You hear statements that "sound" good but they are simply not true. A case in point: (actually two):
1. People say that in spite of our technical and technological progress, human nature is pretty much the same as in the days of when the Bible was written. 'Nothing new under the sun', kind of sentiment.
This is factually false.
2. Regardless of what people say, "we get our moral standards from the Bible", this is completely incorrect.
First statement:
In the old days when 100% of people's perception of the world was influenced by the religion they belonged to, whether it was the Vikings in the North or tribes in Indonesia, everything around a person was seen through the eyes of religion. So, for instance, in the Nordic countries it was believed that the God Thor was hammering in heaven and that created thunder. In Central and South America, as later a as few centuries ago, child-sacrifices were acceptable gifts to the gods to keep these gods happy and create a good harvest. As recent as 150 ago years in this country, slavery was accepted.
The more the circle of areas where religion lost influence increased, the narrower area of life that was controlled by religion, the more scientific progress taught us how the world works (no, it is not the God Thor who is causing thunder), the better we function: It is better NOT to perform child-sacrifice to the gods, than to do it, it is better to treat people as equals than as slaves, and so on.
Thinking that these realization do not have an effect on our "psyche" is simply wrong. Progress in neuro research. see for instance, "In Search of Memory" by Nobel winner Eric Kandel, clearly show how our brain has developed and how even things like compassion, selflessness and many other "non-technological" traits have changed over the course of history.
Thinking that we now know "everything there is to know" about the human consciousness, is, to the say least arrogant.
Second Statement:
One does NOT get one’s morality, one’s sense of what is right or what is wrong from the Torah.
How do we know that we do not get our morals from the Bible?
Well, when a young girl gets married and is NOT stoned to death because she is not a virgin on her wedding day, we have already made a determination that this is not the proper way to go. In other words, before we even OPEN the Books of the Torah, we know that stoning someone to death for not being a virgin on her wedding day is wrong; therefore, the Torah is NOT,
de facto, the guide we use to determine what is right and what is wrong. And orthodox and other apologists would say, “yeah, but times have changed and we have adjusted to the times we live in!” – Yeah, exactly, and we have found other tools to judge right and wrong with. That’s the whole point.
In my opinion.
