purpledawn writes:
quote:
Exactly; why should modern Christianity limit itself so? It didn't at first. Such writings didn't abruptly cease with John's Revelation; there are scads more surviving texts of those genera (gospels, epistles, apocalypses, etc.) produced during the same time or during the following centuries.
I’m not sure what you mean by limited. The Bible is the foundation, but I think I can safely say that most Christians have not read the Bible through completely as a book.
That most Christians have not read their own Bible (with the exception of the occasional highlighted verse which may have been used as the core subject of a sermon) is probably a given. However, my contention is that viewing what most Christians call "the Bible" (be it the 66 or 73 version)
as if it were a single book is precisely part of the problem. In spite of the usual claims made on its behalf, it clearly isn't; what little unification that is present is very much a result of
various selection processes. Being sandwiched between a single pair of book covers doesn't change that; FCOL,
codexes didn't even exist until up to the 1st century AD.
Personally, I have considered reading "the Bible" immensely enjoyable and enlightening simply by seeing it as what it truly is: a mixture; an anthology of cultural stories, some genuine attempts at history, religious polemics and exhortations, a smattering of philosophy, creative poetry, speculative fiction, and so on. That others prefer to view it as nothing more than a glorified self-help book is, unfortunately, their loss.
There is no shortage of religious writings concerning Christianity, past and present. The leadership reads these writings (or should), not necessarily the layperson. Scientists read scientific writings, not necessarily the layperson. Today the layperson has more access to the writings of the early church fathers and scientific writings, but I would say most are not inclined to read them. They aren’t really essential to daily living. How-to and Self-help books are big sellers. Christian book stores are full of them. The people are listening to the preacher or designated teacher.
Is most of what is considered "the Bible" truly essential to daily living, even for a typical Christian??? I would say not. The huge swaths of "the Bible" which are systematically ignored by those who live according to self-help literature is still there, of course, but just tagging along for the ride. For that matter, I myself possess several "New-Testament-Only Bibles" collected over the years, and even a couple of versions of which contain nothing more than the Gospel of John(!) (containing crossreferences to a tiny handful of pre-highlighted verses,
intended by the publisher to be read in a specific order whilst ignoring everything else).
That which is essential to daily living may be seen to have value, but not necessarily to the exclusion of everything else that make daily living worth living in the first place.
quote:
That "formal doctrine of inerrancy", being a conservative reaction to that very critical scrutiny (as practiced by the scientific revolution), of course.
Again, I feel it was more of a leadership reaction. The sheep follow the shepherd usually. (People also leave churches when they don’t buy into what the preacher is selling.)
Past religious conflicts.
Conclusion: Religion is a business, just like science. That doesn't mean there aren't varying degrees of sincerity with the least end not involving money or power.
Religious writings didn’t stop and religious leaders probably had access to the ancient writings. Today the layperson has more access to Christian writings past and present, but probably hasn’t even read the entire Bible, let alone bother with other ancient writings. Biblical criticism is very time consuming. I feel the majority listen to the preacher. They don’t necessarily read the whole Bible.
If their religious leadership or training has put the fear that questioning is "verboten", then they probably won't question until they feel the need for change. Probably when it adversely affects their lifestyle. If it ain't broke, why fix it?
I don't doubt that at all; sheep-shearing has always been big business.
DWIII
™ Version 4.2