Best of Bible Study & Games/BestOfBibleStudyAndGames1996isv.zip/AOTB/AOTB.WRI

Text File | 1994-11-11 | 53KB | 785 lines

THE AUTHORSHIP OF THE BIBLE
===========================
by Jim Blanston
October, 1993

This document is NOT copyrighted.  In the interest of liberating others
from the tyranny of deception, I am placing this document in the public
domain.  Please feel free to distribute it as you see fit.

INTRODUCTION
------------
   I decided to write this work after seeing the effects of Christian
bigotry, in the past, present, and, undoubtedly, in the future.  Please
note that this is not intended to be an indictment of Jesus Christ;  I
really don't know that much about him.  And, as you will see from the
evidence presented, neither does anyone else:  the Bible, according to most
modern, respected biblical scholars, is one of the most tampered scriptures
on Earth, with dubious authorship and beginnings.
   Nor does this work seek to lump all Christians under the same rock;
there are a wide variety of Christian sects, ranging from the ultra-liberal
and open-minded Unitarians and Episcopalians to the ultra conservative
fundamentalist sects, and all the way over to the lunatic fringe, the white
supremecist "Aryan" churches.
   This work does, however, censure and condemn those on the so-called
religious "right", who perpetuate the mindset of utter bigotry.  A "bigot",
according to the dictionary, means "one BLINDLY intolerant of the views of
others, esp. in the matters of RELIGION, politics, and race."  The
right-wing religious sects all base their beliefs on the Bible, and its
infallibility.  I was not content to naively assume that the Bible was
infallible; I sought out information on the sources of the Bible, and this
work will share what I have found.
   And this work certainly does not intend to downgrade theism... although
many right-wing Christians certainly proclaim, in their arrogance, that if
you are not a Christian, you are an atheist.  On the contrary, I have found
deep truths in the serene teachings of the Buddha in the "Dhammapada", the
sublime teachings of Krishna in the "Bhagavad-gita", the illustrious
thoughts of Lao-Tse's "Tao-te Ching".  How true is scholar Juan Mascaro's
statement that "the Upanishads is the path of light; the Dhammapada is the
path of life; and the Bhagavad-gita is the path of love"!

CHAPTER ONE:  THE LEGACY OF THE BIBLE
-------------------------------------
   It all starts with the tale in the Old Testament.  In Christian
mythology, and related in Exodus 32:19-20, there is an episode in which
Moses, carrying the stone tablets which supposedly contained the Ten
Commandments, comes across some "idol worshippers".  Seething with raging
fury, he attempts to destroy the idol with the tablets.
   This one story has given many persons the idea that such behavior is not
only tolerated by God, but is deeply appreciated by him.  Here are some
examples, the legacy of the Bible:
   First, there are the Crusades, a series of eight major military
expeditions (and many more minor campaigns), during a period lasting almost
300 years, for the purpose of "rescuing" the "holy" land from the "heathen"
Moslems.  The Christian Crusaders massacred virtually every man, woman, and
child in Jerusalem in 1099.  The Children's Crusade of 1212 resulted in
many children dying along the way, the others sold into slavery.  The
Crusades created death, disease, and misery for millions of Christians and
non-Christians alike.  Yet, even today, a favorite song in Christian
churches is "Onward, Christian Soldiers!".
   There is also the infamous Inquisition, a series of quasi-judicial
institutions of the Christian church which began in 1231, and not
officially abolished until 1820!  The primary purpose of the Inquisitions
was to punish heresy (holding a belief that is not part of the Christian
dogma).  Those convicted were punished by fines, confiscation of property,
imprisonment, and death by burning.  Torture against the accused (not just
those found guilty) was approved by Pope Innocent IV in the mid 1200s.  The
Spanish Inquisition, a government branch established with papal approval,
was primarily targeted against Jews, and became synonymous with terrorism.
   Typical of the heresy trials is the history of Joan of Arc in the 15th
century, a heroine of the Hundred Years' War.  She was captured by the
English in 1430, who turned her over to an ecclesiastical (church) court,
charged with heresy and sorcery.  Her interrogations lasted 14 months.  She
was found guilty of 1] dressing like a man and 2] heresy (she believed that
she was directly responsible to God, rather than to the Church).  She was
burned at the stake.
   The witchcraft hunting of Europe from the 11th to the 17th centuries
(and in the United States in the latter part of the 17th century) resulted
in the torture and execution (usually by fire) of thousands of persons by
devout, well-meaning Christians, with the blessings of the Church.  An
instance of drought, an epidemic, a baby or a farm animal dying during
birth would be enough to start an hysterical witchhunt.  People were
encouraged to inform on each other, children against their parents, spouses
against each other.  Just having a birthmark would be enough to make one a
suspect.  Witnesses were paid to testify against the accused.  Confessions
were forced by both inhuman tortures as well as promising pardon in return
(although pardon was seldom granted).  Professional witchhunters were paid
a fee for each conviction.
   The destruction of the Incan, Mayan, and Aztec civilizations in Central
and South America from the 16th to the 19th centuries was impelled by
greed, of course, but still with the blessings of the Church, who saw it as
an important missionary activity.  The drive for the Spanish conquest of
the New World came from Queen Isabella, who was such a fervent Christian
that she became known as "Isabella the Catholic".  She is well known for
her activities in starting the Inquisition, and expelling the Jews from
Spain.  It is ironic that the money that funded Spain's military/missionary
endeavors were obtained by the confiscation of the Jews' property during
the Inquisition.  The end result of these endeavors resulted in vast
numbers of South and Central American Indians being killed, not only in
combat, but in the diseases brought over by the Europeans (smallpox,
syphilis, plague, etc.).
   It is also ironic that the United States, which was originally founded
by people who were fleeing religious bigotry in Europe, engaged in the
subsequent persecution of the native American Indians.  This uniquely
American concept was called "Manifest Destiny", which proclaimed that the
United States had divine sanction (!) "to overspread the (North American)
continent allotted to us by God for the free development of our multiplying
millions".  This concept was used as justification for the United States'
endeavors in destroying the indigenous native Indian civilizations.  This
doctrine of "Manifest Destiny" was later modified to justify the annexation
of various Caribbean and Pacific islands.
   The issue of the American attitude towards slavery of blacks is also
worthy of mention.  It is certainly true that many Christian groups started
the struggle to abolish slavery, most notably the Quakers.  But many
Protestant sects split over the question of slavery.  Some were in favor of
enslaving other human beings, others were opposed.
   As you can see, this attitude of spiritual superiority resulted in
tremendous amounts of human suffering.  But this pales in comparison with
the suffering brought on to the Earth and man's fellow creatures.  This is
the result of the Christian doctrine of "anthropocentrism", the belief that
man is the center of the universe.  All other life forms, including the
Earth herself, exist only for man's enjoyment and amusement.  Couple this
with the fact that Christianity is an apocalyptic religion (i.e., the
belief that the violent end of the world is very close at hand), and you
have a philosop