The Church of Belief Science's Reform Christianity Bible

By Robert Rocco Cottone

This is a postmodern revision of the four Gospels. It is an affirming, inspiring, and positive version of the Gospels. The Gospels are revised according to the principles of the Church of Belief Science, a fully postmodern church. Readers will experience a reformed Christianity which is positive, inclusive, and embracing. The revision provides a picture of Jesus of Nazareth, a man who believed he held a special place in the history of his people. In this version of the Bible, there is no hell, condemnation, or sin. It is a narrative of the power of love over hate, non-violence over violence, faith over death, and hope over hopelessness. It is written to be friendly to sexual minorities and, as far as possible, it is gender neutralized. Although the Bible is patriarchal, this version is more friendly to women. It is also friendly to people with disabilities, as any reference to disability related to sin or possession is modified. Jesus's commandment--to love one another as he loved--is the focus of this narrative. Readers will want to return to this text regularly as they will find it to be a spiritual guide and a welcoming manual for religious practice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Rocco Cottone
• Release date: Sep 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9780578584546

Robert Rocco Cottone

Robert Rocco Cottone was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1952. He was raised in the post World War II Italian-American culture in the suburbs of St. Louis and had a story-book boyhood right from the pages of Mark Twain. He would ride his bike for hours to watch the barges at the Alton lock and dam, and he was enthralled with the power of the mighty Mississippi. He attended Catholic grade school and later switched to public schools in the St. Louis suburbs. During the Viet Nam War he remained stateside and was a medic in the Air Force. He later attended the University of Missouri-Columbia and earned a degree in psychology. He continued his studies earning a master's degree in counseling at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He earned a Ph.D. degree at St. Louis University in 1980. He is currently a licensed psychologist and a Professor of Counseling and Family Therapy at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He has authored over 90 professional and scientific articles and several books, including: Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy: Individual and Relational Approaches (2017, Springer Publishing Company); Ethics and Decision Making in Counseling and Psychotherapy, with Vilia Tarvydas (2016, Springer Publishing Company); High Romance: A Book of Romantic Self-expression (2012, Smashwords); Paradigms of Counseling and Psychotherapy (2012; Smashwords); The Church of Belief Science: A Complete Guide to Philosophy and Practice (2012, Smashwords) and Toward a Positive Psychology of Religion: Belief Science in the Postmodern Era (2011, John Hunt Publishing). In 2007 he founded the Church of Belief Science, a church completely established on postmodern philosophy, where relationships are crucial to all understanding and experience. His most recent publication is: The Church of Belief Science's Reform Christianity Bible (2019, Smashwords) which is a positive, fully affirming, and inspiring revision of the Gospels of the New Testament.

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The Church of Belief Science’s

Reform Christianity Bible

By Robert Rocco Cottone

The Church of Belief Science’s

Reform Christianity Bible

By Robert Rocco Cottone

Published by Robert Rocco Cottone at Smashwords. Robert Rocco Cottone, Publisher, c/o Church of Belief Science, P. O. Box 282, Cottleville, Missouri (MO) 63338-0282. Website: http://www.churchofbeliefscience.org

Copyright © 2019 Robert Rocco Cottone. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review or through Smashwords and its contracted distribution affiliates.

ISBN: 978-0-578-58454-6. Smashwords Edition. License Notes. This ebook is licensed for your personal 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 an additional 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 visit the Smashwords.com website and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication:

This book is dedicated to Torre Alexander Cottone (1996-2017), whose strong faith in Jesus Christ made him strong in life.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter One: The Gospel According to Saint Mark

Chapter Two: The Gospel According to Saint Matthew

Chapter Three: The Gospel According to Saint Luke

Chapter Four: The Gospel According to Saint John

Epilogue

About the Author: Robert Rocco Cottone

Other Books by Robert Rocco Cottone

The Church of Belief Science’s

Reform Christianity Bible

By Robert Rocco Cottone

Preface

Welcome to The Church of Belief Science’s Reform Christianity Bible. This bible version is built from the public domain King James Version of the Bible, one of the first and most definitive translations of the original works. This Reform Christianity Bible only includes the four Gospels—the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John (in the presumed order they were written). These are the documents that directly relate to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. The purpose of the revision is to incorporate the teachings of the Church of Belief Science, a church founded in 2007 that purports a positive view of humanity and the human condition. It deletes and revises passages in the Gospels that are inconsistent with the teachings of the Church of Belief Science (the Church). The Church is very affirming of differences, is non-discriminatory, and is inclusive of all people of all backgrounds.

