Holy Bible or Wholly Babble? You decide.

By Lawrence Errington

Have you ever questioned the statement that the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God? This book not only questions some of the extraordinary Biblical tales but also offers alternative and plausible answers to questions that come from reading the Holy Bible. Even those who have never read the Bible will be entertained and informed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lawrence Errington
• Release date: May 14, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458179142

Lawrence Errington

Lawrence F. Errington, retired in 2000 after more than 25 years in the aerospace industry. He and his wife Kelly live in a rural setting northwest of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This is his first ebook. The printed copy was first published in 2009 is available from his website. www.willowmystical.com/books.

Book preview

Holy Bible

or

Wholly Babble?

You Decide.

Another perspective on the world’s

most quoted book.

by

Lawrence F. Errington

SMASHWORDS EDITION

*****

PUBLISHED BY

Lawrence F. Errington on Smashwords

Holy Bible or Wholly Babble? You Decide.

Copyright 2011 Lawrence F. Errington

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase another copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to smashworks.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

*****

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.

Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.

Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.

Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for generations.

But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.

The Buddha 563-483 BCE

*****

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 - Some thoughts on religion

Chapter 2 - The Book

Chapter 3 - A brief Bible history

Chapter 4 - Judaism

Chapter 5 - In the beginning

Chapter 6 - Genesis: a different perspective

Chapter 7 - People

Chapter 8 - Gods, Angels, Demons and Dragons

Chapter 9 - Noah

Chapter10 - Civilization

Chapter 11 - Abraham and the first Covenant

Chapter 12 - Joseph

Chapter 13 - Moses

Chapter 14 - Joshua

Chapter 15 - The Hebrew Kings

Chapter 16 - The Prophets

Chapter 17 - Intermission

Chapter 18 - Background to the New Testament

Chapter 19 - Nativity

Chapter 20 - Yeshua ben Yoseph (Jesus son of Joseph)

Chapter 21 - Married

Chapter 22 - Betrayal

Chapter 23 - Calvary, Golgotha, Place of the skulls

Chapter 24 - Resurrection

Chapter 25 - Paul

Chapter 26 - Peter, Upon this Rock

Chapter 27 - The Dead Sea scrolls

Chapter 28 - And then what happened?

Chapter 29 - Emperor Constantine

Chapter 30 - Spreading the Good News

Chapter 31 - A final perspective

Chapter 32 - Concluding Remarks

Bibliography

Author's Biography

*****

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to the people who helped me with this project. My wife Kelly who read and re-read my manuscript, critiqued and supported me all the way. Barry Alder, who has published his eBooks with Smashbooks, for his help and guidance. Thanks also to Rev. Sheena Riley Marini for her encouragement and to Brenda Silverhand for sharing her Biblical expertise, editing skills and enthusiastic support.

*****

Preface

At some point, either before starting this book or within a few minutes of reading it, the reader will likely stop and examine the cover, possibly scan this preface with one purpose in mind. One may ask, Who wrote this? Better still, What are his qualifications, what degrees does he hold and from what University?

It is only fair that at the outset I must admit to none of the above. My qualifications do not include a formal degree. In my defense of this work, first may I point out that Saul of Tarsus, later known as Saint Paul, had no formal training in theology. He was in fact trained as a tent maker. Many of the New Testament writings are attributed to him, but only a select few were written by his hand. Some scholars contend that Christianity would not have existed were it not for Paul. How is it that Paul can write a number of New Testament books and yet it seems that it is necessary for someone to have a University degree if not a Doctorate in Theology to discuss his work? Even with the highest of credentials, many authors are subjected to strong criticism.

Peter, first known as Simon, who some assert was the first Pope and upon whom Jesus said he will build his church, was a simple fisherman on Lake Galilee. He too had no formal education let alone a degree in theology. It is doubtful that he could even read or write yet he is held to be the first spiritual leader of the Church.

Let me state most emphatically that I do not pretend to compare myself to either Peter or Paul in any way shape or form. What has been compiled here is a collection of my own logical thoughts and at every juncture I have sought out expert help and references to back up my statements. Those whom I have used for research material have, for the most part, impeccable credentials. The information is out there for those who have eyes to see, ears to hear and open minds to accept what could be a plausible, believable, alternative view.

Belief in the words of the Holy Bible is not a prerequisite for believing in a supreme being, be it known as God, Allah, Brahma or any other name. One of the main features of the Old Testament is to exalt the power of the one God, the God of Abraham. The New Testament is an attempt to connect a man we call Jesus with the Old Testament prophesies and his kinship with that God. It is not the intention of this book to destroy anyone’s faith in their God. It is however an attempt to open the Holy Bible to a closer scrutiny than we ever dared and be able to see it more clearly and possibly more truthfully in the light of the 21st century.

