April 6, 2009
MANN TALK: The Bible Didn't Descend; It Was Created Here
By Perry Mann
It’s quoted often: “The truth shall make you free.” But fundamentalists, evangelicals and Trinitarians avoid the truth, hide from the truth and are angered by the truth. The truth is that the Bible was written by men, men with a mundane, pragmatic and worldly purpose; that is, to establish an organization by which they hoped to gain power, pelf and sovereignty. They succeeded. The total worldly assets of the churches of the world would astound even Midas, whose touch turned everything to gold. And they enthrall supernaturally millions by their creed.
Over a period of 17 years I have written columns for the “Chronicle.” My agnosticism has provoked responses in the form of letters to the Chronicle and to me and in books for me to read in order that I could at last see the light that believers have seen. Now, it seems to me fair that I send a letter to them and cite books for them to read in order that they know the truth that shall make them free.
First, I recommend “Jesus Interrupted” by Bart D. Ehrman, a theology scholar, whose book I haven’t read yet but a review of it I have. According to the review Ehrman questions the sacred nature of the Bible and in fact sees it as an historical document, a document written by men and not written on high by God and sent to earth for His children to read and abide by.
He notes the contradictions in the Gospels. “Jesus dies on different days in Mark and John. Luke says Jesus, en route to the cross, is calm; Mark says he is distraught. John says he performed miracles to prove his provenance; Matthew says he demurred. He notes that most of the 27 books of the New Testament were written long after Christ’s death and only eight of them were actually written by authors initially credited with writing them. Ehrman concludes: “The Bible did not descend from on high, it was created, down here on earth.”
Yet, preachers, politicians, laymen and citizens quote the Bible as the inerrant words of God and thus as rock-based and holy premises in presenting their side of moral issues. When, in fact, they are not quoting God they are quoting man. To quote another person in a court of law is considered hearsay and thus inadmissible and to quote another person is not an inerrant premise.
In the April issue of The Atlantic there is an article titled “One World, Under God” by Robert Wright. In it he brings to the readers’ attention the difference between the God of Abraham --- belligerent, cruel and nationalistic --- and the Father of Jesus -- forgiving, loving and universal -- which differences are palpably irreconcilable.
Wright notes the differences between the Gospel of Mark and that of Matthew. Although Mark’s Gospel, which was written before the other Gospels and is considered the most reliable or less unreliable, there is found no where in it the Sermon on the Mount and thus the Beatitudes, an inexplicable omission of the very heart and soul of the Christian message. Further, in Mark Jesus cries out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But in Matthew, he forgives: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Lastly, Mark’s Gospel has an egregious interpolation, Mark 16: 15-18. “Go ye into the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
These verses, attributed to Jesus and thus to God, are progenitors of faith-healing tent and TV evangelists and preachers who proclaim that one is damned if he does not believe and is baptized. And snake-handling preachers and preachers that speak in tongues. The Jesus of Mark’s Gospel and Matthew’s Gospel are strangers. The Jesus of the Sermon on the Mount never spoke those verses, which are antithetical to his very nature. Some religionist added them for obvious purposes: To empower Christians with the supernatural, build the church and extend its reach. So far, the interpolator has reason to believe he has succeeded.
For a Christian who is seeking the truth, I recommend Leo Tolstoy’s “The Kingdom of God is Within You.” Here’s an excerpt: “The Sermon on the Mount or the Creed. One cannot believe in both. And Churchmen have chosen the latter. The Creed is taught and is read as a prayer in churches, but the Sermon on the Mount is excluded even from the Gospel passages read in the churches…. Indeed, it could not be otherwise. People who believe in a wicked and senseless God---who has cursed the human race and devoted his own Son to sacrifice, and a part of mankind to eternal torment---cannot believe in the God of love. The man who believes in a God, in a Christ coming again in glory to judge and to punish the quick and dead, cannot believe in the Christ who bade us turn the other cheek, judge not, forgive these that wrong us, and love our enemies… And what is most important of all---the man who believes in salvation through faith in the redemption or the sacraments, cannot devote all his powers to realizing Christ’s moral teaching in his life.”
The Bible is the work of man, not a God. It has the handprint of man all over it, particularly those books of the Old Testament. The Gospels tell different tales and teach different messages. The Sermon on the Mount may be an epitome of all the highest moral thinking of men and women from day one of humans’ moral evolvement. But it is the challenge of that Sermon that mankind must rise to imitate in order that mankind can achieve a world of peace and enough for all God’s children. The fundamental moral challenge is: The Sermon or the Creed.
* * *
Perry Mann is a former teacher, a lawyer, a former prosecuting attorney of Summers County and a columnist for Huntington News Network. He lives in Hinton, WV.
