Quotes to Note:The poster is presented in a webpage that quotes Helen Keller to the effect of:
“There is much in the Bible against which every instinct of my being rebels, so much that I regret the necessity which has compelled me to read it through from beginning to end. I do not think that the knowledge which I have gained of its history and sources compensates me for the unpleasant details it has forced upon my attention”
I, for one, could not agree more. I feel the same way about the evening news, particularly the local news.
There is much in the news against which every instinct of my being rebels, so much that I regret the necessity which has compelled me to watch it through from beginning to end. I do not think that the knowledge which I have gained of current events compensates me for the unpleasant details it has forced upon my attention such as the details of the latest murder, rape, child abuse, etc. And yet, I must consider if the news is evil for describing the brutal reality of humanity.
One of the quotations presented to us via the poster is from Thomas Paine and reads thusly:
“After the sermon was ended…I revolted at the recollection of what I had heard….I moreover believe that any system of religion that has anything in it that shocks the mind of a child, cannot be a true system.” [ellipses in original]
As presented, the quotation is far too generic to be of any use. What was the sermon, what was its message? What was revolting: the sermon, its message or the recollection? In other words, did the sermon reveal some bit of unpleasant truth about Thomas Paine’s own heart and soul?
The statement about his believing “that any system of religion that has anything in it that shocks the mind of a child, cannot be a true system” is a purely arbitrary argument from outrage and a non sequitur.1 I may state that a child was shocked by being taught that she is a glorified animal whose ancestors were apes (or whom according to Prof. Richard Dawkins, is an ape).. That all life on earth came about when lightning struck a swamp. That the entire universe has no intrinsic purpose. That her life has no intrinsic meaning. That when she dies she will be annihilated, et al. May I then conclude that all of these statements are false based on nothing but a child’s reaction?
Another quotation comes from Elizabeth Cady Stanton who appears to completely lack a historical understanding of the Bible’s and Christianity’s positive effect on the manner in which women are viewed and treated. She is quoted as stating, “The Bible and the Church have been the greatest stumbling blocks in the way of women’s emancipation.”Of course, it may be argued that “the Church” has “been the greatest stumbling block” in many areas and in many ways. However, as for the Bible:
+ The Bible states that both men and women were created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27 also see Genesis 5:2).+ New Testament teaches, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ…There is neither…male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28).+ There are entire books in the Bible named after women (Esther and Ruth).+ There were women Judges in the Old Testament (Judges 4:4).+ In the Bible we find women prophetesses (Exodus 15:20; 2nd Kings 22:14; 2nd Chronicles 34:22; Isaiah 8:3; Luke 2:36; Acts 21:7-9).+ Jesus showed Himself to be a servant of both men and women.+ Jesus had male and female disciples.+ In the New Testament we find women deaconesses (Romans 16:1-2).+ We find women teachers, such as Priscilla who taught right along side of her husband Aquila (Acts 18:26).+ Women taught the younger women (Titus 2:3-4).
+ The first disciples at the empty tomb were women (see Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1). +Etc.
There is also a quote from Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, who stated, in part:
“The mind that becomes soiled in youth can never again be washed clean; I know this by my own experience, and to this day I cherish an unappeasable bitterness against the unfaithful guardians of my young life, who not only permitted but compelled me to read an unexpurgated Bible through before I was 15 years old.”
How quaint. Get with it Mr. Clemens/Twain! Today by 15 a child has viewed hundreds of thousands of images in technicolor of every sort of violence and sexuality imaginable, and some unimaginable. Today’s pop-culture encourages the youth to delve head first into all sorts of debauchery and besmirches parents whom even attempt to prevent them.
Of course, the Bible presenting, as it does, humanity with warts and all is perhaps not to be recommended to a youth in an unexpurgated form. Although, when it does present the warts, it does so within a moral context while pop-culture does not.
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