I did not, as the expression goes, just fall off the turnip truck, and have spent a lifetime reading about and questioning the religious establishment. In recent years many television programs and articles focus on science, religion, biblical inquiry and so on. Unfortunately most are biased towards a view that the Bible is true; it is the Divine Word of God and represents a historical reality. I along with many others strongly disagree. Today, there is much useful information that can be gleaned from the information highway, the world wide web of the internet; however, some caution must be applied to these articles as many are posted without proper documentation. The selected bibliography at the end of this book contains the names of writers and their books that help to support my ideas.

In my travels and interaction with many people through the years, I am finding more and more people lately who have a similar mindset. Mentioning that this book was forthcoming has been met with eager anticipation. On more than one occasion I have been asked why I am so negative to the church and its formal religious doctrine or for that matter to organized religion in general. This work is my answer.

*****

Introduction

My parents, members of the United Church of Canada, baptized me and raised me as a Christian. I attended Sunday school and became a church member in my early teens. As questions arose, no one; not even the local church minister, could provide what I considered logical answers. Logic; who said matters of religion, must be logical? In Hebrews 11:1, it states "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." I cannot accept this blind faith attitude. To my way of thinking, something not seen is not evidence by any stretch of the imagination and if this is what is needed to be a member of a congregation of the faithful, then leave me out!

As the years passed my questions led me to read a variety of books and articles that led to even more questions. Television programs on the History Channel, National Geographic, PBS, interviews and lectures with Bill Moyers and the late Professor Joseph Campbell and finally the Internet have all contributed to my quest for answers. One of my most memorable experiences was a course taken at York University, Toronto, in the Department of Humanities. This course opened more doors and gave me insights into the historical roots of the Greco-Roman, Judeo-Christian traditions that affect us to this day. It seems that just as you think you have the answers, a new glimmer of information comes to light and the answers we thought we had, raise only more questions. Such was the case in my research for this book.

The more I looked the more information I found. Often it was stated to family and friends that even if I hit the delete button at the end of it all, it would still have been a most memorable and enlightening experience. Of course the delete button was not used and I am humbly pleased to offer my thoughts and the results of my quest in the pages that follow.

The study and teaching of theology has always followed a bias for the ideology and dogma of the particular faith that is studied. Few students, if any, are actually instructed in counter viewpoints and in many cases discouraged or even forbidden to explore other belief systems. The faithful are warned by the clergy not to be deceived by false prophets and false doctrines. Most are taught that if one is not with us, one must be against us and by logical deduction, in league with the forces of evil. Clerics enter their profession because of a 'calling' to serve their god and mankind. If one is 'called' to a particular form of worship, why then would that person wish to look at alternative doctrines? Why would teachers of theology confuse their students with conflicting ideas?

Having said that, I must hasten to point out that some enlightened men and women of the cloth do in fact have open minds. They are well read and are not afraid to voice their opinion, whereas blind faith and unsubstantiated dogma tends to restrict the minds of thinking people. I personally know a few and I am very grateful for their guidance, advice and support in this project.

Most of the major religions control the faithful and insure their point of view with threats, intimidation and fear. Who has not heard the familiar phrase, ‘God will punish you for...’ or ‘You're going straight to Hell if you...’ and so on? The ultimate punishment for transgression in the Roman Catholic tradition today is excommunication, but not so long ago the penalty for breaking church law was death. A Muslim novelist and essayist, Salman Rushdie, was marked for death by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Supreme Religious Leader of Iran, calling for Rushdie’s assassination. Why? Because in 1988 he dared to write a novel entitled Satanic Verses.

Until a few centuries ago torture, imprisonment, hanging, drowning and burning were considered acceptable punishments for Christian heresy. Is religious belief so tenuous that doctrines must be enforced by fear of punishment not only here on the physical plane but also beyond death and into the next whatever? Religious leaders that I have spoken to admit that there was no training, instruction nor encouragement to look into other doctrines or belief systems at any point in any of their courses in theology. This is a sad statement in this age of so-called enlightenment.

The very fact that you are now reading this puts you in the roughly 30% of the world’s population that can actually read. By a strange coincidence only 30% of the world’s population claims to be Christian. This does not imply that only Christians can read, far from it. However, in my travels and interaction with many people on the subject of religion and the Bible, I have met very few who can honestly say that they have read the Holy Bible, from cover to cover. The next logical question then would be to ask where does their so-called abiding faith and religious belief comes from.

