Building a Strong Spiritual Foundation, Even if the Bible is Fallible

I ran across the following article the other day: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bart-d-ehrman/the-bible-telling-lies-to_b_840301.html?ref=fb&src=sp

The article discusses the fact that much of the New Testament is not written by the apostles and other authors that most Christians attribute to them. While this should not come as any kind of shock to anyone who has seriously studied the Bible, it may come to a shock to many Christians, who believe that the Bible is literally the infallible word of God (Jesus). As an attorney, and someone who has spent years studying the Bible, I can assure you that the Bible has enough hearsay, contradictions, and outright misinformation, that you could never have it admitted as as a literal and factual piece of evidence in a court of law.

The simple fact is that the Bible is fallible. Even if you could prove that the various books were indeed written by their purported authors, the Bible would still have been written by human beings. All humans are fallible, because each of us has prejudices, life experiences, cognitive conditioning, etc. which all help to shape how we view the world around us, as well as how we view God. Even if I had a direct revelation from God, the moment that I attempt to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys nowadays), I would have already corrupted God’s message in some way. I would have corrupted  God’s message, because 1) There is no way that I can fully comprehend the full scope of God; 2) I can only comprehend the message from God within my own cognitive framework; and 3) As soon as I attempt to convey the message, I will have put my own “spin” on what I experienced. Therefore, I can never write anything that can be construed as the literal word of God, nor could someone 2,000 years ago.

While this is undoubtedly an uncomfortable notion for many to come to terms with, it is actually helpful. One positive aspect which is gained by not taking the Bible as the “literal” word of God, is that it can no longer be used as a weapon to justify the harming or degradation of another person or group of people. Another positive aspect, is that it allows you to read and study scripture, without the worry that you will be condemned to hell if you “question your faith”.

This does not mean that the Bible is “bad” or “corrupt”, because the Bible, like other sacred scriptures, is full of divine truth. The key is to carefully read the scriptures with an open mind. You must bring the scriptures with you to your spiritual threshing floor, and separate the wheat from the chaff. You will find that when you truly study the scriptures, that the main theme is love. The true message of God is simply love, and it is present in every major world religion. God is  universal and loves each of us no matter what our religion, race, or nationality is, after all the first two words in the Lord’s prayer are “Our Father”, not “My father”.

By studying sacred scripture, and meditating on it in order to decide what is divine truth and what is not, you will establish a strong spiritual foundation, rather than simply parroting the beliefs of someone else. However, spirituality is not a purely intellectual pursuit, you must put the teachings of God’s love into practice. By studying and actually putting the teachigns of God’s live into practice you can build an unshakable spiritual foundation. According to the book of Luke Jesus stated,

“As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” Luke 6:46-49.

Practical Tip: With God’s universal love in mind, read and study the scriptures of your own religion. If you come across a passage that does not coincide with a universal and loving God, question rather or not you believe that verse is correct. Do not be afraid to explore why you feel the verse is correct or incorrect. Also, go outside of your comfort zone and read scriptures from other religions with an open mind towards God’s universal love. You may be surprised at how similar the messages of love and peace are among the world religions. Finally, put what you have learned into action by showing love to your fellow man.

If You Would Like More Information on a Scholarly, Yet Approachable, Look the Bible (Specifically the New Testament), Please Check Out: “Jesus Interrupted” (Clicking on the Photo Below Will Redirect You To Amazon.com)

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Also, please check out my book, “The Path: Using the Religions of the World as a Guide to Personal and Spiritual Development.” (Click on the book cover to view on Amazon.com)