sunnah--Islam
Vedas, Agamas and others--Hinduism
Tipitaka, Wheel of Dhamma, Kalama Sutra and others--Buddhist
Guru Granth Sahib--Sikhism
The Writings of Baha'u'llah, The Writing of Bab, The Writings and Talks of Abdu'l-Baha---Baha'i
And any of the other numerous religions you dont hear much about???

Why are all these books not questioned as constantly as the Books of the Jews and Christians?

[brucegdc]

Originally Posted by Dor

I see lots of people on here that question the validity of the Bible ie. was it inspired by God or written by man and has it been altered or corrupted...Well what I want to know is why we do not ever have the posts questioning:

The Holy Quran, Hadith, Sunnah--Islam
Vedas, Agamas and others--Hinduism
Tipitaka, Wheel of Dhamma, Kalama Sutra and others--Buddhist
Guru Granth Sahib--Sikhism
The Writings of Baha'u'llah, The Writing of Bab, The Writings and Talks of Abdu'l-Baha---Baha'i
And any of the other numerous religions you dont hear much about???

Why are all these books not questioned as constantly as the Books of the Jews and Christians?

Basically because the threads on that tend not to be in the B&S space - they're often in the various specialized ones for the given religions. The bible tends to be more relevant to multiple groups, so that discussion ends up in either Monotheism or here, since it applies to both Christianity and Judaism. (And Islam to a lesser extent).

I've seen threads about the validity of sutras in buddhism, there's usually at least one active q'uran thread in islam debating the meaning or corruption of a segment or a hadith, to mention a few. They're there - you just aren't seeing them, Dor.

... Bruce

[path_of_one]

Also, many of the other texts are typically not interpreted to be written by God or infallible. Many sacred texts are very open to interpretation and are not as contested amongst practitioners of the relevant religions. For example, I've yet to run across someone who argues that the Tao Te Ching should be read literally and that it is inerrant- the purpose is to discuss the meaning of the text, necessitating interpretation.

I think the Bible question pops up often partially because of the differing interpretations of the OT between Christians and Jews, as well as the various sects/denominations of each, and partially because there is a very vocal group of Christians in the world who believe the text to be infallible, and many others who believe it to be metaphoric, historical, etc. So there's a constant debate going on involving several religions.

[Bandit]

Originally Posted by Dor

I see lots of people on here that question the validity of the Bible ie. was it inspired by God or written by man and has it been altered or corrupted...Well what I want to know is why we do not ever have the posts questioning:

The Holy Quran, Hadith, Sunnah--Islam
Vedas, Agamas and others--Hinduism
Tipitaka, Wheel of Dhamma, Kalama Sutra and others--Buddhist
Guru Granth Sahib--Sikhism
The Writings of Baha'u'llah, The Writing of Bab, The Writings and Talks of Abdu'l-Baha---Baha'i
And any of the other numerous religions you dont hear much about???

Why are all these books not questioned as constantly as the Books of the Jews and Christians?

Hi Dor,
i have only seen a couple of things on Bahai & a couple in Islam & one recently on the Sutra. But i dont pay much attention to people who do that.

maybe because the bible is like the energizer bunny...it just keeps going and going and going & no one can stop it no matter how hard they try.
or like timex, takes a licking but keeps on ticking.

You would think if it is so corrupt & worthless as people claim, historians, archelogists, meteorolgists & other scientists would stop refering to it for answers.

I took mine in for a check up & the Bible Doctor said, my bible is in perfect health with no flaws & it will live forever.

[arthra]

As a Baha'i, I don't "the question the validity of the Bible ie. was it inspired by God or written by man and has it been altered or corrupted."

I think interpretations differ but I never say that the itself Bible is not inspired or that it was corrupted.

If any Holy Scripture though is well known (as certainly the Bible is) I think someone will attack it and I've seen people on other forums attack the Qur'an in much the same way they attack the Bible. By taking verses out of context and putting together the verses to satisfy their personal agneda(s).

In friendship,

- Art

[Dor]

Originally Posted by Bandit

maybe because the bible is like the energizer bunny...it just keeps going and going and going & no one can stop it no matter how hard they try.

Yes Bandit and they do try hard...not everyone of course.

[Dor]

Originally Posted by path_of_one

Also, many of the other texts are typically not interpreted to be written by God or infallible. Many sacred texts are very open to interpretation and are not as contested amongst practitioners of the relevant religions.

Thanks Path I did not know that a lot of other religions did not consider there texts to be inspired by God(by which ever name).

[I, Brian]

Certainly I should hope to see plenty of interesting questions about other texts raised - Christianity has a distinction of covering a very diverse group of approaches to the Bible, possibly because Christianity covers such a great range of cultural backgrounds.

I've also tried to stimulate discussion on the Qur'an on that issue (one of the few other books held to have Divine origins).

It may also be worth pointing out that we've seen some rather unwelcome threads against even wide Christian interpretations of the Bible on the Christianity board, and I am actively working against allowing those because they appear started as nothing more than vehicles for promoting other religions.

[I, Brian]

Originally Posted by I, Brian

Certainly I should hope to see plenty of interesting questions about other texts raised - Christianity has a distinction of covering a very diverse group of approaches to the Bible, possibly because Christianity covers such a great range of cultural backgrounds.

I've also tried to stimulate discussion on the Qur'an on that issue (one of the few other books held to have Divine origins).

It may also be worth pointing out that we've seen some rather unwelcome threads against even wide Christian interpretations of the Bible on the Christianity board, and I am actively working against allowing those because they appear started as nothing more than vehicles for promoting other religions.

Just to clarify - my point is *not* that I want to restrict general topics of discussion about Christian issues among Christians of different backgrounds, and similar.

The statement is more readily aimed at certain Muslims who have recently being posting reather excessively in the Christianity section, throwing up general issues against Christianity, and using these as a vehicle to promote Islam. Thgis is what I am actively working against at the moment.

Hope that makes things a little clearer, and apologies for the confusion.