Well I just finished a most excellent book. I started looking at the Nag Hammadi, it made me remember that I had gotten a book that was a commentary on it by Bart Ehrman (sitting on the shelf of course). I decided to give it a go, and "Lost Christianities" turned into an excellent read, but before I got too far along in it I got a notice from Amazon (you know, related books to what you've bought email) and there was another Bart Ehrman book on there. I ended up ordering a few more, and got into "Misquoting Jesus" as soon as it arrived. I will have to go back to "Lost Christianities" because now the Lost Gospel of Judas has my attention. Anyway, "Misquoting Jesus" turned into a must read in my opinion.
Bart Ehrman is probably our foremost scholar on ancient Greek texts. I never realized how readable his books were, but they are packed with information. I always knew there were differences in manuscripts, but I had no idea how many and how many were deliberate. Whole doctrines were made with changes to scripts. Once a copy was changed, all the copies after it would keep the change, unless somewhere along the way a knowledgable scribe recognized it and changed it again. Changes were made to support Christ's diety, to support the trinity doctrine, to support the repression of women (Jesus and Paul both taught women would be equal to men in the Kingdom of Heaven), to refute doctrines from gnostics, docetists, gospels were written to pin the blame for the crucifixion on the Jews (squarely), and on and on.
When a letter was written to the churches, it was written to be read aloud, since most people were illiterate. To share the letters with other churches and reproduce them within the churches, anyone who could would do the copying. There were scribes who couldn't read what they wrote, and would practice there signatures, and if they missed a letter, they would miss it with each rewrite as well. I found the whole lecture rather fascinating and would highly recommend the book to anyone wanting to know about their scriptures, and why there are so many little footnotes with various readings all the way through. I got this on Amazon for less than $15, and I wouldn't be surprised if you could find it at a discount book store (which is really sad considering who the author is).
YOU can learn directly from God.
If you're religion is confusing to you, there's a reason. Get a red letter Bible, and read the words of Jesus to the priests and preachers of His day. Then understand this: There's no difference between them and the priests and preachers of our day. Why would there be? Just as there was in His day, there are some with good intent, but even they are learning from a corrupted system. Want the truth? Throw out everything you've learned from them, pick up the Bible, and read it for yourself. Not by chapter and verse as you were taught. Particularly in the New Testament, read the way they were written, as letters. And unless you're well versed in Old English, get a modern translation. One you can read and understand. Stick to the New Testament at first, so as not to be overwhelmed. And know this, it isn't the word of God the way you were taught. It's the word of God as understood by those who wrote it. Try to understand it from the point of view of those it was written to...we were taught to read it as if it was written to us!
The problem with that is, those the New Testament was written to were going through the transition from one Covenant to another. They were awaiting an event in their time. To learn about that event, one needs to consult historians, such as Josephus and his account of it in "Wars of the Jews."
The problem with that is, those the New Testament was written to were going through the transition from one Covenant to another. They were awaiting an event in their time. To learn about that event, one needs to consult historians, such as Josephus and his account of it in "Wars of the Jews."
Questioning the established theologies. The church teaches the law, just as it did when Jesus railed against it in His day. A discussion on the freedoms He gave us, and why true followers might want to operate on the outside. The truth is out there, but where?
Monday, March 8, 2010
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