Much to the chagrin of ChangedAgain, we’ve wandered deep into the minefield of ‘bibscho’ (biblical scholarship) one more time.
This is truly a big-picture problem, far exceeding the parameters of JRS and TLW, but does illustrate the disparity between the simple message of ‘LOVE GOD, LOVE your Brother’, and the current monstrosity known as Christianity. But Christianity in any form could not be what it is if it were not for the Bible. There is no escaping it. The question we continually face is does the Bible represent the teachings of Christ, pure and simple? If it does, how could it then justify the horrendously unLOVING movements that have been built upon it, TLW included?
JRS was a dedicated Bible-man, lock, stock and barrel--he was probably buried with one (totally unconfirmed). The entire paradigm he operated under (aside from an insatiable appetite for the occult--apparently justified by a ‘know your enemy’ position) was the Bible and whatever flavor-of-the-month Christianity happened to be rolling through town. It is not surprising that all the ongoing deficiencies endemic within Christianity would find their way into TLW. We just happened to enjoy our own unique ‘branding’ of the problems.
I have sat around the table many times in the last couple of years with local ex-pats as they recount the injustices perpetrated upon them, only to go one by one and ‘scripturally justify’ every single infraction. Each instance points back to some chapter and verse, which speaks volumes about the book.
This most recent discussion highlights this conflict. There are those who may still have a death-grip on the Bible with the hopes of trying to reverse-engineer why things have gone so horribly wrong, and those who have already chucked it into the fire. Each will have to follow their own breadcrumb trail, but any honest inquiry that delves into early church history and Bible formation is going to have many naive paradigms shaken to the core.
There is a lot of chaff to separate from the wheat.
This is truly a big-picture problem, far exceeding the parameters of JRS and TLW, but does illustrate the disparity between the simple message of ‘LOVE GOD, LOVE your Brother’, and the current monstrosity known as Christianity. But Christianity in any form could not be what it is if it were not for the Bible. There is no escaping it. The question we continually face is does the Bible represent the teachings of Christ, pure and simple? If it does, how could it then justify the horrendously unLOVING movements that have been built upon it, TLW included?
JRS was a dedicated Bible-man, lock, stock and barrel--he was probably buried with one (totally unconfirmed). The entire paradigm he operated under (aside from an insatiable appetite for the occult--apparently justified by a ‘know your enemy’ position) was the Bible and whatever flavor-of-the-month Christianity happened to be rolling through town. It is not surprising that all the ongoing deficiencies endemic within Christianity would find their way into TLW. We just happened to enjoy our own unique ‘branding’ of the problems.
I have sat around the table many times in the last couple of years with local ex-pats as they recount the injustices perpetrated upon them, only to go one by one and ‘scripturally justify’ every single infraction. Each instance points back to some chapter and verse, which speaks volumes about the book.
This most recent discussion highlights this conflict. There are those who may still have a death-grip on the Bible with the hopes of trying to reverse-engineer why things have gone so horribly wrong, and those who have already chucked it into the fire. Each will have to follow their own breadcrumb trail, but any honest inquiry that delves into early church history and Bible formation is going to have many naive paradigms shaken to the core.
There is a lot of chaff to separate from the wheat.
