What if the Bible didn't exist? (Part 2)

Recently, I conducted an interview with Dr. Witless Blather from D.C. Dr. Blather is well-known for his cutting edge commentary and interesting facts concerning the Bible. Following is Part 2 of this interview:

DAB: What did Martin Luther base these decisions on?

DWB: Martin Luther was a 16th century German monk. He was disturbed by certain things which he viewed as anomalies in his studies. For example, he didn’t agree with the doctrine of Tradition.

DAB: What was that doctrine and why didn’t he agree with it?

DWB: Tradition is a doctrine in the Catholic Church which is the oral or unwritten Word. According to the Catholics, Tradition and Scripture are the sources of all Christian doctrine. It is the Christian indirect Rule of Faith. He didn’t agree with certain abuses within the Catholic Church and resulted in confrontations between him and the hierarchy of the church. Luther didn’t agree with Tradition as a legitimate rule of faith because it was in conflict with the scripture. Ultimately, Luther accused the Catholic Church of corrupting Christian doctrine and distorting Biblical truths.

DAB: So, due to an internal conflict in the Catholic Church, the doctrine of Sola Scriptura was adopted by Luther as being the only Rule of Faith instead of both Tradition and Scripture. Is this validated anywhere in the Bible?

DWB: No. Protestants often reference 2nd Timothy 3:16-17 as validation, but that is debatable. St. Paul often referred to his Hebrew teachings as a basis for his understanding.

DAB: In other words, Paul had his own agenda and so did Luther.

DWB: Possibly so. Many years went by after the Biblical canon before Sola Scriptura even became an issue.

DAB: Very true. Most people up until the time of the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg, circa 1439, were illiterate. The Catholic monks hand copied the Biblical documents and became the middle men between the masses and God. Most of the education of the story of Christ was conveyed through art and stained glass art in the churches. 1400 years went by without Sola Scriptura being an issue.

DWB: The books of the Protestant Bible as it stands today were canonized in the 4th century C.E. Several Catholic Councils determined the validity of the books included in the canon. Scripture and Tradition were the benchmarks of the Rule of Faith for Christians.

DAB: Concerning the biblical manuscripts that the monks copied by hand, didn’t this create many variations and interpretations based on Greek to Latin translations, geographic idioms and language nuances?

DWB: Yes, it did. There are hundreds of Bible versions that were hand copied from monk to monk and the Bible as we know it today wasn’t available to the individual believer until the 15th century when the printing press was invented and the Bible could be mass duplicated. The Jewish Bible contains 24 books, the Catholics have 73 books, the Orthodox Christians have 78 books and the Protestants have 66 books in their Bible.

DAB: With all these different books being accepted and rejected by church hierarchies, how did the Bible get written in verses?

DWB: There are several stories about this but the most popular is that a Dominican monk traveling throughout Europe on a donkey occupied his time by re-translating the Koine Greek of the New Testament into Latin and he made each thought as stated into a verse and numbered them.

DAB: Let’s recap. Martin Luther came to his own conclusions about the interpretation of the Bible by the Catholic Church. I’m curious to know more about the state of mind and psychological makeup of Martin Luther. Was he mentally stable or did he suffer any mental health problems?

DWB: Yes, there were definite psychological and emotional problems that Martin Luther displayed. More to come…

For more info: Download my free Wilmington Spirituality Examiner toolbar. Please visit my Eschatology Refutation Blog. “Life is a gift. Be thankful for it and it will be replete with abundance. Encourage others to express creativity, release negativity and embrace pro-activity." ©2009 Dean A. Banks. All Rights Reserved. Dean A. Banks, MCIWD, DD can be reached at webproducer@hotmail.com or banksnet.com. Download my free eBook on Articles 1-10 here.

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What if the Bible didn’t exist? (Part 1)

Recently, I conducted an interview with Dr. Witless Blather from D.C. Dr. Blather is well-known for his horrendous lack of talent and insight concerning the Bible. Following is a transcript of this interview:

DAB: Good Morning, Dr. Blather. You have been accused of not making any sense about Biblical prophecy, an inability to make a cogent argument and a complete arrogance about your opinion. Yet you claim to be a voice of reason concerning Biblical interpretation. What do you have to say about these judgments?

DWB: I have read the Bible many times and I study it much deeper than most. My arguments are based on the facts in the Bible and yes, I can get arrogant over my opinion. Thank you for the compliment.

DAB: I have a question I have asked several people lately and I wish to ask this question of you. What if the Bible didn’t exist?

DWB: Interesting question. I suppose that many people in this world would be lost. They wouldn’t have anything to base their lives on and the world would decay into chaos.

DAB: Why?

DWB: There would be no testament to the lives of the Biblical heroes and we would have no way to measure our lives against them. We would have to rely on other historical documents that don’t take into account the message that the Bible conveys.

DAB: And what message would that be?

DWB: That Jesus Christ is Lord.

DAB: Is that the only message the Bible conveys?

DWB: No, it conveys the lives, situations and problems that the Biblical heroes overcame by trusting in God.

DAB: I would like to ask you about particular aspects of the Bible. The Bible had originally been communicated mouth to mouth and then written down by man. It survived several translations that didn’t take geographic idioms, language nuances and agenda settings into account. How do respond to that?

DWB: That’s true. However, the Bible’s message is defined by Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide. Basically, the Bible in its entirety is directly from the mouth of God and that one attains eternal life through faith in God and not by one’s works. It is indisputable.

DAB: Why is it indisputable?

DWB: Because of Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide. No one has the right to dispute the holy word of God.

DAB: Says who?

DWB: God.

DAB: But man wrote down the supposed word of God. Don’t you take into account that man is notorious for amending concepts and ideas to suit his needs?

DWB: Yes, man did write down the word of God but God inspired him to write it down. Yes, I suppose it is possible for anyone who received inspiration from God to change its message, but the message has survived for several millennia.

DAB: Who decided that Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide were valid?

DWB: Martin Luther came to the awareness that the interpretation of the individual believer, and not the Catholic Church, was the only true religious authority. This was the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. He also said that one who appears to have faith and does not do good works never had faith at all!

DAB: That appears to be a circular argument. Wasn’t Martin Luther a person that hated the Jews for killing Christ? This seems contradictory to the message that Jesus taught.

DWB: Yes, he believed that the Jews should be relegated to having their properties and assets seized and should be treated as the least in the community. This was taken to the extreme by the Nazis.

DAB: So, let’s get this straight. Many Protestants believe two doctrines that were originated by a man with hatred in his heart; a man who decided that the Bible is the sole authority of God’s word and that faith in God is the sole way to eternal life. Something doesn’t seem right here. More to come…

For more info: Download my free Wilmington Spirituality Examiner toolbar. Please visit my Eschatology Refutation Blog. “Life is a gift. Be thankful for it and it will be replete with abundance. Encourage others to express creativity, release negativity and embrace pro-activity." ©2009 Dean A. Banks. All Rights Reserved. Dean A. Banks, MCIWD, DD can be reached at webproducer@hotmail.com or banksnet.com. Download my free eBook on Articles 1-10 here.