The Skunk and Tiger

"Ignorance breeds monsters to fill up the vacancies of the soul that are unoccupied by the verities of knowledge."-Horace Mann

Monday, February 12, 2007

Reading the Bible and Stuff

Neglecting my Blog again. Its my first post for February, and I have no interest in talking about anything. I feel fatigued by any political news, I continue to follow it, but there is nothing worth posting about. Obama has officially started his bid for president. I think he is by far the most interesting. I think it would be a good idea to put someone new in the White House who is not totally under the control of lobbyists and special interest groups.
Not much has been happing. My son has been sick, but he is getting better. It talks more than a virus to slow him down. Once he is 100% I'll post some new photos. February has been a real dull month. Cold and finally snow. We are suppose to get another storm tomorrow, I guess. Its not like I have been playing that close of attention. I do enjoy shoveling my own driveway. It is going to be a pain in the ass to have to work on the yard again in spring we have got major mole problems. The cat brought one up from the basement other night.
I continue to read books critical of Christianity, the History of the Bible, and Christian Nationalism so I have decided to read all of the Bible for myself. One of the points Bart Erman makes in his book Misquoting Jesus is that it is impossible to have a literal interpretation as we only have translations of a copy, of a copy, of a copy riddled with errors and intentional alterations. I was raised Eastern Orthodox and never forced to embrace a literal view of scripture or any Sola scriptura theology. My experience in Eastern Orthodoxy was always focused on worship and veneration of Jesus Christ as well as the history of the early church. However, when I read the Bible this time, I would like to read it with the eyes of a fundamentalist. Now I have been warned by fundamentalists, that my copy of the Bible is not a divine version. I have the Good News Bible, which is a Today's English Version. It also has little illustrations in it, some have looked down their nose at this as well. I know Primitive Baptists believe that an early version of the King James Bible is the true word of God. I would like to get a copy of that Bible as well. In the past I have read all four gospels, the first four or five books of the old testament, several of Paul letters, and Revelation. I would like to give my honest opinion of what I read, but I don't know if I will or if I should. I think most Christians don't read the bible, and if they did it would challenge their faith. As it is challenging mine.
I am also finishing Richard Dawns The God Delusion, which is a great read and gives great evidence that the Bible is not a repository of morality or truth. I quess everyone must decide for themselves, and I would like to leave with a quote.

"Many people would sooner die than think. In fact they do."
-- Bertrand Russell

Thats what I want to do, continue to think and learn.