The BIBLE
Bibles were not written on stone. Well, yes they were, to a degree. We have the Ten Commandments (or should I say we had) and we could possibly squeeze into this category the Rosetta stones of Persia and Egypt.
But on the whole the sacred writings handed down to us were laboriously inscribed (by 'scribes') on parchment made from animal skins, or papyrus made from beating a reed-like plant into pulp. Not much different than paper of today, in fact
Neither of these methods could be considered a 'sound' transference of information.
Even the Stones mentioned were lucky to survive as well as they did for all those hundreds of years.
And there were spoken Oral Traditions handed from one generation to the next. Have you ever heard a rumor or story as it changed while being transmitted and translated from person to person?
Surely I must have a purpose in telling you all this.
Not really, just showing off.
But it is amazing to me that in spite of all this, the information survived and is handed to us in the very same form that the Ancients had it.
How can we know this for a fact?
We have the Dead Sea Scrolls and other such finds to confirm it.
Well, that's basically how we got the Bible. Now, what are we going to do with it?
Most people, it seems, either use it as a dust collector, or keep it securely zippered in a leather bag that they take with them to church on Sunday.
But for this section, we will be taking it out so we can sneak some fresh looks at it, and to, hopefully, help shed some light on the Bible. Some of that light will be "Through a glass, darkly," argued about, and fretted over. But that's where truth comes from. Not from just blindly accepting what someone has said. Jonestown and Waco are a couple of examples that come to mind.
If you find something here you disagree with, read on, chances are you will find your own belief farther on. My purpose is not to take a stand on one point of view or another, but rather to present information so that one's heart, or head, or whatever part of you that does the reasoning, can come to an enlightened opinion. (I intentionally did not say "decision," because that would mean the end of your search. And for my part, I hope that never happens.)
So please be forewarned: If you don't like controversial material, please do not read this section. And don't think that because you read it here, that I agree with what is written. For my opinion changes (and as I like to consider it grows) daily.
Tumbleweed
