This is my canticle

[Shin'Ar]

Yeah, trying to avoid stepping on anyone's toes, but I thought the current version of the Bible is the King Jame's version, which has been translated from a different language and also re-written, all by men. So it was my impression it had some distortions by the men who re-wrote it.

Well you are right and inaccurate in part.

The King James is only one of many current versions, depending on how one would like to define current.

There was no such a thing as 'The Bible' for the first three hundred years after the time of Jesus. His followers had dispersed throughout the land preaching their various versions of what they believed that he had taught to them. Right from the beginning there were already arguments about interpretation. Between the jews and the gentiles. Between those who followed certain apostles and those who followed other apostles.

The so called Church/Body that they assumed He spoke of became the religion that they developed based upon their various interpretations of what they thought he or His disciples taught.

This was the first of many corruptions of His true teachings. It is widely believed in the pagan world that His true teachings are still available through the gnostic treasures kept safe from perversion by secret societies, as were many other ancient teachings of gnostic worth.

For three hundred years this was Christianity.

During that period the Roman Empire was proceeding to pacify the many cultures and religions it had conquered by piecing together a common religion, within which all could find some semblance of tolerance with their own traditions and beliefs. This new religion, made up of many religions, became the Christianity that would continue for the next two thousand years as the Roman Catholic Church.

Some 300 years after Christ's death the so called Bible was put together by the Roman authority in charge of creating this new religion, using writings commonly associated with those who followed Christ as His Apostles, and those associated with them directly, as well as the traditional teachings found in other religions and cultures.

However, we are talking about 300 years of war, famine, slavery, and unimaginable cruelty and darkness. If Christ's teachings could be so easily misinterpreted by those who actually followed Him, imagine how much more could be lost to misconceptions over 300 years, during a time when information was not as freely available and communicable as it is today.

What this Roman Authority had to work with was 300 year old writings that had survived 300 years of abuse and opinion. And of course they had their own agenda and bias as well which incorporated the teachings of many other religious views.

The vatican was established as the ruling council and governing agent of what would be 'officially' placed in this Bible. They had to choose between writings that met with their approval, that spoke the message that they wanted to relay, and also what they were allowed by the superior rule of the Emperor and His top overseers.

Do you suppose that anyone truly dedicated to providing credible teachings of Christ, if such could even be found by then, would not be under the supreme control and oversight of the Roman overlords? Wars have been fought over such similar struggles many times.

What became The Bible in that time period was a compilation of writings that were approved by the Roman Authorities, with great compromises from the religious Authorities, along with their own religious disputes of interpretations and commentary. These disputes continued for many hundreds of years, over such things as The triune nature of God, the divinity of Christ's mother, icons and imagery, and the actual divinity of Jesus.

In the background of all of this perversion could still be found the ancient teachings of the Kaballah and many other eastern philosophies which Jesus had learned in His travels to the Far East. But they were so buried in corrupt opinion and bias that their truths were hard to sort out.

As well, many of the writings of Jesus' actual followers, which may have actually managed to profess His actual true teachings, had been cast aside by the Roman Authority for reasons of their own agenda, and were declared apocryphal. (That act in itself probably points to the true aspects of Christ's teachings.)

This officially designated and created bible became the sacred totem of the Roman Catholic Church, and was not available for the populace to gather information from. What was written there was for the eyes of the puppet priests and their authorities alone. What was passed on from that church to its followers was via the trust that people placed in it and in their priests. This became known as Faith. Faith, because they had no way of discerning the truth from what they were being taught. They had to 'choose to believe'; faith. This was often either thrust upon them through family tradition, or through conquest and rule.

Meantime there were many who remained in seclusion, aware of the corruptions taking place, aware of Jesus’ true teachings, aware of the Mystery Schools and their ever continuing struggle to preserve the ancient teachings, who secretly conspired to save those who would seek truth rather than wallow in the blind faith of personal choice.

The Bible and the Roman Church moved on with great internal disputes as well and the Church became divided over disputes of interpretation giving way to the Greek Orthodox over literal translations and Authority, and to the protestant revolution over public access to the bible for the purpose of ‘proper and personal interpretation,’ furthering the intrusion of blind faith in free will to believe what one chooses to believe.

Since this reformation of the original Christian Church, and the opportunities made available by the printing press, many versions of the Bible are now available which can meet the faiths and opinions of just about any slant or bias one prefers.

The Catholic Church claims authority by Apostolic Succession, claiming Peter as the source of that authority. Even the catholic catechism declares, without hesitance, that Succession, which they also call Sacred Tradition or Transmission, is equal to, and even above, the actual Bible, which they profess to be the Word of God.

There is no doubt that there is truth to be found within the Bible, if one knows it when they find it, and understands the dynamics that created it, and the dangers of accepting it at face value without consideration of the millennium of corruptions.

But it is my opinion, and not under the teachings of any other religious persuasion, that because of the many known historical corruptions and abuses, that The Bible cannot be considered a Sacred transmission of ancient wisdom or truth.

It’s origin and manifestation is not in the teaching of Christ, it is in the interpretation of Christ’s teachings throughout a long history of manipulating authority. Those who accept it, follow not Christ, but the interpreters and their authorities.

This is not to deny anyone the free will of choosing to accept the Bible as truth, or their faith in the Spirit they believe maintains it. This is simply my conclusion based upon a learned understanding of its historical experience, free of any traditional/familial or religious obligations.
I do not make this professions in any attempt to recruit anyone into my understanding or to lead them out of their chosen paths. This is my response to the discussion.



SIDENOTE:

I also acknowledge that there are some who are able to use The Bible as a source of spiritual nurturing, who have the awareness to do so with great discernment, because they know of this corruption, and under such scrutiny I would not suggest that their use of The Bible is not of benefit to their spiritual walk. Obviously if one uses information in The Bible in awareness of the corruption surrounding it, it can be useful to them as they try to dig out the truth and spiritual 'milk' which can be found within it.