Has Christianity become anti-intellectual?

  • Welcome to Christian Forums, a Christian Forum that recognizes that all Christians are a work in progress.

    You will need to register to be able to join in fellowship with Christians all over the world.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

FHII

Well-Known Member
Apr 9, 2011
4,833
2,494
113
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
Where are the originals? Also, who is going to read these books that Moses wrote? The Egyptian slaves? They were illiterate. There was no reason to write anything down until the Jewish history was compiled in 500 BC. Moses was raised in the Pharaoh's household so he probably knew how to write in Egyptian, but certainly not Hebrew - the language wasn't even developed enough to be written, yet.

So what language did they speak and write, 600 years after the Fall?


Where are the originals? I don't know.... Probably destroyed through time. But do we not have transcripts of them? I own a Bible and it contains the books he wrote.

Who's going to read them? Well, I am and I did! Moses must've written them down for some reason. It could be and is likely so that they would be preserved throughout time so in the year 2011 we could read them. That alone is reason enough to write things down before 500BC.

Moses probably was a very educated man. He was raised in Pharoah's household as you pointed out, and probably knew many languages. As for the Hebrew language not being developed enough to be written.... Gimmie your source. I know you hate that, but I'm asking. Enoch wrote something and he was alive before the flood.... Well ahead of Moses' day! According to http://www.biblica.com/bibles/faq/11/ the OT was written in Hebrew....So I wonder how it was a language that wasn't developed enough to be written yet it was written in that language.

As for the language the spoke and wrote 600 years before the fall.... Don't know. But that is your brief amount of time that they may have been without writings. But since they were guided by the Holy Spirit, it is still authoritave and doesn't prove that they relied on oral tradition.
 

biggandyy

I am here to help...
Oct 11, 2011
1,753
147
0
SWPA
Let's not forget that liberals have different definitions of words than do the rest of us. When they ask about intellectualism what they actually mean is can one parrot back the flavor of the month of others of the elite class.

When the rest of us speak of intellectualism we refer back to giants such as Aristotle, Aquinas, Jerome, Socrates, Kant, Jefferson, Edwards, Lewis, et al. Liberals speak of deconstruction of the giants and rebuilding the smoldering ruins in their own twisted caricatures. We speak of them with the respect and admiration due their greatness, even if that greatness wasn't "Christian" in it's endeavors.
 

aspen

“"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few
Apr 25, 2012
14,111
4,778
113
53
West Coast
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
Where are the originals? I don't know.... Probably destroyed through time. But do we not have transcripts of them? I own a Bible and it contains the books he wrote.

Um, Did Moses write the part where God buried him too?

Who's going to read them? Well, I am and I did! Moses must've written them down for some reason. It could be and is likely so that they would be preserved throughout time so in the year 2011 we could read them. That alone is reason enough to write things down before 500BC.

Well, I think God had it covered after 500 BC

Moses probably was a very educated man. He was raised in Pharoah's household as you pointed out, and probably knew many languages. As for the Hebrew language not being developed enough to be written.... Gimmie your source. I know you hate that, but I'm asking. Enoch wrote something and he was alive before the flood.... Well ahead of Moses' day! According to http://www.biblica.com/bibles/faq/11/ the OT was written in Hebrew....So I wonder how it was a language that wasn't developed enough to be written yet it was written in that language.

http://www.adath-shalom.ca/rab_iv.pdf

http://www.december.com/john/papers/pscrc93.txt

As for the language the spoke and wrote 600 years before the fall.... Don't know. But that is your brief amount of time that they may have been without writings. But since they were guided by the Holy Spirit, it is still authoritave and doesn't prove that they relied on oral tradition.

The first link I provided suggests that only after David united the tribes in Kings around 900 BC, was the Hebrew nation moving from oral to written language. Based on the information in the second link, regarding the Greek language developing into a written form in the 4th century BC, I think the author of the paper in the first link is being optimistic about the development of the Hebrew language.

Let's not forget that liberals have different definitions of words than do the rest of us. When they ask about intellectualism what they actually mean is can one parrot back the flavor of the month of others of the elite class.

When the rest of us speak of intellectualism we refer back to giants such as Aristotle, Aquinas, Jerome, Socrates, Kant, Jefferson, Edwards, Lewis, et al. Liberals speak of deconstruction of the giants and rebuilding the smoldering ruins in their own twisted caricatures. We speak of them with the respect and admiration due their greatness, even if that greatness wasn't "Christian" in it's endeavors.

