[whitecrow]

An interesting thread. It was my reading and rereading of the Bible that eventually caused me to start saying: It's all true, and it's all lies.

The Bible is many things. A corrupted book, yes. Full of contradictions and falsehoods, yes. In many ways a work of fiction, yes. But it is also sublime truth, a record of people's uneasy relationship with their gods and with the Great Spirit, and a goldmine of information about the attitudes and lifestyles of many different eras and cultures.

I won't even address the arguments that are based on a snippet. You can pull anything out of context to make any case. You have to read the Bible as a whole, cover-to-cover, about three times before it begins to make sense. When that happens, terms like "living water" begin to seem appropriate.

I'm not a Christian, though I have been. I don't practice any formal religion. I've studied the Bible more thoroughly than any of the world's other scriptures, but I have an interest in them all. I no longer think in terms of "God," much less "Jehovah" or "Yaweh." All such terms are limiting and corrupt. The Divine Source is utterly numinous to our 3D perceptions, and all portrayals are simply caricatures.

We're almost approaching the point where the language of science and the language of mysticism converge. Like the Internet, this is a historic and timely step in our evolution. The language of religion is the more dogmatic, but not by much. Paradigms in both religion and science are being severely tested about now. I think a much more holistic cosmology will emerge.

(By the way...I posted this at Camelot...there is a free download called Ocean that contains a fantastic collection of the world's main scriptures. It's put out by the Bahá'is so of course those scriptures are exhaustively represented. It also contains the main writings from the Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Zoroastrian, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh and Taoist Faiths. It's totally free and contains no preachy stuff, the Bahá'is never do that. If you have an interest in religions, this is a great resource!)

I take the view that the same "God" has been communicating with and occasionally manifesting among people since the beginning. I believe in the Hindu/Bahá'i principle that all religions are just different forms of the same thing.

I believe that ALL religions are true and ALL are false, depending on your viewpoint. There is no such thing as One True Faith except for the one that has no name and has always been known in the heart of everyone who ever dwelt on this planet.

The Bible is the record of one of many traditions. The Light is there, for those who have eyes to see it - just as it is there in many, many other great writings from all times and cultures. If it's lies and contradictions you seek, ammunition to prove the church is false and God doesn't exist, those things are even easier to find. What most people find there is pablum - soma - that keeps them sleepy and contented.

And that my friends is a real shame.