Could it be the Bound Bible is the Golden Calf


If we could look back at religion in pre history, or even early recorded history, we would find beliefs that were not written down. They were passed from one person to another and one generation to another in story-telling. Along came the ability to write stuff down in long hand. Each copy was copied be someone else and read aloud somewhere. 

The written word limited somewhat the opportunity to improvise and alter as times changed. We know this was followed by the printing press and bound books which lasted a long time. The bound book limited even more the ability of a religion or folk knowledge to change as times changed. Christianity has its Bible, Islam it Koran. Hinduism has preserved papers going back earlier than either the Bible or the Koran. 

Every religious person believes he/she knows "the truth." What someone hearing this "truth" needs to know is where did this "truth" come from? The two oldest sources are a.) an ancestor, parent, friend or shaman passed it along verbally, b.) it was passed along from one of those sources in a.) and written down on something somewhere or c.) is something observed or studied by sources known to be truthful and reliable.

We know the Bible is b.). Belief comes in part from a.). Those today doing Christian commentary are wringing their hands because the public is moving toward c.) and those doing commentary are trying to figure out how to stop it. I think their problem comes, in part, from a reverence toward the Bible itself at least somewhat separate from its stories. This reverence toward the Bible allows believers to bypass challenges to what appears there. In modern times, the public gets more and more information from phones and computer screens. These do not carry the same feeling of reverence of old-time religion. The Bible itself has become something like the golden calf that angered Moses. Moses would have tossed the Bible in a fire just as he tossed in the golden calf. Of course, there was no Bible at the time of Moses.

Old fashioned religious people like the professor who wrote the link struggle to understand modern society. When they see Christianity declining they revert back to their outdated world and think if only things would return to how they used to be Christian numbers would rise. 

The only hope for the faith is for all parts of it to admit the Bible is not important. It is but ancient ideas recopied thousands of times. By allowing the faith to be questioned and critiqued as liberal branches do it will save the most intellectual and supportive faction for the future.

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