I have to say that there is some beautiful stuff in the Bible, even though I don't consider it any more divinely inspired than a poem by Chaucer or Ginsberg. I particularly enjoyed some of the Psalms, and deuterocanonicals such as Sirach and Wisdom. Ecclesiastes, though morbid in outlook, is beautiful in its own way, too. Then again, some of the Psalms are seemingly violent, asking God to wipe out enemies... My best definition of the Bible is that it's an ancient collection of literature... some of it's themes and morals are still relevant today, but many are not. The characters (& events) found in the Bible may have existed (transpired) or not. "God" is much bigger than words printed on paper. "God" does not inspire words, but hearts. My extra 3 cents for the day. I'm feeling philosophical, although exhausted from work.
