TEXTUAL
CRITICISM AND THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH
December, 2006
The Christian Bible is filled with so many inconsistencies,
errors of fact, aberrant behavior sanctioned by a deity who appears
to be mercurial, wrathful, loving, vengeful, forgiving, sadistic,
dictatorial, tolerant, and filled with loving-kindness and mercy.
And yet we can discern within the pages of Scripture the
eternal verities that shape and guide our pilgrimage through life
and inform us of our ultimate destiny beyond this life.
The life of Jesus of Nazareth as portrayed in the gospels is not
unique to Christianity. The virgin birth, a divine incarnation, the
dying-rising god, as well as many of the words attributed to Jesus
can be found in much older sources beginning with that of ancient
Egypt where the myths of Horus, Osirus and Ra remarkably parallel
the New Testament accounts of the life of Jesus. Indeed, scholars
of comparative religions can find as many as fifty avatars in spiritual
disciplines throughout the world and throughout the ages that closely
emulate the Christian beliefs about Christ.
Christianity arose out of Judaism which itself carried into its
cultus many of the Egyptian religious theories gleaned from the Hebrew
sojourn in Egypt. Christianity was also influenced by Zoroastrian
beliefs that entered Judaism during the post-Exilic period, the Hellenistic
cult of Dionysius, and cult of Mithra, popular with the Roman legionaries.
That Christianity is a syncretistic religion by no means denigrates
its validity. Rather, it affirms core truths of a universal consciousness
and of a God that is apprehended mystically more so than historically.
The Bible is a map, not a destination. It was not intended to be
taken literally, or to be worshiped. The Bible is not the Word of
God, but rather contains the word of God as it is discerned and interpreted.
It is only when the word is enfleshed and made alive and interpreted
through experience, tradition, reason, and revelation that it can
be said to be truly God speaking to us.
The Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies, Inc., in seeking
to discern how paranormal phenomena may enhance the development of
the human spirit, should not be hindered by narrow interpretations
or methodologies, nor limited in its search for truth. There are
times when the empirical method is appropriate, but we have come
to realize that reality often transcends Aristotelian cause-and-effect
logic. In the same way, practitioners of religion should not be limited
by literal interpretations of ancient texts, but seek greater understanding
through metaphoric and symbolic perceptions that guide to a more
expansive understanding of the truth.
Dr. Harry L. Serio |