For those raised in a Roman Catholic tradition, their religious training would likely have begun in the home and been formalized in primary school. From there they may have chosen to attend a Catholic Secondary school thus continuing to be taught by properly trained people. Non-catholic children would likely be first influenced in the home and as the public school system now excludes religious training, they may have been sent to a church sponsored, informal type of instruction, commonly called Sunday School. Consequently they are taught for the most part by untrained people who themselves have not read the Bible, let alone know and understand it. Those amateur ‘teachers’ most likely have a strong bias for the particular denomination in which they themselves were brought up.

Watch any Christian Television broadcast on a Sunday morning and you will see the pastor storming across the stage waving the Bible and quoting chapter and verse claiming it to be the inspired Word of God. I question that so-called ‘inspiration’ and in the pages that follow perhaps you will too.

One of the most difficult problems in examining the Bible and its truth or lack of truth is the fact that whatever was implanted in our brain by well meaning but possibly misinformed people during our formative years, seems to stay firmly in place, defying alternate theories any access. My hope with this book is to open a few doors, let in some light and some fresh air.

As a matter of interest, all Biblical quotations referenced in this book are taken from the Authorized King James Version also known as the KJV. Although it was first published 400 years ago, it is still in use by many churches and individuals to this day. If you doubt this statement, drop in to any major bookstore and see for yourself how many KJV Bibles are on the shelf compared to other more modern translations. I must also mention that in the course of writing other more modern translations were consulted and were there was found to be serious differences; those areas are addressed in this book. Enjoy your reading experience.

*****

Chapter 1: Some Thoughts on Religion

Ask a simple question of most people in the western world today, Are you a religious person? The answer will likely be, No, but I do feel that I live a moral life. or No, but I am however very spiritual. Ask if they believe in God and likely a large percentage will say yes, but with a mixture of reservations and qualifications. A large percentage will admit that they have never read the Holy Bible although some may have read selected passages. Most will admit that they do not attend church on a regular basis, if at all. Yet in times of crisis, at wedding ceremonies and during funerals we tend to call on the God of Abraham for strength, guidance and solace.

What is religion; can it be defined? Religion could be a description of the way we acknowledge and pay respect to a power greater than ourselves. Some would describe a religion in three basic terms:

1) A moral code.

2) Belief in a Supreme Being or supernatural power.

3) Strict obedience to a leader or establishment that acts as an intermediary between the Supreme Being and the faithful.

According to psychologist Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, in her 1969 book "On Death and Dying", there are five stages of grief. They are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and finally Acceptance. Each of us experiences these five stages over different time intervals. Without going into the details of all five stages there is a significant point in at least two of these stages. In her model of grief, the second stage is anger and that anger is usually directed toward God. Oh God, why me? or My husband was a good man. He went to church every Sunday. Why would God take him? or God almighty, how dare you give my child cancer? The third stage of grief is bargaining and here again the grieved usually directs his or her request in the bargaining toward God. Oh God, if you let her live, I will ... Cure the cancer God, and I will... I promise to leave all of my estate to the poor if only God will heal his ailing lungs!

It is no stretch of the truth to say that Church, Synagogue and Mosque memberships are declining, at least in North America. Many will deny the very existence of a supreme being. Many will say that we now live in a Godless society; that we have slipped into decadence because we have turned our backs on God’s laws. Maybe so, but how did the very notion of God come about? Who wrote God’s laws? How did the Bible come to be? The purpose of this book is to examine these questions and many more.

Before we begin our journey of questions and answers, let us take a moment to look back to the dawning of ‘thinking man’ on this planet. Let us assume that the evolutionists are right and at least in the beginning, we evolved from lesser primates. We will get into the subject of theology, creation and much, much more as this book progresses, but for now let us think about the earliest humans.

When did we become self-aware? When did we first form thoughts about the world around us? Imagine for a moment how primitive people would have tried to explain and rationalize the forces of nature that surrounded them. Thunder, lightning, rain, flood, the abundance or lack of game, the seasons, birth, death and every other occurrence in their day-to-day existence would have needed to be explained.

Surely, forces beyond their understanding must have been at work. At what point did they name those forces? At what point did they praise and thank the kindly spirits or curse and blame the unkind ones?

