Wrestling with Religion

   "How do I know? The Bible tells me so!” This old song claims that the anthology finally edited in the third century of the Common Era is the word of God. If not dictated (like the Quran) it is divinely inspired with authority transcending human reason and experience. Many Protestants call the book “inerrant” and Catholicism's softer view declares it reliable in matters of faith and morals. Thus, if proof texts align, the Lord has spoken. Case closed. “How firm a foundation you saints of the Lord, / is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!” This authoritarianism averts its eyes from the fact that many different books and collections claim like authority: The Pentateuch alone, The Book of Mormon , the Quran , the Bhagavad Gita , the Upanishads , the sutras of the Buddha, the Tao Te Ching , the teachings of Confucius, and many more. The Marcionites, for instance, accepted only a revised gospel of Luke plus some of Paul’s letters, and the Cathars accepted o...