For a book used by millions of people as the only source of wisdom for over a dozen centuries, I can hardly disagree more about the 'overlooked' part.
I am not commenting about its actual merits, as it has some merits and some beautiful verses. But it is just a book among many. It should stop being the only book many people read.
They may not have meant this, but I took it to mean "overlooked by some groups". Especially nonreligious types, I feel, could learn from a lot of the secular wisdom in the Bible (and I say this as an agnostic). And I know there are many contradictory, sexist, barbaric, and other awful things in there, and I'm not trying to apologize for those bits. Just that there's more good things in there than many nonreligious types often know.
As an example, my agnostic, very nerdy brother read the whole thing and said he learned a lot from it. I figure there's a lot of potential people out there just like him.
You dont even have to take it literally. I learned from Asop's fables and I acknoledge animals can't talk. What I got from Noah's ark wasnt that God is a genocidal maniac or he loves us all very much, but that if you know what needs to be done, do it and don't care what others think.
Yeah, even if the whole base of the story is lunatic.
Sorry, but the Noahs story does not makes sense logically (all the different animals on one ship) nor morally. Killing everyone and only spare some lunatic.
But if you can take from it "do what needs to be done" well, good for you. But I would argue a common trivial dantasy book contains as meaningful wisdom if you neglect 90% like with the bible.
I do not call the flood lunatic. I rather meant the idea that the all-loving god send it to wipe out his own creation but then decides to spare some and instruct him zo build a boat so humans and animals can survive....
Btw. that the scenario is allmost word for word the same as in the Gilgamesh epos, is another funfact.
