A closer look at Christianity for those who ask “WHY?”

 INTRODUCTION

I still recall the day a co-worker gave me an old tattered copy of the Holy Bible. He knew I had doubts, and therefore, asked me to read it, and then provide a book report. It seemed an odd request and at a busy time in my life. Reluctantly, I agreed. That first reading took a year. What you are about to read is my book report. It is not the Church's interpretation of scripture. It is mine. My audacity…my elucidation…my truth. Untold pages have been written about the Bible. Interpretations and variations of interpretations are numerous, and with only one fact in common. No interpretation of the Bible is verifiable. No one can guarantee what is true and what is not.

Be it fact, fiction, or fantasy, the Bible has a story. In the following pages I will describe what comes to my mind as I read the scriptures which have become the staple of all Christianity.  

Note: Bible quotes in THE BOOK OF RON are from the King James Bible. I do not endorse one Bible version over another. I read and therefore used the King James Bible as reference in my writing. If your Bible does not correspond with what I quote, perhaps you should pick up a copy of the King James Bible to assist in your understanding of what I have written.

PREFACE

 As a citizen of the United States of America, I feel it is a blessing to be under the jurisdiction of a Constitution, which offers Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion. That said; I find it difficult to criticize the religious beliefs or teachings of any individual or group. Yet, in order to answer questions of doubt, I must explain why my religious beliefs now differ somewhat from those of my past teachings.

Having been raised in the Roman Catholic Church, I was not taught to or required to read the Holy Bible. I attended a Catholic school where students were taught the beliefs of the Catholic Church—beliefs which were derived from the Church's interpretation of the scriptures within the Holy Bible.

I first read the Holy Bible in its entirety at age thirty. My plan had been to read the Scriptures as though I had no prior knowledge of Christianity. Not an easy task. I did at least read with an open mind. Nonetheless, chapter after chapter, the question remained, Why? Why would any of this happen? Though I had varying thoughts throughout the read, it was not until nearing the end of the New Testament that the light came on and the Bible story as a whole began to make better sense. It seems the differences between my impression of the Bible I read, and what I had been taught as a child is simply a matter of interpretation.

We can no longer afford to technically educate our children in one direction while religiously educating them in another. Should we expect today's youth to buy into traditional interpretations of the Holy Bible? If one takes their child to the History and Science Museum on Friday, they may see bones of dinosaurs that are millions of years old. What happens if on Sunday the preacher says that God created the world and all its inhabitants a few thousand years ago in a matter of six days? Will your child believe the preacher, or will your child have doubts? And if your son or daughter should dispute the preacher, what will you as a parent say to the child? I believe it is time to bring religion and reality into a better perspective.

It has been over two thousand years since Jesus of Nazareth walked on Earth. His teachings have had a greater affect on humanity than those of any other man or woman in history. Several first-century authors wrote accounts of the life, ministry, and teachings of Jesus. Selections of those writings have been declared scripture and are included in the New Testament of the Holy Bible.

Various modern authors have debated the authenticity of Bible scriptures. I do not need to or intend to. That is not my purpose. My task has been to read the book and decipher what I believe it says and means as written. Therefore, I will dwell less on the authenticity of the Bible, and more on the message.

The authors of the scriptures lived in a time when man used religion to explain anything that was otherwise unexplainable. Many of the superstitions that influenced mankind’s perception of the world during Biblical times have since been explained. It has been my advantage to read the scriptures as a whole, and with a much more advanced knowledge of the physical world about me. I will use that knowledge in my analysis of scripture.  

I am impressed by any person who knows exactly what his or her religious beliefs are. Even more so if they are able to express and live by said beliefs without doubts.

The basic belief of Christianity is that eternal spiritual life may be obtained by those who believe in and follow the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. One might argue that the scriptures of the Holy Bible have been provided to explain how this process is supposed to work and why. After considerable study, it is my conclusion that the Holy Bible contains a much more logical explanation of life than what the Church interprets.

 THE BOOK OF RON is currently being prepared for publication.