Hi John,
I’ve been wondering about several things regarding the Bible. . .
In all your research of the development of Christianity (Xty) your book, The Iron Kingdom, you’ve discovered glaring errors and inconsistencies in many translations, and you’ve found that some manuscript texts were deliberately mistranslated — sabotaged by churchmen and King James, and you’ve uncovered despicable corruptions in the history of the institution of Xty, too numerous to mention. Additionally, you’ve researched the early writings of the fathers of Xty — the “apostolic (apostate) fathers” — and found their propagation of myths and falsehoods to be incomprehensible; plus, your research on Trinitarian doctrine has proven, to my satisfaction, that churchmen also misrepresented the truth regarding the Father, the Son and the holy Spirit.
So, my first question is: If men have done so much damage to the manuscripts that exist, in interpretation and/or translation, why do we accept the validity of the canon of scripture? Didn’t Xtn churchmen arrange the canon of scripture, or did God (via the influence of the holy Spirit)?
Why are the Gnostic gospels not acceptable? (I’ve never researched them; just curious.)
Why are some of the Apocrypha, the Catholic books, not included in the regular Bible?
Who are the men who compiled the Bible and why should we consider their choices reliable, especially since you have plainly seen so many instances of Xtn error and intentional manipulation in the history of the Bible?
The reason I am curious is because there is this new trend in our culture of introducing the possibility that Judas and Mary Magdalene and Thomas (and even Jesus Himself) wrote a “gospel” book, but they were disregarded or hushed-up by the patriarchy of the Xtn Church as being invalid, inauthentic hoaxes. I would like to know how to respond to those who are proposing this possibility that these other books might shed more light on the truth about Jesus, which they claim have prevented mankind from knowing the “whole story.”
I hope I haven’t asked too many questions.
Now, I am aware that those who are making such claims as “Jesus might have been married,” etc., do not have the spiritual understanding that comes with the holy Ghost. They are usually scholarly Christians who are trying to revise what they believe are the misconceptions and/or suppressed truths of Xty. They are often led by feminist agendas, and sometimes by scholars who, like your seminary professors, are essentially unbelievers, and want to discredit the Bible, and paint a different picture based on their own imaginations, and being without the power of God to guide them properly, they’ve invented these notions because they don’t know the truth.
I know, by my experiences, that Jesus is alive and is still communicating with all His children. I know the depth of the revelations you have received regarding the truth about the Father and the Son. I know that speaking in tongues is the sign of the new birth, and it’s substantiated in the scriptures, both OT and NT. And the Pentecost experience proves the validity of Jesus’ sacrifice, etc. . .
Hope you will address my questions, soon. The Iron Kingdom book might well influence a lot of people, even if self-published, because God’s people, especially, need to hear that truth and escape the inevitable destruction of that religion called Xty. I hope you will return to writing on it soon, after you’re satisfied with the completion of God Had a Son Before Mary.
My best guess is that the spirit of unbelief compels men and women to find some other explanation for Jesus’ life and death. They ignore the holy Ghost and the importance of repentance and the New Birth experience, and devise other ways to explain Jesus’ purpose on earth, being careful to not disregard His “divinity”, but essentially making Him out to be less than who He really is, to suit their own imaginations.
Brad
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Hi Brad.
I have read and re-read stories about how the present canon of scripture came to be what it is, but there is knowledge absent in all of them which only Jesus can provide us. Until he does, we can only speculate what that process of selection really entailed.
Some of the apocryphal books, a few of which you mentioned, are mythological foolishness, written by Christians and/or others who knew nothing about whatsoever God or the truth of the gospel (The books of Judith, Tobit, Bel and the Dragon, etc.) In a few of the apocryphal books, however, one can sense an occasional spark of truth, which leaves the impression that there may have been an original document worth reading but was corrupted by later editors. The present state of all the apocryphal books, though, is such that we are left with hardly anything edifying. I have yet to find a book reckoned among the apocryphal books, or “lost books of the Bible” that is worth spending much time with.
We know from the Bible itself that anointed men of God wrote books that have been lost, such as Paul’s letter to the Laodiceans. Until those books are discovered (wouldn’t that be great?), we have to be content with what we have (which is also great).
The best we can do is to learn well the books of the Bible well, the books we know are of God. With the guidance of the Spirit, we can do that; and, if we do that, we will be able to discern what is of God and what is not of God when we are confronted by it, whether it is a gospel that men say Judas or Thomas wrote, or a Christian minister claiming to represent Christ. Knowing God is more than knowing the scriptures, as you know. And if we know God, Jesus said, we are living in eternal life (Jn. 17:3).
I hope you are recovering well from your surgery.
Pastor John