Taking It to the Max: You can believe some of it, without believing all of it, and still believe in what is real!
Rev. C. Solomon!
Part II. A Bible Full of Errors.
Most scholars know that the bible is full of errors, some numerical and others chronological. There are also an incalculable amount of misspellings contained within the Bible. The term bible derives from the Greek term biblias which translates as ‘the books.
Next we must take into consideration all of the errors that are a result of translation, mistranslation and interpretation. There are also stories that were borrowed from other traditions like Gilgamesh and even Greek mythology that are used as sources for ’the books’, and yet individuals who would read the bible are taught that the bible is a source that derives from heaven itself.
If you were to consider all that was said and done prior to the ‘the books’ coming into existence, you would realize that the books are not the exclusive source that one should use to learn about God. People found God before there was a bible.
For those who use the bible as a source, they often demand that it be accepted in its entirety or no at all. Frankly, the bible has been tampered with. Certain texts do not have any manuscript support, and there are instances when terms were intentionally altered in order to make certain ideas agree.
Where is the bible that Jesus wrote, that God wrote or that the Apostles wrote? That bible simply does not exist. Now there are many religious individuals today, particularly Christians, who have said that the bible is under attack. If seeking the truth is an attack, then those of us who are seeking the truth are attacking it. On the other hand those individuals who are not interested in the truth are doing a great document a disservice, for whether everything in the books is true or not, it remains a formidable document.
Now having said that, there is enough said in the bible to help one to discover the God idea and to begin on a path to the truth. But no one should be told that if they don’t believe or accept all 'the books' that they are somehow a pagan, heretic or an apostate, or on the other hand that they should not accept any of it if they cannot accept all of it.
The bible is limited in many respects. In one respect it is limited by the very people that created it and the sources and source documents that were used to create it.
Our knowledge today is far superior to there’s, but yet many of our scholars, preachers and philologists rely on the understanding of post-modern human beings who were limited in terms of their understanding at best.
What should the bible represent to anyone who wants to use it? It should be used as a source document and as a reference. And at the same time it should be examined with a certain amount of skepticism in mind. If our ultimate objective is to find the truth, then we are compelled to consider other documents and sources along with the bible in terms of our quest for knowledge and what is real.
And finally, if you think about today’s bible and all of the revisions and new translations that have arisen as of late, who knows what the authors of the various books were actually trying to say, the latter does not suggest that what they believed was always accurately translated. There is even disagreement between modern day translators and modern days translations. Does this suggest that perhaps those who will ought to simply strike out and seek to uncover what is real for themselves today without an overreliance on questionable texts?
Love, Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon
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