The Awakening Cloud of Witnesses: Humanity is God, Civilization the Antichrist (The Bible Isn't What You Think It Is Book 1)
Book Details
Author(s)Gavin Bartlett
ISBN / ASINB00TNQ03GS
ISBN-13978B00TNQ03G9
Sales Rank1,448,279
MarketplaceUnited States 🇺🇸
Description
This book opens a new perspective on the Bible. It is based on 30 years of critical thinking and broad based research into the Bible itself, evolutionary biology, Dunbar's number, palaeo-anthropology, history and current affairs, epigenetics, cognitive neuroscience and cognitive processes, Humanistic psychology, the etymology/original meanings of words, metaphors, the evolution of language and various systems of ancestral worship. It is not a specialized scientific treatise or any other kind of academic work, but rather a common sense understanding of the topics mentioned, plus others based on a search for connections between apparently unconnected phenomena and disciplines.
Regardless of whether one is a believer or an atheist, one cannot argue that the Bible is probably the most important and influential of all books ever published. For good or for bad, that is a given. Much good has been accomplished through that influence. Conversely, a great deal of harm has been inflicted on the world and ordinary people through unjustifiable claims of supposed Biblical precedent, inspiration and even instruction.
Part of the definition of humanity states clearly that one of its attributes is critical thinking based on rationalism and empiricism, as opposed to acceptance of established doctrine or faith;i.e. simply working things out for one's self. From that perspective blind acceptance of the Bible as immutable truth and blind rejection of what that truth actually is without understanding its metaphors don't seem to be very human, do they? The Bible is written exclusively in the form of metaphors - parables, allegories, proverbs and the idioms of a by-gone age. In this book the reader will be shown how to interpret Biblical metaphors that will show both believer and unbeliever the real meaning and importance of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, perhaps even many which have been omitted from the canonical Christian Bible and the Torah. Readers will find rational explanations for the following statements.
1. God exists, but not in the form of a supernatural anthropomorphic deity.
2. The concepts of God, soul and spirit as used in the Bible can be rationally explained, because they are metaphors in themselves.
3. Humanity is not a biological species, but a philosophy and way of life for the survival and on-going evolutionary growth of the biological species called Homo. sapiens, commonly know as mankind.
4. The Bible is an ancient handbook of humanistic psychology, sociology and a very comprehensive exposition of ancestral worship. As such it is an indicment of and a warning against civilization. It is a window into mankind's 250 -300 000 year evolutionary journey up to and including the early years of civilization
5. Judaism and Christianity as taught and practiced are based on literal interpretations of abstract metaphors, but taken as fact. As such they and, by association, Islam cannot claim to be based on a true understanding of the Bible. They are based on the same level as a child's understanding, who knows a fairy tale, but not the moral lessons it contains.
6. Appropriate language skills, including a sound understanding of the construction and interpretation of metaphors, as well as a knowledge of how the meanings of words change very rapidly are essential survival skills for all of mankind. Many key words used in the Bible have changed since the original texts were written, some even reversing in their meaning, as has idiomatic speech. Without an understanding of these factors we cannot even hope to communicate effectively, let alone understand ancient writings of any kind.
7.God is a metaphorical anthropomorphism for an ancient system of mankind's well-being and survival wisdom, pre-dating both civilization and the written word. It is comprised of the four concepts of God the Father, God the Mother, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. Genesis is the creation of the unique male and female individual, not the cosmos.
Regardless of whether one is a believer or an atheist, one cannot argue that the Bible is probably the most important and influential of all books ever published. For good or for bad, that is a given. Much good has been accomplished through that influence. Conversely, a great deal of harm has been inflicted on the world and ordinary people through unjustifiable claims of supposed Biblical precedent, inspiration and even instruction.
Part of the definition of humanity states clearly that one of its attributes is critical thinking based on rationalism and empiricism, as opposed to acceptance of established doctrine or faith;i.e. simply working things out for one's self. From that perspective blind acceptance of the Bible as immutable truth and blind rejection of what that truth actually is without understanding its metaphors don't seem to be very human, do they? The Bible is written exclusively in the form of metaphors - parables, allegories, proverbs and the idioms of a by-gone age. In this book the reader will be shown how to interpret Biblical metaphors that will show both believer and unbeliever the real meaning and importance of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, perhaps even many which have been omitted from the canonical Christian Bible and the Torah. Readers will find rational explanations for the following statements.
1. God exists, but not in the form of a supernatural anthropomorphic deity.
2. The concepts of God, soul and spirit as used in the Bible can be rationally explained, because they are metaphors in themselves.
3. Humanity is not a biological species, but a philosophy and way of life for the survival and on-going evolutionary growth of the biological species called Homo. sapiens, commonly know as mankind.
4. The Bible is an ancient handbook of humanistic psychology, sociology and a very comprehensive exposition of ancestral worship. As such it is an indicment of and a warning against civilization. It is a window into mankind's 250 -300 000 year evolutionary journey up to and including the early years of civilization
5. Judaism and Christianity as taught and practiced are based on literal interpretations of abstract metaphors, but taken as fact. As such they and, by association, Islam cannot claim to be based on a true understanding of the Bible. They are based on the same level as a child's understanding, who knows a fairy tale, but not the moral lessons it contains.
6. Appropriate language skills, including a sound understanding of the construction and interpretation of metaphors, as well as a knowledge of how the meanings of words change very rapidly are essential survival skills for all of mankind. Many key words used in the Bible have changed since the original texts were written, some even reversing in their meaning, as has idiomatic speech. Without an understanding of these factors we cannot even hope to communicate effectively, let alone understand ancient writings of any kind.
7.God is a metaphorical anthropomorphism for an ancient system of mankind's well-being and survival wisdom, pre-dating both civilization and the written word. It is comprised of the four concepts of God the Father, God the Mother, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. Genesis is the creation of the unique male and female individual, not the cosmos.
