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Bible API

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Re: Bible API

#151

Post by cloakandswagger »

wcarey wrote: post #106
shampto3 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

tldr; Why not both? I agree that it's odd that we have atomized the writings in the scriptures. You can find reader's editions if you want to remove the verses structure. However, I don't agree that the verses are "diametrically opposed to a Christian reading of the Scriptures". I believe that there is room for both reading whole books and reading short quotes. For instance, I don't think there's anything wrong with…

So, having read the whole of what you wrote, the reason not to do both is that atomization promotes an epistemology that does grave violence to Christian belief. God's self revelation could have been a math textbook: a collection of independent propositions related by logical necessity. But it's not. His self revelation is a person who has a story and who tells stories. When we atomize the scriptures, we're implicitl…

The verse structure's practicality as a reference mechanism far outweighs its downsides.

It's a bit of a stretch to indict the verse structure for the general decline in Biblical literacy in Christians.

It's entirely possible to quote a verse with correct contextual interpretation that conveys its meaning; if we're looking for a culprit for declining Biblical literacy I'd be much more apt to blame loose translations and paraphrases like The Message and The Passion Translation than the concept of verses.

Re: Bible API

#152

Post by wcarey »

jacquesm wrote: post #139
wcarey wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you expand on the claim and warrant you're making there?

Sure: https://marginalie.hypotheses.org/181 It's been discussed on HN a couple of times as well (though not that particular link as far as I know).

So, it seems like you're claiming that some scammers believe that some religious people are gullible. That's certainly true, if not particularly interesting! Are you aiming at a broader argument or more expansive claim?

Re: Bible API

#153

Post by sjwright »

ducaale wrote: post #150
jacquesm wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, good for you. I always wonder what would happen if the Islamic world would go through the equivalent of the enlightenment, I think it would leapfrog the 'west' in a generation or two if it did.

We don't need to abandon our faith to achieve that. In fact, we already had a golden age[1] where we leapfrogged most civilizations. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Age

Yes, and then you were leap-elephanted by the enlightenment. Keep up.

Re: Bible API

#154

Post by yters »

wcarey wrote: post #58

One of the most interesting things to happen to the scriptures is their balkanization into verses. We generally don't atomize other writings that way, and when folks read the scriptures as a series of disconnected logical propositions all sorts of wackiness ensues. What would it look like to have an API for the collected works of Jane Austen that returned snippets (some of which are not even complete sentences)? How…

The NT authors are constantly quoting snippets from the OT.

Re: Bible API

#155

Post by ducaale »

sjwright wrote: post #149
ducaale wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't consider it a waste of time. In fact, I am reading it right now. And yes, I do plan to start coding when I finish my recitation today :)

You’re reading that particular book because you happen to be born into a particular culture in a particular moment in time. It’s not a truth of the universe, it’s an accident of your circumstances. Just like every other sacred text.

Well, I am glad I was born in those circumstances as a muslim :)

Re: Bible API

#156

Post by elwell »

TomMarius wrote: post #23
jefflombardjr wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this book should be required reading along side the bible: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17568801-zealot Jesus was an incredible person. The bible taken out of context as it is in corporate christianity, really truly doesn't do Jesus justice. If you love Jesus, read that book - it will only make you love him more. If you are an atheist - read that book, it will give you a historical basis on which you c…

Jesus is dead for some time and I don't care about him at all. I care about the people that are damned by their peers just because they had sex with their mate; I care about the children that are taught literal bullshit instead of science; I care about the families that fell into dysfunction just because someone told them a perfectly OK thing (such as homosexuality, science, some kinds of biology/medicine, etc) is wr…

"In the new reconstruction [atheism], we do not see the promised greatness or harmony. Instead we are trapped in a world of violence, discord, emptiness, alienation, and racial hatred... The infrastructure of our society has become mindless and senseless because the foundation upon which we have built cannot support any other kind of structure. Ah, but it is at this point that we have played a game with words and lied to ourselves a thousandfold. Let me say forthrightly that what we have actually done is smuggle in foundational strengths of Christian thought, buried far below the surface to maintain some stability, while above the ground we see humanism's bizarre experiments growing unchecked. If we truly put into place the same principles below the ground that we flaunt above the ground, we would completely self-destruct. And though in the classroom we have tried to dignify what we have done, the songwriters and artists have called our bluff."

- Ravi Zacharias (1946-2020), from Can Man Live Without God

Re: Bible API

#157

Post by thomasqbrady »

umvi wrote: post #37
CivBase wrote: post #32

I find it strange that you have a default translation. I expect the sort of crowd who would most likely use this will also be very particular about which translation is being served.

Eh, I think it's fine as it reduces friction to getting the data. People particular about using KJV or whatever can easily switch. I'm more surprised Cherokee is one of the supported languages!

I used to work a a Bible software company, many, many years ago, and had to write a similar API. The surprise challenge I ran into, as that API was meant to support multiple translations, was that they don’t all agree on where chapters and verses start/stop. Some translations include or leave out a verse or two compared to others, and in some cases will number verses oddly to show it (like skipping from verse 20 to 24 because the translation chose to leave out 21-23), which could cause “verse 24” to refer to different verses depending on the translation.

Re: Bible API

#158

Post by RandomBacon »

TomMarius wrote: post #23
jefflombardjr wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this book should be required reading along side the bible: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17568801-zealot Jesus was an incredible person. The bible taken out of context as it is in corporate christianity, really truly doesn't do Jesus justice. If you love Jesus, read that book - it will only make you love him more. If you are an atheist - read that book, it will give you a historical basis on which you c…

Jesus is dead for some time and I don't care about him at all. I care about the people that are damned by their peers just because they had sex with their mate; I care about the children that are taught literal bullshit instead of science; I care about the families that fell into dysfunction just because someone told them a perfectly OK thing (such as homosexuality, science, some kinds of biology/medicine, etc) is wr…

I agree it's good to care, and I think you're being downvoted because of your association fallacy. There are Christians that teach science, that believe in evolution, that aren't sexist, etc. There are also athiests that are sexist, are anti-vaccination, and homophobic. It would be just as wrong to say athiests have no moral standing.

If you want a future where people treat each other right, then don't demean them, else you're just continuing the cycle.

Re: Bible API

#159

Post by hu3 »

natch wrote: post #75
hu3 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the impression you purposefully messed the URL so you could leave that snarky comment.

For the record, that's not what happened, but I can see how you might suspect that. Updated the comment with an explanation.

I'm just glad you completely edited your original message and the unnecessary snark is gone along with it.

Re: Bible API

#160

Post by stephenhuey »

elwell wrote: post #148

Not sure if I'm more surprised about the support for Cherokee or JSONP.

Yes, fascinating - it was translated into Cherokee back in 1860. According to Wycliffe Bible Translators, 3384 languages have some Scripture translated for them. Of those, 698 have the complete Bible and 1548 languages have a complete New Testament.
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