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The Bible is full of crazy contradictions - here are some you may not have noticed
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Scapular - Crucified Jesus with angel, Marys - photo by Kate Perez
Jesus Interrupted is a must have book by religious scholar Bart D. Ehrman.
As I mentioned in a previous article on why there is no real reason that women cannot be priests, I recently read Bart D. Ehrman's book, Jesus Interrupted.
You can see that previous article here,
Women-priests--is-there-a-rational-argument-against-it
Mr. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He entered the seminary as a Fundamentalist Christian, believing in the inerrancy of the Bible, but through scholarship, he was eventually forced to admit that the Bible is full of revisions, mis-translations and contradictions.
I have read many, many books about the Bible, who wrote the Bible, what parts of the Bible were written when, what parts of the Bible were left out, etc., but this book was a revelation to me (pun intended.) I have read the Bible several times over but never examined it in quite the way Dr. Ehrman describes in his book. Since I believe that everyone else should buy this book too, I won't ruin all of the surprises therein. Here are a couple of highlights though.
Dr. Ehrman points out that almost all biblical scholars agree that the gospels in the New Testament canon were not really written by the authors listed (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) They are called the gospel 'according to...' and what author would choose that title when referring to himself?
Furthermore, the gospels are written entirely in the third person. Matthew 9:9, for example, refers to Matthew's being called to be a disciple, and talks about 'him' rather than 'I. ' It is highly unlikely that any of the apostles could read, much less write. Most were laborers, and we know from history that peasants in rural Galilee were not literate, and they certainly could not write in Greek. Jesus and his followers spoke Aramaic.
Ehrman writes,
In fact there is an account in Acts in which Peter and John are said to be 'unlettered' (Acts 4:13) --the ancient word for illiterate.
and later adds,
Although there have been scholars from time to time who thought that the Gospels may originally have been written in Aramaic, the overwhelming consensus today, for lots of technical linguistic reasons, is that the Gospels were all written in Greek.
Erhman also points out that John (almost universally thought to be the least ancient of the gospels) is the only gospel that indicates that Jesus is divine and not a regular human. Jesus himself never says it.
Two of the most amazing of Dr. Ehrman's revelations have to do with the birth of Jesus and the completely kooky lengths two of the Gospel writers go to in order to explain why Jesus was born in Bethlehem and how he is related to King David through his 'father' Joseph.
Note to readers: I added a hint as to what one of the revelations is about in the previous paragraph. See if you can find it.
I have not enjoyed a book about the Bible so much in years. I was sad, however, to realize that Dr. Ehrman no longer considers himself a Christian. This was not due to his realization that the Bible cannot be the inerrant word of God, but because he was unable to reconcile human suffering with a loving God. I respect his opinion and understand it, but I do still believe in God.
So, if rational people are forced to admit that the Bible is full of contradictions, mis-translations, later additions, excisions of content that did not agree with what various Bishops and Popes wanted the Bible to include, can any of us still believe it in?
Many people believe that there is plenty of material that, if studied carefully, will guide us toward the true nature of Christ's message, but we do have to think for ourselves and interpret what is being said and why. If fundamentalist Christians don't agree that mere mortals are allowed to use their intellects to interpret the Bible, that is their problem. God gave us brains for a reason.
Two good places to start are the Society of Friends (Quakers) and the Unity Church. Here is a paragraph from the Pacific Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice of the Religious Society of Friends,
The lack of a creed or clear description of Quaker beliefs has sometimes led to the misconception that Friends do not have beliefs or that one can believe anything and be a Friend. Most Quakers take the absence of a creed as an invitation and encouragement to exercise an extra measure of personal responsibility for the understanding and articulation of Quaker faith. Rather than rely on priests or professional theologians, each believer is encouraged to take seriously the personal disciplines associated with spiritual growth. Out of lives of reflection, prayer, faithfulness, and service flow the statements of belief, both in word and in deed.
You can find out more information about that here,
www.quakerinfo.org/quakerism/beliefs.html
Here is a paragraph taken from a website about the Unity Church (not to be confused with the Unitarian Church!)
The Bible
Unity founders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore studied the Bible as history and allegory and interpreted it as a metaphysical representation of humankind's evolutionary journey toward spiritual awakening. In addition, Unity recognizes that the Bible is a complex collection of writings compiled over many centuries. We honor the writings as reflecting the understanding and inspiration of the writers at the time they were written. The Bible continues to be a valuable spiritual resource for us.
You can find out more about the Unity Church here,
www.unity.org/aboutunity/index.html
To order Bart D. Ehrman's Jesus Interrupted, you can go here:
www.amazon.com/Jesus-Interrupted-Revealing-Hidden-Contradictions/dp/0061173932
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