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.

RSS Feed

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.

Spiritual agendas

Over the past few weeks our country has been in a gridlock over healthcare reform. The loudest reactions to health care reform have been those who don’t want it. Why do you think that is? And, what does this have to do with spirituality? Plenty. Your being is a psycho-physical unit that is programmed to survive, and ultimately thrive. If not, we would not be here as the human race. An agenda is a list of things to be done; done in order to either maintain or grow a current situation. When things don’t proceed in an effective manner, and either stagnation or regression appears imminent, then a methodical outlined approach of how to manifest inspiration leads to an agenda. Not everyone will agree on what is termed political agendas, but they sometimes will get even angrier when discussing spiritual agendas.

A political agenda is a set of policies or issues addressed or pursued by an individual or a group. In order to understand why those policies are on their agenda, one must understand their motivations. For example, why such fights recently about health care? Let’s examine their motivations. On the surface the proponents of no plan say that government run health would be disastrous; look at Medicare. Please, let’s look. Medicare operates with a 4% overhead while insurance companies hauled in $230 billion dollars in profit last year. They cry socialism yet Medicare works! Hmmm. I smell a rat. Yes, about every 10 years Medicare gets into trouble because of rising health care costs, yet it still manages to provide quality payment of health care services; it does not provide health care services. Medicare IS a government run program. Insurance companies provide payment of health care services; they do not provide health care services. There is a difference! When a political agenda focuses primarily on the profits of companies instead of the health and welfare of individuals, there is bound to be acrimony over anything that threatens that position. What value do the insurance companies provide to us for the billions in profit they generate? Have they re-invested into our health care system? Remember, in business the bottom line rules and it is their God!

A spiritual agenda is a set of policies adopted by a religious group or an individual. For example, the Catholic Church has a defined set of rules that were adopted alongside their understanding of the Bible that their church adheres to; this becomes the guideline for their spiritual agenda. The Protestants as well have their agenda, even though they disagree with the Catholics on many issues. Other religions adopt agendas based on the needs of their constituents and desire for growth. Due to the firm beliefs of some Muslims, Christians have lived in fear of their religion by lashing out anyone who is part of the Muslim religion. There are radicals in every religion. Take Blackwater’s “Christian” agenda for example. Then there are those who outside of the mainstream religions who simply want to live their lives in peace without sets of rules and agendas in order to become the best that they can be. But, according to some, there are going to hell unless they take it upon themselves to help save their soul. What audacity!

Most Christians today operate on two principles in relation to understanding the Bible. These are the doctrines of sola scriptura and sola fide. Sola scriptura maintains that the Bible is the final source of authority for Christians; in other words Literary Authoritarianism. Sola Fide maintains that faith and not works is what is necessary for salvation; in other words the gospel according to Paul. When any book or sets of books that has been passed down by man mouth to mouth, and then written down, there has to be a question as to what has changed. Christians believe in the infallibility of the Bible as it stands as the Word of God. Yet, man, in putting down the written word had his own agenda. Many Christians use Sola Fide as a crutch to convince themselves and others the validity of Sola Scriptura. Instead of going within and listening to the still small voice of God, who guides and directs your every movement, they aggressively bang the Bible when, most of the times, they haven’t even read it or meditated upon it. They follow what their religious leaders have told them. Why? Is it too much to research it themselves? Are they too lazy? Or do they just want to take the easy way out and jump on the bandwagon. When people rely solely on their emotions and don’t think, what we have seen recently in the news is not surprise. What is your spiritual agenda? Are you looking for a better life? Are you willing to take the steps and walk the walk to a better life? Are you willing to do the research? Or will you blindly accept what others have told you to believe. It’s up to you. Design your own spiritual agenda to daily seek the truth and wisdom of God; meditate and listen to His still small voice. Don’t rely on the written word alone but feel the spirit of God within you. He will reward you with health, wealth, prosperity and abundance. It is your birthright.

For more info: Download my free Wilmington Spirituality Examiner toolbar. “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.