2026-07-29
I had a Christian (C of E) upbringing, but from what one might call a social / traditional / practical rather than a religious perspective. We didn't discuss the Bible at home and we didn't say our prayers religiously before bed, although we did on occasion say a perfunctory "grace" before meals.
As a teenager I felt that the Church as an institution was a bit dyed-in-the-wool, that there was little point in dressing up the choir in cassock and surplice and processing in and out, and that there was too much blind faith and not enough real thought about the meaning of Christianity (and don't get me started on Heaven and Hell and Christ as a sacrifice to appease God the Father for our human failings ... in the inevitable words of Dr Heinz Kiosk: "We Are ALL GUILTY!" ).
What kind of religion is that?
And is it based on anything that Jesus himself is actually recorded to have said or done?
And how do we know that what is recorded in the Bible is all actually genuine?
Who knows what the Council of Nicea got up to under Roman Emperor Constantine?
In short, is there anywhere available a cold hard critical look at "the Bible" as handed down to us that takes into account the possibility that between then and now, it has been messed with (for example by the many followers of Satan, perhaps by Constantine or later by the Vatican or its supporters that used to burn heretics at the stake (even for translating the Bible into English!!) in a decidedly unChristian manner, and by the thousand (the Cathars) if necessary)?
And if it really hasn't been messed with, then how on earth was that prevented, given the length of time and numerous religious wars etc that have occurred between then and now? Is the belief that God would magically defend it from being messed with not stretching faith just that wee bit too far to provide real comfort?
Humph.
Enter Bart Ehrman, who applies a critical attitude to his Christianity studies, taking nothing on blind trust. At last, somebody who can maintain faith in Christ whilst questioning everything, and accepting that the dogmas of the various "Christian" denominations may be and inevitably are flawed, probably seriously.
I don't suppose he has everything right (the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill hasn't exactly covered itself in Covid "gain of function" glory) but at least he's prepared to ask awkward questions.
