> > On Jun 16, 2008, at 11:02 PM, Stephen Russell wrote: > > > I think that when the split of the Christians occurred there were > > two known > > versions of the Old Testament. I thin it was Judea had one and > > Israel had > > the other. So at the Christian split they took the official "other" > > version > > just to be different. Or so the story goes. > > > Yeah, that really reinforces the idea of some god speaking loudly > and > clearly to a chosen group of people.
The question of the canonicity of the Bible is a valid one, one about which reasonable people can disagree, and have throughout the ages disagreed--in many cases, too vehemently. Other than some disagreement over the Apocrypha and Deuterocanonicals, Catholics and Protestants and the Orthodox churches pretty much agree on the composition of the Bible canon, so the issue as such is overrated and overstated. The proof is internal--that is, depending on your approach to interpretation (a science called "hermeneutics"), you may view this or that book as more-or-less clearly in or out. Moreover different manuscripts of the same book vie for authenticity, and so it's clearly an issue which one is used. Most Bibles include the discrepancies so you can judge for yourself. The real debate is not over canon per se, but methods of interpretation, which in turn decide that canon, and I don't just mean how to phrase this or that verse in a translation. You would be surprised, if you gave it any serious inquiry, just how clearly the same voice speaks underneath all the trappings of time, culture and the figures of speech peculiar to each prophet. It would amaze you how *consistent* the message actually is, once you know how to factor out, as it were, your own biases and get beyond your own cultural frame of reference--and even those of the authors, who were diverse vessels for the transmitting of God's Word. Moreover, in the words of Christ, you see an amazing synthesis of the major concepts that clearly flow from God through all the books of the Bible, from Genesis on. Sure, any idiot can find this or that line that offends their modern sensibilities and seems to contradict Jesus, especially in the OT--all that stuff about eating pork and stoning gays and punishment for beating slaves, etc. But if you really grasped what God was saying after taking it all in and digesting it, you'd understand that these surface readings indicate merely a lack of effort to understand what the message ultimately and really is. To use my artist metaphor from yesterday's epistle, the spirit in which most unbelievers approach understanding Scripture is like that of some accounting major who hates modern art criticizing Picasso because his renditions of people are anatomically incorrect. Yes, charlatans across the ages have used the bible to do evil things. Even the devil quoted Scripture--accurately, I might add--when tempting Jesus in the desert. (He actually did not even technically lie to Eve, but rather deceived her with a half-truth, "a truth that's told with bad intent" to quote Blake.) False teachers do not disprove the Bible as unbelievers claim--indeed, it warns us about them and tells us how to spot them. They pervert the Word of God into the words and traditions of men, and blaspheme the Holy Spirit that makes the real meaning clear to earnest seekers. Not everyone who reads the Bible is able to do this, or has the Helper handy to assist them in "getting it". Even once you can get beyond all the disputation of canon, there are a lot of traps in the text for the lazy and the arrogant and the unbelieving, which make it hard for them to accept any, let alone all, of Scripture as the Word of God, inerrant, and sufficient for all instruction and reproof. Indeed, a great many false teachings proceed from really, really bad methods of interpretation (which are Legion--reference Luke 8 intended), while others are more deliberate (as in the case of petty charlatans). It would be safer to say, as Christ warns, that the gate is very narrow, and this is one reason why I avoid mega-churches and view with suspicion any so-called Christian leader who gets a large following and develops a "name brand" in this world. That God chose over the ages to reveal his Word to mere men and women, not all of whom had stenographers handy, but most of whom thought it was a good idea to hand his communication down in various poetic and discursive forms, is part of the great proof of the Bible's authenticity once you are able the hear that Voice. If you can't hear it, you aren't really trying (for God rewards those who believe that He is and earnestly seek Him--a la Hebrews 11:6). - Bob > > -- Ed Leafe > > > > > [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