The foundational Canon of the Church of Belief Science purports that truths are housed in communities of believers, and that the consensual truths of the community members are held as valid and indisputable; this is the concept of bracketed truths. The brackets of bracketed truths are the boundaries of social interaction of an identified group. Importantly, a truth that is held as indisputable to group members, may be disputable or questionable to those outside the consensus of the group. Any group (2 or more people) can come to hold a truth that is then bracketed by the group’s relationship or relationships, and within the group, there are believers who act according to the group’s truth. All truths, then have validity within communities of believers. The Belief Science concept of bracketed truth explains why there are many religions, each group of adherents holding to a set of principles that represent the religion’s truths. However, the Church of Belief Science ideals purport that some truths can be negative, harmful, or discriminatory, and therefore there must be a set of ethical principles that direct human interaction. These ethical principles are addressed in the Twelve Ethical Canons of the Church. The Twelve Ethical Canons of the Church of Belief Science are:

Optimism: Unyielding faith in the collective human spirit and the human drive for the betterment of humankind.

Respect for life: Human life is of the highest value.

Love: Love, in general, and loving adult partnerships are of the highest value.

Responsible parenthood and guardianship: Children are a precious gift, to be loved, nurtured, protected, and guided.

Free religious practice: People should be free to practice religion without interference.

Free religious expression: People should be able to speak openly and freely to share ideas.

Non-maleficence: People should do no evil and avoid wrong-doing or harm to others.

Beneficence: People should do good for others and assist others.

Non-offensiveness: People can act to defend themselves, their loved ones, and their lived territory but should be non-offensive and never initiate aggression.

Respect for learning: Education is valuable.

Fairness: People should never discriminate against or hold prejudice towards others.

Respect for nature: Harmony with nature is of the highest importance.

By the principles of the Church of Belief Science, all people are treated fairly and prejudice and discrimination are unacceptable.

No one knows with certainty who wrote the Gospels, when exactly they were written, and whether they actually chronicle the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. There are sources outside the Christian Church that document that Jesus existed. Tacitus, the Roman historian, reported that Jesus was executed by Pontius Pilate. Tacitus, speaking of the Christians stated: …Christus, from whom the name [Christians] had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus… . Josephus, a Jewish historian, wrote of the sufferings and death of James, who is described as the brother of Jesus, who Josephus acknowledged was called the Christ: Josephus stated: the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James. There is nothing more in those sources that is viewed as original, valid, or unaltered. Significantly, the Gospels apparently were written long after Jesus’s death. The date of Jesus’s crucifixion would have happened between 26-36 AD during the procurator responsibilities of Pontius Pilate. Scholars date the Gospels at about 30 to 74 years after Jesus’s death. The Gospels were written primarily in Greek, whereas the language of Jesus and his disciples was Aramaic. The letters of Saint Paul apparently preceded the Gospels (written around 50-58 AD, and predated the earliest Gospel, Mark, by a number of years); St. Paul’s letters are viewed as likely influential in the writing of the Gospels. Saint Paul apparently never interacted with the living Jesus. Overall, it is not known if the Gospels accurately depict the life and teaching of Jesus. It appears that some passages are informed by the narrative of the savior of the Jewish people in the writings of the Jewish prophets, and certain prophecies are even quoted by the Gospel writers. To some degree, the Gospels must be viewed as interpolated or made to fit the Jewish savior narrative. They also are likely influenced by the teachings of Saint Paul, whose own teachings must be viewed as interpretive or second hand (informed by what he learned from the original apostles).

