Almost anything has hidden esoteric meaning if we look for it. Some Christians use the bible as an oracle - they ask a question, pray, then open the bible randomly and believe that whatever passage they read is their answer from God. That can be done with the Tarot, I Ching, or any other oracle. The archetypes are found in the bible, to be sure. The characters in the stories are like the characters in the Tarot - personifications of the archetypes.
But in that sense, the Harry Potter books, The Lord of the Rings, or any other great work of literature can be used in that way too. Archetypes are found in those books also...the implication being that the bible isn't special...it's a collection of books which contain esoteric concepts and personifications of the archetypes, just like many other books.
The teachings of Jesus do stand out though. I'd say it's probably a good idea to separate the words of Jesus from the rest of the bible. Even then, we have to remember that the gospels were all written 1-4 decades after he died, so, although there's obviously some good stuff in there, I think it's ridiculous to take his words literally as absolute authoritative, because who knows what he really said? Those gospels are just the accounts of the authors...Jesus didn't even write them.
I don't think the bible is any more 'holy' than the Harry Potter books. What does 'holy' even mean anyway? Everything is holy. Everything is sacred. The beauty and sacredness of creation is all around us, in us and in everything. It's all holy. Each moment contains love; therefore everything is sacred.
But in that sense, the Harry Potter books, The Lord of the Rings, or any other great work of literature can be used in that way too. Archetypes are found in those books also...the implication being that the bible isn't special...it's a collection of books which contain esoteric concepts and personifications of the archetypes, just like many other books.
The teachings of Jesus do stand out though. I'd say it's probably a good idea to separate the words of Jesus from the rest of the bible. Even then, we have to remember that the gospels were all written 1-4 decades after he died, so, although there's obviously some good stuff in there, I think it's ridiculous to take his words literally as absolute authoritative, because who knows what he really said? Those gospels are just the accounts of the authors...Jesus didn't even write them.
I don't think the bible is any more 'holy' than the Harry Potter books. What does 'holy' even mean anyway? Everything is holy. Everything is sacred. The beauty and sacredness of creation is all around us, in us and in everything. It's all holy. Each moment contains love; therefore everything is sacred.