The Bible - one of the few never changing books?

[rayne]

The various holy books..why are they holy? Why have a few books been designated as "holy" books that believers believe has never been altered? Believing a few books never being altered particularly ones that have been around for many many years and translated into many languages seems just..illogical.

Take Joseph Smith for example. He created the Book of Mormon but based it on concepts within the Bible, he had no proof but his word and people believed it..so it worked but could an entirely new book by considered "holy"? Could a tax exempt religion be made out of Harry Potter? Shows like Futurama and Family Guy have touched on this subject. Star Trek was made a religion that dominated the planet in Futurama to the point where all believers were thrown into a volcano and the words banned from being uttered. Peter from Family Guy started a religion based on Happy Days the tv show.

[Fearless]

Originally Posted by rayne

The various holy books..why are they holy? Why have a few books been designated as "holy" books that believers believe has never been altered? Believing a few books never being altered particularly ones that have been around for many many years and translated into many languages seems just..illogical.

If you look up the word holy:
"Belonging to, derived from or associated with a divine power"
-WordWeb

Divine being associated with god (choose one)

Ancient religious texts which are considered sacred are the basis of the books they consider holy. The problem comes in the interpretation of such texts.

A little bit from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_text:

Attitudes to sacred texts differ. Some religions make written texts widely and freely available, while others hold that sacred secrets must remain hidden from all but the loyal and the initiate. Most religions promulgate policies defining the limits of the sacred texts and controlling or forbidding changes and additions. Some religions view their sacred texts as the "Word of God", often contending that the texts are inspired by God and as such not open to alteration. Translations of texts may receive official blessing, but an original sacred language often has de facto, absolute or exclusive paramountcy. Some religions make texts available free or in subsidized form; others require payment and the strict observance of copyright.

Terms like "Holy Writ", "Holy Scripture" or "Sacred Scripture" are often used by adherents to describe the canonical works of their religion to denote the text's importance, its status as divine revelation, or, as in the case of many Christian groups, its complete inerrancy. Christianity is not alone in using this terminology to revere its sacred book; Islam holds the Qur'an in similar esteem, as does Hinduism the Vedas and Bhagavad Gita and Buddhism the sutras.

[I_FH]

Futurama also had Operaism

[rayne]

Originally Posted by I_FH

Futurama also had Operaism

Pretty sure she already is a religion ;-P

If you look up the word holy:
"Belonging to, derived from or associated with a divine power"
-WordWeb

Divine being associated with god (choose one)

Ancient religious texts which are considered sacred are the basis of the books they consider holy. The problem comes in the interpretation of such texts.

Considering the amount of cults around such as these guys http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_862384.html

With enough charm and perhaps a few delusions of grandeur, would it possible to make other books "holy"? If holy is "Belonging to, derived from or associated with a divine power" it should be possible to do so. Even though the bible has claimed to come from god, it only has its word. There is no proof other than what's written in the pages. Joseph Smith managed to make an entire religion out of baseless claims, the only factor being he claimed they were the word of god. Who knows..Harry Potter could have been written by god through J K Rowling ;-P

[owheelj]

Well of course many Christians accept that the Bible does change and has been altered. There's an interesting book by J Paterson Smyth that's probably available as free ebook given it's age called "The Ancient Documents and the Modern Bible," which describes many of the changes to the Bible. Smyth is a Christian, and I think at one point says that God has guided the changes or something like that, but if you can look past his beliefs, it's worth a read.

[FSM]

Originally Posted by rayne

The various holy books..why are they holy? Why have a few books been designated as "holy" books that believers believe has never been altered?

Because there is a vested interest in doing so. It keeps the sheeple in line.

Dave.

[Iseeyouthere]

I piss in a church cup... I call it holy water.

Its a matter of whether or not people believe it.

[wearestardust]

If you can get a copy of Tim Minchin v the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, he does a quite thoughtful bit on the issue of what is sacred, and what that means.

[Forsaken]

There are actually some 200 gospels, epistles and other ancient documents concerning the life of Jesus Christ. Writing such material was a popular literary form, particularly in the 2nd century. The pious fantasies competed with Greek romantic fiction. Political considerations in the late 2nd century led to the selection of just four approved gospels and the rejection of others. After three centuries of wrangling, 23 other books were accepted by the Church as divinely inspired. The rest were declared 'pious frauds'. In truth, the whole lot belongs to a genre of literary fiction.

~ Source: jesusneverexisted.com

[Sir Patrick Crocodile]

The Qur'an - apparently a number of diehard muslims believe that, because it's in a language they can't understand, apparently it cannot be altered, hence it is somehow the real true one book.
Of course, then you tell them about all that wonderful crime committed in the name of their religion, and then they alert you to the fact that, the Qur'an was written in a language they cannot understand, so they got the wrong interpretation. To top that up, they will not tell you the correct interpretation.

Ah, justice.