There are many passages in the Gospels that are not consistent with the teaching of the Church of Belief Science. One finds that Jesus was in some passages, especially in the earliest Gospels, discriminatory or critical of gentiles or those of other non-Jewish backgrounds. He believed he was the Messiah, the savior of the Jewish people, and he was not often friendly to non-Jews. There are many passages that relate sin or evil possession to disability, with forgiveness of sins or the removal of demons associated with cure. Women also are treated poorly in some passages, and they are never portrayed in any leadership role. In Christian teachings, wealth is an impediment to salvation; whereas in Belief Science teachings, wealth that accompanies accomplishment is lauded, and highly accomplished people are encouraged to be generous. Jesus taught that commitment to family is antithetical to commitment to him or to God. Family must be abandoned to follow Christ—one should not love a family member more than Christ. Such teaching is inconsistent with Belief Science tenets that hold that relationship obligations to loved ones are of major importance. There are many references to sin in the Gospels, but the Church of Belief Science holds no concept of sin; there is wrongdoing, and only the victim of wrongdoing can forgive the wrongdoer. A third party cannot forgive someone’s wrongdoing to another. The Church does purport that there is evil—in the form of acts that lead to spreading diseases, harm to others, harm to children, or acts that prevent free religious expression, as examples. Passages that address evil in these or similar ways are maintained. There is no concept of condemnation in Belief Science, so any passages that reflect a punitive attitude or the ideas of condemnation have been modified or removed. The idea of spirits, both evil and good, is maintained, as the Christian faith is founded on the idea of spirits—ghosts—that are beyond most common human experience but are influential in human affairs. The concept of spirits—good and evil—is a foundation of the Christian faith.

Much has been modified to reflect a positive psychology of religion. The new document is gender neutral when possible and affirming of love in all forms. Sin is redefined as wrongdoing. Jesus, rather than being a vehicle for the forgiveness of the sins of humanity is presented rather as a messenger of the need to be faithful to and unyielding in one’s beliefs; he was willing to die to demonstrate his love and faith in his God, his father. In the Gospels, especially the earliest Gospels, Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of man, which likely meant the son of the Jewish people, or more liberally, the term can be interpreted as the son of humanity. In this Reform Christianity Bible he is referred to simply as the Son, with a capital letter S, which communicates the idea that he had a very influential and important father.

There is editorial license taken in this version of the Gospels. Many passages were removed, and their Chapter and Verse numbers appear in superscript brackets, [ ], at the place that they were removed. In revised passages, the language in many cases is updated to reflect current vocabulary and sentence structure. Also, it is assumed that Jesus would hold to some or most of the ethical principles outlined in the standards of the Church of Belief Science. The Gospels thereby represent a narrative of faith and love, where love overcomes hate and triumphs over evil. The protagonist is Jesus of Nazareth, a man who believed he held a special place in the history of Judaism as the messiah or savior of the Jewish people and a son of the Abrahamic God, the father. John the Baptist shared this belief with Jesus (a consensual truth always takes at least two people in agreement), and together they built a small but faithful community of believers that became the foundation of the Christian faith.

The message of the Reform Christianity Bible is built on Jesus’s eleventh commandment—to love one another as he loved. It is a positive message of love, faith, and hope, which is clearly consistent with Belief Science principles. In this Bible, non-violence triumphs over violence, love triumphs over hate, and faith triumphs over death, as Jesus’s message was enhanced by his unyielding trust in an afterlife, which is manifest both in (1) his willingness to die to prove his faith, and (2) the longevity of his narrative.

The Reform Christianity Bible provides an interpretation of Christian principles reframed within the context of Church of Belief Science ethical canons.

Return to the Table of Contents

Chapter One

The Gospel According to Saint Mark (AD 66-70)

