The Bible Overview
Just A Part! The Bible was originally written and compiled in Hebrew and Greek and composes of a collection of various scripts that date back, and span, thousands of years. It has since been interpreted, edited, and translated many times into other languages, such as English. Other original writings and scripts, such as the Gnostic Gospels, have not been included and have been deliberately left out, so even now, the Bible as we know it, does not depict the whole story, or all that has been written.
Complex Evolution: Most people simply do not realize the complexity of the evolution of the Bible as we know it today. Before the King James' version, there were many different versions and at least two main differing, conflicting, versions being used in this country alone. One by the bishops, one by the purists. Each with their own opinion as to what was 'right'. The scholars and priests that reinterpreted the older versions, under the instruction of King James, spent seven years working on it to come up with a more modern, unified, agreeable and hopefully accurate version. King James was extremely well educated, astute, and very knowledgeable, in such scholarly and theological matters, and was very keen to try and achieve some form of unity, accuracy, and uniformity in the book that laid down the basis for the church and Christianity as we know it.
Something More Agreeable: King James thought that elements of both the previous versions in use were simply badly interpreted nonsense. This inspired him to commission a rewriting, and reinterpretation, based on the original Hebrew and Greek texts. Something that would be a more reliable translation and that, hopefully, all could agree on. This, the King James' Bible, is the book that most of us know and use today. However, even though the Bible may have been inspired by God, it is not the only such work in this world ever to be inspired by God and is certainly, therefore, not the be all and end all, or the only work that matters. The spirit of GOOD or GOD, works in many areas, even in modern media, and we can learn from all of these. The Bible should not stand alone, but alongside. It is not the whole story, but just a part, and a very old part at that!
Science & Common sense? Many people put too much emphasis on the Bible, or similar - even to the extent where they can contradict science and even common sense. How can this be? The Bible, as we know it, was never perhaps intended to be taken quite as literally as so many people would have us believe. Its messages are often portrayed using parallel principles, stories that demonstrate a principle, and they have to be interpreted in such a light in order for the true meaning to be understood. The Bible is not the be all and end all that so many people make it out to be and although it may contain some essence of God, it was actually written by man. In fact, the Bible has been written, translated, edited and interpreted by men many times, and as such, the writing, the translation, the editing and the interpretation are all subject to, and can all reflect the imperfections and biases of men.
Disunited In Interpretation: Many of the meanings portrayed in the Bible can be interpreted in many different ways - not all will be correct. We can see some proof of this in the way many religious organisations are so disunited, both in themselves, and in their interpretation of the truth, all believing they each have the right answer and the exclusive word. This is something King James was determined to try and eradicate. Even so, we can still see that this problem exists today and that many such organisations have tended to make their own exclusive rules and laws that may in fact have absolutely nothing to do with God's intentions. They try to justify these by referring to, and often misinterpreting certain Bible elements, in a way perhaps far from the original truth or intention. They will shun and ostracize others who do not adopt the same view, or toe the party line. This is not really the way.
God Causing Problems - Or Just Us? People that preach in the name of God and behave in such a way simply do not know as much as they think they know, because they often cause more problems than they solve, misleading others as to the real truth and meaning and causing disharmony and fragmentation, turning people against each other. Such distortions and misinterpretations of the truth, intentional, or otherwise, cause hurt, confusion, disagreement, division, and sometimes even hostility and war. We've seen enough of that over the years! So we need to be very careful.
Not Doing Good? It is much better for people to uncover things themselves, as and when they are ready perhaps. The truth of what we ultimately are, our code of conduct, and our considerable emphasis on allowing freedom of choice on all such issues that only affect the individual - they are for the individual to choose. In all such things, God does not lay down the law. He encourages and guides people to do the right thing, through development of their own understanding and self-realisation. This is the best way. Remember, if you are not doing GOOD, you are not working for GOD.
Does the Bible really have a place in today's world?