What provides thought for discussion here is the spiritual side of humanity. This is not religion, at least in the formal sense, but an awareness that each living creature has a spiritual essence and as we kill and devour its flesh, we receive some of its spirit. The earth brings forth fruit, roots and edible plants and as we consume them the spirit of the very earth itself enters us, nurtures and sustains us. From the sky we receive gentle rain to help our crops grow, to fill the streams and lakes and to cool our bodies. The sky in daytime warms us with rays from the sun and gentle breezes cool us. Surely there must be spirits in the sky, the rivers and the forest and if we act in a proper manner we will not anger these spirits. Life can be pleasant, but sometimes these spirits grow restless. Perhaps we have somehow angered them.

The rain becomes a torrent, lightning flashes through the night sky and thunder shakes the earth. Sometimes the earth opens up and the mountains spew forth smoke and fire and we are certain that the spirits of the earth are trying to destroy us. As the seasons change the rivers dry up and game becomes scarce, we call on the spirits of sky and earth, we cry to be saved. We may even burn some of our precious food supply as an offering in the hope that we will appease the angry spirits. To the primitive hunter-gatherer, life was difficult, so pleasing the spirits was an important part of daily living.

As man became less nomadic and began to settle in small communities, some men and often women were moved in the spirit and saw visions, became healers and spiritual advisors to the community. Gradually a more structured form of addressing the spirits of earth and sky evolved and man began to call upon the ‘gods’ through prayer, sacrifice and ritual. Most of the ancient cultures worshipped more than one god and observed special days for each of them. The frequently used Greek word ‘pantheon’ means many gods. The practiced of human sacrifice in order to appease their gods, and ensure their own continued prosperity on earth was common to more than one culture.

Who, I wonder, was the first to come up with the idea of blood sacrifice? How did it happen that man decided that only blood would please the Deity, be it the blood of a fellow human or that of an animal? Before one can raise the argument that the rules of sacrifice were written in the Old Testament, remember that what is being discussed here took place long before man had a written language and long before there was such a thing as a Testament, Old or New. Consider also that the practice of blood sacrifice is not limited to the Judeo-Christian faiths.

How many innocent souls have perished in the name of the Gods? How many more will die in this day and age in the name of religious fervor, all claiming that their way was the only way? Have we really changed? Have we truly evolved? I think not.

It may be worth noting here, that both Christianity and Islam have their roots in Judaism and from the beginning in the days of Abraham until the 5th century BCE, blood sacrifice was a central part of the religious practice of both Judah and Israel. Sheep and goats were killed and burned on an altar, a sacrifice to the Lord God of Abraham. Those who could not afford such expensive gifts would substitute with pigeons and doves. In fact, Abraham was ready and willing to sacrifice his son Isaac until he was stopped by a messenger from God!

In later times, the Christian ritual of the Eucharist 0r Holy Communion is in essence the re-enactment of the Crucifixion of Jesus; bread is the broken body and wine is the spilled blood. For many people this is a moving spiritual experience. For others it is seen as a barbaric practice, no different from a Mayan priest cutting out the still beating hearts of captive warriors in order to please the gods and bring a fruitful harvest! No different from the ancient Hawaiian practice of throwing young virgins into the volcano to appease Pele the Fire Goddess.

No matter how barbaric the act, it is often justified by a true sense of belief that the perpetrators are acting in accordance with the will of a Higher Being. The Church inquisitions are a prime example. Factions or denominations within religious societies eventually split and follow their own ideology because some within the congregation of the faithful envision and wish to practice either a more intense or a less intense form of worship.

Science, is a dirty word to some religious factions, but consider this, thousands of years ago by observation, the people of the British Isles among many others, devised a method of marking and recording the two solstices and the two equinox. They observed the motion of the sun from its lowest point in the sky at high noon, the winter solstice, through the highest point in the sky at the summer solstice. They also marked the two times of year where the length of the day was equal to the length of the night, thus by simple ‘science’ they could predict the vernal (spring) and autumnal (fall) equinoxes.

Why would they need to know these ‘scientific’ facts? Quite simply it meant survival. Being able to predict the seasons insured that crops would be planted at a time when they could best germinate, grow and ripen for harvest before the cold of winter returned. Animal husbandry and human reproduction was also calculated to coincide with the most optimum condition for the well-being of the young. We now believe that some of the ancient cultures used science to predict eclipses of both the sun and the moon, thus giving great mystical power to the priests. By this seemingly mystical power they proved to the populace that they, the priests, could control the sun and the moon, the light and the darkness. Here was positive proof that they alone had control of the ‘gods’.

Science has advanced a long way particularly in the last 400 years and continues to open doors to the more mystical side of our religious beliefs. More than a dozen men have walked on the moon. We have