My Sunday Thought for 09042016: God's Word, or Inspired By God?

The Bible is a collection of sacred texts in Judaism and Christianity. It is a collection of scriptures written at different times by different authors in different locations. Jews and Christians consider the books of the Bible to be a product of divine inspiration or an authoritative record of the relationship between God and humans.

-- Wikipedia, "Bible"

Let's consider what is being said in the opening quote, "Jews and Christians consider the books of the Bible to be a product of divine inspiration or an authoritative record of the relationship between God and humans."  It has been beaten into most of us that these works of Holy Scripture are the written Word of God, yet we are told by religious scholars that these "collected works" were written by men, for men.  These same scholars have concluded that at least 14 of the 27 books of the New Testament are attributable to Paul the Apostle, though no one is any more certain of this than the authorship of any other portions of scripture.  

The Holy Bible, if it represents any truth at all, can be viewed by the faithful as "an authoritative record of the relationship between God and humans."  If we consider the lack of scholarly agreement as to authorship, questionable agendas, origin of documents and stories and the condition and credibility of the same, the time between when a tale supposedly occurred before it written down, and the number of questionable translations by monks, scribes, and others who barely had command of their own language let alone the several other languages and dialects in which these tales were written, one must have an extreme faith to accept any of it as authoritative.  It is no wonder to me that over 33,000 sects of Christianity cannot agree on one interpretation.

But, Christian faith has been molded over the last 2000 plus years, since the death of Christ, to accept what our religious clergy says as authoritative.  This blind acceptance has led us down a path of death and destruction in the name of God, and was the catalysts for beautiful, astounding works of art and architecture that can make strong men weep.

"Protestantism has the method of Jesus with His secret too much left out of mind: Catholicism has His secret with His method too much left out of mind; neither has His unerring balance, His intuition, His sweet reasonableness. But both have hold of a great truth, and get from it a great power.

-- Matthew Arnold (1822-1888), poet, educator, cultural critic  

19th century religious critic and educator, Matthew Arnold says of this Holy Scripture, that Christians "have hold of a great truth, and get from it a great power."  What we all need to wrap our minds around is that the Bible, this "Holy Scripture," is simply a book, a collection of parables chosen by Christian leadership to help us understand our faith.  Holy Scripture does hold "a great truth" and, more importantly, they "get from it a great power."

"We are each a soldier of God 

firing the bullet of faith 

from the rifle of Holy Scripture."

We have all seen Christian clergy and the faithful holding the Bible out in front of them as if it is some protective shield or sword used to protect them from evil or combat the same.  Mr. Arnold is correct in that the book holds no power in and of itself but, rather, the power is what we get from it; power to build our armor and our faith within ourselves, which will make us a true sword and shield of God against evil.  Inanimate objects like scripture, cross, or icon, are focal points from which to launch the faith within us, the true power of God, against the demons sent forth against mankind.  We are each a soldier of God firing the bullet of faith from the rifle of Holy Scripture.

God handed down his Word to Moses in Ten Commandments which have been lost to all mankind.  Those Commandments, God's Word, still exists for us, downloaded into our hearts and minds before our birth.  We are inspired to remember what we already know through Holy Scripture.  We can ignore what we know, or we can embrace it.  The choice to be an inspired sword is within each of us; it always has been, as has our choice to be a sucking leech on the ass end of civilization.

The question you must ask yourself is if your faith is up to the challenge... or do you suck.

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.