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MANN TALK: The Bible Didn't Descend; It Was Created Here
By Perry Mann
It’s quoted often: “The truth shall make you free.” But fundamentalists, evangelicals and Trinitarians avoid the truth, hide from the truth and are angered by the truth. The truth is that the Bible was written by men, men with a mundane, pragmatic and worldly purpose; that is, to establish an organization by which they hoped to gain power, pelf and sovereignty. They succeeded. The total worldly assets of the churches of the world would astound even Midas, whose touch turned everything to gold. And they enthrall supernaturally millions by their creed.
Over a period of 17 years I have written columns for the “Chronicle.” My agnosticism has provoked responses in the form of letters to the Chronicle and to me and in books for me to read in order that I could at last see the light that believers have seen. Now, it seems to me fair that I send a letter to them and cite books for them to read in order that they know the truth that shall make them free.
First, I recommend “Jesus Interrupted” by Bart D. Ehrman, a theology scholar, whose book I haven’t read yet but a review of it I have. According to the review Ehrman questions the sacred nature of the Bible and in fact sees it as an historical document, a document written by men and not written on high by God and sent to earth for His children to read and abide by.
He notes the contradictions in the Gospels. “Jesus dies on different days in Mark and John. Luke says Jesus, en route to the cross, is calm; Mark says he is distraught. John says he performed miracles to prove his provenance; Matthew says he demurred. He notes that most of the 27 books of the New Testament were written long after Christ’s death and only eight of them were actually written by authors initially credited with writing them. Ehrman concludes: “The Bible did not descend from on high, it was created, down here on earth.”
Yet, preachers, politicians, laymen and citizens quote the Bible as the inerrant words of God and thus as rock-based and holy premises in presenting their side of moral issues. When, in fact, they are not quoting God they are quoting man. To quote another person in a court of law is considered hearsay and thus inadmissible and to quote another person is not an inerrant premise.
In the April issue of The Atlantic there is an article titled “One World, Under God” by Robert Wright. In it he brings to the readers’ attention the difference between the God of Abraham --- belligerent, cruel and nationalistic --- and the Father of Jesus -- forgiving, loving and universal -- which differences are palpably irreconcilable.
Wright notes the differences between the Gospel of Mark and that of Matthew. Although Mark’s Gospel, which was written before the other Gospels and is considered the most reliable or less unreliable, there is found no where in it the Sermon on the Mount and thus the Beatitudes, an inexplicable omission of the very heart and soul of the Christian message. Further, in Mark Jesus cries out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But in Matthew, he forgives: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Lastly, Mark’s Gospel has an egregious interpolation, Mark 16: 15-18. “Go ye into the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
These verses, attributed to Jesus and thus to God, are progenitors of faith-healing tent and TV evangelists and preachers who proclaim that one is damned if he does not believe and is baptized. And snake-handling preachers and preachers that speak in tongues. The Jesus of Mark’s Gospel and Matthew’s Gospel are strangers. The Jesus of the Sermon on the Mount never spoke those verses, which are antithetical to his very nature. Some religionist added them for obvious purposes: To empower Christians with the supernatural, build the church and extend its reach. So far, the interpolator has reason to believe he has succeeded.
For a Christian who is seeking the truth, I recommend Leo Tolstoy’s “The Kingdom of God is Within You.” Here’s an excerpt: “The Sermon on the Mount or the Creed. One cannot believe in both. And Churchmen have chosen the latter. The Creed is taught and is read as a prayer in churches, but the Sermon on the Mount is excluded even from the Gospel passages read in the churches…. Indeed, it could not be otherwise. People who believe in a wicked and senseless God---who has cursed the human race and devoted his own Son to sacrifice, and a part of mankind to eternal torment---cannot believe in the God of love. The man who believes in a God, in a Christ coming again in glory to judge and to punish the quick and dead, cannot believe in the Christ who bade us turn the other cheek, judge not, forgive these that wrong us, and love our enemies… And what is most important of all---the man who believes in salvation through faith in the redemption or the sacraments, cannot devote all his powers to realizing Christ’s moral teaching in his life.”
The Bible is the work of man, not a God. It has the handprint of man all over it, particularly those books of the Old Testament. The Gospels tell different tales and teach different messages. The Sermon on the Mount may be an epitome of all the highest moral thinking of men and women from day one of humans’ moral evolvement. But it is the challenge of that Sermon that mankind must rise to imitate in order that mankind can achieve a world of peace and enough for all God’s children. The fundamental moral challenge is: The Sermon or the Creed.
* * *
Perry Mann is a former teacher, a lawyer, a former prosecuting attorney of Summers County and a columnist for Huntington News Network. He lives in Hinton, WV.
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