¹:¹The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ¹:²Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way. ¹:³The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight; ¹:⁴John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached baptism to prepare people for the coming of the Lord. ¹:⁵And there went out unto him all the country of Judaea, and all they of Jerusalem; And they were baptized of him in the river Jordan . ¹:⁶And John was clothed with camel's hair, and had a leathern girdle about his loins, and did eat locusts and wild honey. ¹:⁷And he preached, saying, There cometh after me he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. ¹:⁸I baptized you in water; But he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit. ¹:⁹And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in the Jordan. ¹:¹⁰And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens rent asunder, and the Holy Spirit as a dove descending upon him: ¹:¹¹And a voice came out of the heavens, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased. ¹:¹²And straightway the Spirit driveth him forth into the wilderness. ¹:¹³And he was in the wilderness forty days tempted by an evil spirit; And he was with the wild beasts; And good spirits ministered unto him. ¹:¹⁴Now after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, ¹:¹⁵and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: believe in the gospel. ¹:¹⁶And passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishers. ¹:¹⁷And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of people. ¹:¹⁸And straightway they left the nets, and followed him. ¹:¹⁹And going on a little further, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending the nets. ¹:²⁰And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him. ¹:²¹And they go into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught. ¹:²²And they were astonished at his teaching: For he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes. ¹:²³And straightway there was in their synagogue a man with an evil spirit; and he cried out, ¹:²⁴saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus thou Nazarene? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. ¹:²⁵And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. ¹:²⁶And the evil spirit, tearing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. ¹:²⁷And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? a new teaching! with authority he commandeth even the evil spirits, and they obey him. ¹:²⁸And the report of him went out straightway everywhere into all the region of Galilee round about. ¹:²⁹And straightway, when they were come out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ¹:³⁰Now Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever; and straightway they tell him of her: ¹:³¹and he came and took her by the hand, and raised her up; and the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. ¹:³²And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were sick. ¹:³³And all the city was gathered together at the door. ¹:³⁴And he healed many that were sick with diverse diseases. ¹:³⁵And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose up and went out, and departed into a desert place, and there prayed. ¹:³⁶And Simon and they that were with him followed after him; ¹:³⁷and they found him, and say unto him, All are seeking thee. ¹:³⁸And he saith unto them, Let us go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also; for to this end came I forth. ¹:³⁹And he went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out evil spirits. ¹:⁴⁰And there cometh to him a leper, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst heal me. ¹:⁴¹And being moved with compassion, he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou healed. ¹:⁴²And straightway the leprosy departed from him, and he was healed. ¹:⁴³And he strictly charged him, and straightway sent him out, ¹:⁴⁴and saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any one: but go show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. ¹:⁴⁵But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to spread abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into a city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

²:¹And when he entered again into Capernaum after some days, it was noised that he was in the house. ²:²And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, no, not even about the door: and he spake the word unto them. ²:³And they come, bringing unto him a man sick of the palsy, borne of four. ²:⁴And when they could not come nigh unto him for the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed whereon the sick of the palsy lay. ²:⁵And Jesus seeing their faith saith unto the sick of the palsy, [2:6-8]2:9Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?  [2:10-11]2:12And he arose, and straightway took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. ²:¹³And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. ²:¹⁴And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the place of toll, and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. ²:¹⁵And it came to pass, that he was sitting at meat in his house, and many publicans sat down with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. ²:¹⁶And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the wrongdoers and publicans, said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and wrongdoers? ²:¹⁷And when Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are well have no need of a physician. ²:¹⁸And John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting: and they come and say unto him, Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? ²:¹⁹And Jesus said unto them, Can the sons of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. ²:²⁰But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast in that day. ²:²¹No one seweth a piece of undressed cloth on an old garment: else that which should fill it up taketh from it, the new from the old, and a worse rent is made. ²:²²And no one putteth new wine into old wineskins; else the wine will burst the skins, and the wine perisheth, and the skins: but they put new wine into fresh wine-skins. ²:²³And it came to pass, that he was going on the sabbath day through the grainfields; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears. ²:²⁴And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? ²:²⁵And he said unto them, Did ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry, he, and they that were with him? ²:²⁶How he entered into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the showbread, which it is not lawful to eat save for the priests, and gave also to them that were with him? ²:²⁷And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for people, and not people for the sabbath: ²:²⁸so that the Son is lord even of the sabbath.

³:¹And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there who had his hand withered. ³:²And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. ³:³And he saith unto the man that had his hand withered, Stand forth. ³:⁴And he saith unto them, Is it lawful on the sabbath day to do good, or to do harm? to save a life, or to kill? But they held their peace. ³:⁵And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth; and his hand was restored. ³:⁶And the Pharisees went out, and straightway with the Herodians took counsel against him, how they might destroy him. ³:⁷And Jesus with his disciples withdrew to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and from Judaea, ³:⁸and from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and beyond the Jordan, and about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, hearing what great things he did, came unto him. ³:⁹And he spake to his disciples, that a little boat should wait on him because of the crowd, lest they should throng him: ³:¹⁰for he had healed many; insomuch that as many as had plagues pressed upon him that they might touch him. ³:¹¹And the evil spirits, whensoever they beheld him,