So which is it Bandy? Am I relying on history or am I a deconstructionalist? I like your definition of liberal, by the way - conservatives always like to make liberals out to be academics in their ivory towers, yet also lazy and poor, right? Ah the mythos of FOX!
 

FHII

Well-Known Member
Apr 9, 2011
4,833
2,494
113
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
Aspen wrote:

"Um, Did Moses write the part where God buried him too?"


Don't be silly. I am going under the assumption that you know Bible history. It is believed he wrote the first four books and the later parts of the fourth were picked up by someone else. I assume you know that and understand it. Perhaps a poor assumption on my part.


Aspen wrote:

"Well, I think God had it covered after 500 BC"

Well me too... I also think he covered it well before that. I'm wondering if you think anything was written down before 500 BC. If you do, you are sorely mistaken.

Aspen wrote:
"The first link I provided suggests that only after David united the tribes in Kings around 900 BC, was the Hebrew nation moving from oral to written language. Based on the information in the second link, regarding the Greek language developing into a written form in the 4th century BC, I think the author of the paper in the first link is being optimistic about the development of the Hebrew language."

Unfortunately, I can't access those links. Doesn't matter.... Moses wrote, Enoch wrote, so there are two evidences of people who wrote biblical accounts before David was even born. David was also well under written history at the time.... The Ten Commandments were written in stone.
 

aspen

“"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few
Apr 25, 2012
14,111
4,778
113
53
West Coast
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
Aspen wrote:

"Um, Did Moses write the part where God buried him too?"


Don't be silly. I am going under the assumption that you know Bible history. It is believed he wrote the first four books and the later parts of the fourth were picked up by someone else. I assume you know that and understand it. Perhaps a poor assumption on my part.


Aspen wrote:

"Well, I think God had it covered after 500 BC"

Well me too... I also think he covered it well before that. I'm wondering if you think anything was written down before 500 BC. If you do, you are sorely mistaken.

Aspen wrote:
"The first link I provided suggests that only after David united the tribes in Kings around 900 BC, was the Hebrew nation moving from oral to written language. Based on the information in the second link, regarding the Greek language developing into a written form in the 4th century BC, I think the author of the paper in the first link is being optimistic about the development of the Hebrew language."

Unfortunately, I can't access those links. Doesn't matter.... Moses wrote, Enoch wrote, so there are two evidences of people who wrote biblical accounts before David was even born. David was also well under written history at the time.... The Ten Commandments were written in stone.

You will have to copy and paste those links because I keep them in quotes without thinking
 

aspen

“"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few
Apr 25, 2012
14,111
4,778
113
53
West Coast
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
Well, this is an exciting article:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gM9Vz_GRfzYuxCKUq0wGzBBZAg2Q

Apparently, an archaeologist has discovered Hebrew writing on a pot shard dating back to the 10th century BC. Until recently, it was believed that writing in Hebrew went back the 6th century BC. Perhaps others here know more about this? It is new to me.

Moses is believed to be in the 13th century BC.
 

informer

New Member
May 1, 2011
10
0
0
For me, scholastic achievement is not the mediator between God and men, and I´d rather listen to and discuss the Word of God with carpenters, fishermen, and tent makers. It is good if we learn to not think above [beyond] that which is written, so that we will not begin to exaggerate and over-estimate God´s Word, especially for the pettiness of seeking recognition.
 

FHII

Well-Known Member
Apr 9, 2011
4,833
2,494
113
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
For me, scholastic achievement is not the mediator between God and men, and I´d rather listen to and discuss the Word of God with carpenters, fishermen, and tent makers. It is good if we learn to not think above [beyond] that which is written, so that we will not begin to exaggerate and over-estimate God´s Word, especially for the pettiness of seeking recognition.
We are discussing when the Bible was written and the importance of it in doctrine, Informer... Not the value of scholastic achievement. I know, it's a long thread and it takes some reading to get the whole picture. But you are right... God used commen men to carry his word. Except for that tent maker you are talking about.... He was a lawyer in his former life! God uses them too, though it's hard to believe such can be saved! :)
 

Episkopos

Well-Known Member
May 17, 2011
12,894
19,455
113
65
Montreal
Faith
Christian
Country
Canada
Ah so all the leaders of the church between 30 AD and the 4th century were 'Spirit lead"? How did you determine that, Episkopos? Certainly not from scripture.

Was the NT written by godly men or imposters. What other generation of Christians have had their writings judged to be scriptural church canon? We see the watering down of this authority in the second century with the martyrdom of Ignatius and Polycarp. The final nail in the coffin was Constantine of course!