RETHINKING THE BIBLE
Like millions of others, I too believed the Bible was infallible and inerrant for many years of my life. I have read the Bible from cover to cover, more than once and studied portions of it many times. Based upon certain verses in the Bible, we have all been led to believe that it is all inspired by God. Perhaps part of the reason for that belief is that even Jesus Christ made reference to certain individuals in the Old Testament. In life I have learned to question and that to automatically assume something is true, is a sure ticket to deception. Bible infallibility is actually a form of CENSORSHIP, which means to Bible apologists that it cannot be questioned, because to question the Bible is to question God. Not so!
Strangely, even in the New Testament the reader is told to "prove all things" and "try the spirits whether they be of God." The things Jesus Christ taught during His human life time, were jaw-dropping. Jesus Christ was is in fact the most renowned whistleblower the world has ever known and His impact upon human beings is monumental. We read that Jesus came to SET THE CAPTIVES FREE. Jesus also DEMOLISHED man-made religion as recorded in Matthew 23, which is worthy of being read and thought about by all church goers. Jesus was profound. Jesus offended the religious rulers and the religious elite. I would even suggest that should Jesus Christ walk our streets today, He would bypass the "pastors", the "senior pastors", the "bishops", the "elders", the "reverends", the mega-church leaders, those with titles such as "Dr. Pastor", the "scholars", those with "masters" degrees in theology, those with "doctorate" degrees in theology and so forth and once again hand-pick "uneducated fishermen", or perhaps farmers or housewives as disciples (people with common sense).
Jesus Christ bucked the religious status-quo. Jesus and His disciples picked corn and ate it on the Sabbath Day. Jesus healed the sick on the Sabbath day. Jesus proved that man-made religion is just that---man-made. Jesus did not wash His hands before He ate, which was an offense to the legalists. In our world today, we also have the legalists, not only in the original Worldwide Church of God and its many daughters, but the world is overrun with religious legalists in many different groups. Going to church itself is a form of legalism. What does it really have to do with salvation or eternal life? Sure Jesus entered the synagogue, but not to learn truth, but to enlighten those who lived in darkness.
The church world is Bible obsessed. They think life on earth revolves around Bible study. It does NOT! Life really revolves around LOVE (at least it should), and God is LOVE. How is God love in the face of tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes and "natural" disasters? What about endless wars of death and destruction? The issue is that God created human life and we all suffer because of the decisions humans make in life. Most of us are not responsible for the heinous wars of mankind, but many suffer because of them. Why does God not intervene and stop them? I have asked that question a million times and the only conclusion I have is that we have to learn from living, but that does not make God responsible for insane wars. As to natural disasters, I have no answer, but I do not assign evil to God. Who does not have questions with no valid answers?
The Bible in my opinion is a great deal of fiction, myth, legend and human fabrication. That of course offends the senses of many. I can receive the fact that there are some good teachings in the Bible, especially the words attributed to Jesus Christ, such as about love, compassion, mercy, empathy and humility but that does not cause me to believe that everything in the Bible is fact or truth. I have no idea how the New Testament was penned, even though I have read that it was penned many years AFTER the life of Jesus Christ. Was Jesus Christ quoted "verbatim?" How does anyone know? Truth is---they don't know! For many it seems that their faith in Jesus depends entirely upon the false belief that "the Bible is infallible and inerrant."
The Old Testament and the book of "Revelation" both defy the teachings of Jesus Christ and are cause to seriously doubt inspiration. Just because one verse says "all scripture is given by inspiration of God", does not make what is called the Bible, the word of God. In the end of the book of "Revelation" we read that anyone who tampers with "Revelation" will suffer the consequence. That is an obvious attempt at CENSORSHIP and I would suggest that the real author of this novel and fiction had an ulterior motive. Throughout history men have always put words in the mouth of God that God never spoke and attributed events to God that God is not responsible for. The gullible and naive "think" God authored the Bible, for no other reason that they read "all scripture is given by inspiration of God", and the hard fact is that ANYONE with pen in hand could pen such words and attach anything to those words they wish, causing the reader to believe that God did it, when He did not.
Anyone who digs deep will learn that there are mountains of information about the Bible, that will overturn what millions have believed about it. There is an avalanche of knowledge about the Bible that will no doubt change the course of how human beings see the Bible in the years to come. In my personal convictions, that does not cause me to be an atheist or cause me to doubt Jesus Christ. In fact, without Jesus Christ there is NO LIGHT in the world. Naturally I read that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, but also the Living Waters, the Bread of Life, the Manna from Heaven, the Light of the World, the Vine, the Door, the Resurrection, the Good Shepherd and the ONLY Master from the Bible and I accept that. What other hope is there? NONE!
Is what is called "the Bible" really a man-made idol? Do many worship "the Bible?" Of course they say they do not, but I believe they do. The Bible is really just INK on PAPER. It is not God and God is not the Bible. God is a Spirit Being, He is not INK on PAPER.
Van Robison
