Is the Bible a philosophical text? Has it contributed as much to philosophy as the works of the Ancient Greeks or Enlightenment thinkers?

I don’t think it was meant to be a philosophical text. I believe it was written as a historical text, so that later generations would understand what had gone earlier. And also probably as an instructional text (don’t do XYZ because god will punish you!) to some degree.

Once religion got into the picture – which was LONG AFTER the bible was written – it got co-opted (or perhaps stolen) by tribal leaders and (to a lesser degree) theologians as a means of justifying or anchoring the variety of tribal actions that they were trying to sell to ensure their personal survival.

Philosophy came way later as a construct that used (or bastardized) the historical events of the bible.

Philosophy is the study of how we know of the world and our place in it.

The Bible is a historical construct that explains a whole mythology of how the world was created and developed. It is no more a philosophical text than the Iliad.

I think the Bible itself is based on the Greek mythologies. There are too many parallels. a god comes to Earth and knocks up a human, is one example.

@Dutchess_III other way around., Greek mythology is possible based on ancient egypt and ancient israel. They came first.

Are there not, many similarities?
Do those similarities not branch, from the basic constructs, as most other organized religions?

Are they, mostly, not based in control of society?...

No, and no.

Although François-Marie Arouet did inadvertently contribute much mirth to the enlightenment with his insightful musing that if god didn’t exist then man would have had to invent him.

Oh, and sorry about mentioning fairy tale nonsense on the other thread.

Well, they all borrowed from each other @elbanditoroso.

@Dutchess_III no, the ancient israelites didn’t borrow from the Greeks because they didn’t exist back then.

Now, the New Testament – that’s a whole different story.

A lot of religions, are built around similar ideas.

Don’t murder, steal, etc…

But. They also have another thing in common. Controlling people, and spreading the religion, to further the control of more people…

@Demosthenes “Please no snarky “lol the Bible is fairy tales” nonsense. Interested in actual discussion here.”

“Inspired by debate on another site” yet not so interested (unlike Shakespeare in Henry IV plagiarising Proverbs 26:11 “like a dog returning to it’s vomit”) that you would bother with any discussion yourself? lol

@Pinguidchance

Yes, those sure are quotes from the question. Anything else you’d like to contribute?

Just had a couple of really cute teenage boys come to my door. I’d guess they were 19. The were from the Church of Latter Day Saints.
They wanted to learn me about Jesus.
I said, “I know Jesus!”
We talked briefly, and one said, “So why did you give up on Jesus?”
I said, “I didn’t give up on Jesus. I gave up on God, because belief in him is illogical.” I saw their eyes kind of light up with surprise, amusement and…. dare I say ... reluctant agreement?
That’s as far as we got before I had to close the door to keep Cato from eating them.

^I live about 60 yards, from a church. They are constantly knocking on my door, and leaving pamphlets. I don’t like people knocking on my door, at 9AM. And their pamphlets, end up blowing all around my neighborhood. I can’t stand it…

I fail to see the rationality, of what they are doing. If their god created the universe, why can’t it contact me directly?

I’m fine with people wasting their lives away in that church. But. Stop wasting my time. It’s like the more I resist them, they see me as a challenge. I don’t go around, trying to convince people to become an atheist…

@Dutchess_III interesting – here it’s sort of predictable.

About once a year I will get a couple of LDS people – almost always female for some reason.

Also once a year the Jehovah’s Witnesses – almost always two women, and almost always one woman and one white.

Very rarely a Baptist will come to the door – last time was 3–4 years ago – and I think it was to hand about literature about a new congregation.

Their efforts are wasted on this nice Jewish boy.

It hurts my heart when the LDS or JW have small children in tow.

Yes, and this is a huge modern topic. CF Yoram Hazony’s work
You mention the Greeks and Romans—two civilizations hugely admired by the Founding Fathers of the United States. But where did they get their core ideas? Deuteronomy !!

Following an extensive survey of American political literature from 1760 to 1805, political scientist Donald S. Lutz reported that the Bible was cited more frequently than any European writer or even any European school of thought, such as Enlightenment liberalism or republicanism. The Bible, he reported, accounted for approximately one-third of the citations in the literature he surveyed. The book of Deuteronomy alone is the most frequently cited work, followed by Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws. In fact, Deuteronomy is referenced nearly twice as often as Locke’s writings, and the Apostle Paul is mentioned about as frequently as Montesquieu.

But you do hit the problem on the head BAD EDUCATION :)

Oh lord.

@LogicHead Well, I’m not exactly surprised that the Bible was the most cited work in the West during the late 18th century; that’s par for the course. But I am interested in the focus on Deuteronomy and its connection to the founding fathers.

The founding fathers went out of their way to keep religion out of the government. They had lived under the Church of England’s rule, and knew what a cluster it was.