In one of the blogs I read, someone posted a comment. The message only somewhat tied in with the topic and the backlink was to an unrelated website.
I dislike the idea of giving the author’s rant any more exposure by repeating it, but once I set aside the invective nature of the post, I saw both truth and insight within. Here is the comment:
“The bible is a poorly edited anthology of 3rd Century literature. Calling it ‘God’s Word’ perpetuates the church’s fraud.”
Let’s break it down:
Poorly Edited
Yes, the Bible is poorly edited. In fact, aside from what is necessary in the process of translation, the intent is that it is not edited at all. This is a good thing.
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works. With the Bible’s creation spanning a couple of millennia and written by about forty authors, it is definitely an anthology.
Third Century
This is only somewhat correct and a great oversimplification. The components of the New Testament were being compiled in its present assemblage in the third century, even though that effort started a couple of centuries prior.
The contents of the Old Testament were assembled much earlier. The actual writing of the various sections, called books, of the Bible, however, certainly predates the third century.
Literature
The Bible is literature—great literature, in my opinion. Based on worldwide sales, it is the most popular literary work ever.
God’s Word
Yes, this is what many people call it. I do too!
Perpetuates the Church…
The Bible is a resource that propels the church forward, though I believe that could happen even without the Bible.
Fraud
The Bible acknowledges that its message will seem as foolishness and be offensive to those who’ understand it (1 Corinthians 1:18-25), so the writer’s conclusion is consistent with what the Bible says.
My only hope is that the author who penned this comment will one day see fit to change the final word from “fraud” to “faith.”
[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 1-4, and today’s post is on 1 Corinthians 1:18-25.]
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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