What Is The Bible?

WHAT IS THE BIBLE? 

The word 'Bible' means 'Book'. The chapters within the Bible are all books too... so the Bible is a Book of Books. The complete Bible that we have today is known as the Biblical Canon.

{A biblical canon, or canon of scripture, is a list of books considered to be authoritative scripture by a particular religious community. The word "canon" comes from the Greek "κανών", meaning "rule" or "measuring stick". The term was first coined in reference to scripture by Christians, but the idea is said to be Jewish. 
The textual basis of the canon can also be specified. For example, the Hebrew/Aramaic text as vocalized and pointed (cf. niqqud) in the medieval era by the Masoretes, the Masoreti text, is the canonical text for Judaism. A modern example of this closing of a textual basis, in a process analogous to the closing of the canon itself, is the King James Only movement, which takes either the actual English text of various redactions of the actual King James Bible itself, or alternately, the textual basis of the King James Version—Bomberg' Masoretic text for the Old Testament and the Textus Receptus in various editions, those of Erasmus, Beza, and Stephanus, alongside the Complutensian polyglot, for the New Testament—as the specified, correct, and inspired textual tradition. Similarly, certain groups specify their particular self-published version or translation of the Bible as the most reliable. Among these are Jehovah's Witnesses, who produce the New World Translation. Compliments of Wikipedia.}

The Old Testament or 'OT' is made up of various books written by Hebrew religious scholars and scribes. There are many thousands of books from this same era in time that have not been included in the current 'Canon' that was put together by the Catholic Religious Hierarchy. (Many were written by women but only the books of Ruth and Esther were regarded as applicable because they were written by men.)

The books included in the OT and their writers.

Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy... were all written by Moses in the wilderness or on the Plains of Moab between 1513 and 1473.
Joshua... was completed by Joshua in Canaan before 1450.
Judges... was completed by Samuel in Israel by 1100.
Ruth... was completed by Samuel in Israel by 1090.
1 Samuel... was written by Samuel, Gad and Nathan in Israel and completed by 1078.
2 Samuel... was completed by Gad and Nathan in Israel by 1040
1 & 2 Kings... was written by Jeremiah in Judah and Egypt by 580. 
1 & 2 Chronicles & Ezra... were all written by Ezra in Jerusalem and completed by 460.
Nehemiah... was written by Nehemiah in Jerusalem an completed in 443.
Esther... was written by Mordecai in Shushan and Elam and completed by 475.
Job... was written by Moses in the wilderness and completed by 1473. 
Psalms... was written by David and others and completed by 460.
Proverbs... was written by Solomon, Agur and Lemuel in Jerusalem and completed by 717.
Ecclesiastes... was written by Solomon in Jerusalem and completed by 1000.
Song of Solomon... was written by Solomon in Jerusalem and completed by 1020.
Isaiah... was written by Isaiah in Jerusalem and completed in 732. 
Jeremiah & Lamentations... were written by Jeremiah in Judah, Egypt or Jerusalem by 607.
Ezekiel... was written by Ezekiel in Babylon by 591.
Daniel... was written by Daniel in Babylon by 536.
Hosea... was written by Hosea in the district of Samaria in 745.
Joel... was written by Joel in Judah sometime around 820.
Amos... was written by Amos in Judah by 804.
Obadiah... was written by Obadiah by 607.
Jonah... was written by Jonah by 844. 
Micah... was written by Micah in Judah by 1717.
Nahum... was written by Nahum in Judah by 632.
Habakkuk... was written by Habakkuk in Judah sometime around 628.
Zephaniah... was written by Zephaniah in Judah by 648.
Haggai... was written by Haggai in the rebuilt Jerusalem in 520.
Zechariah... was written by Zechariah  in the rebuilt Jerusalem in 518.
Malachi... was written by Malachi in the rebuilt Jerusalem sometime around 443.

I wonder what the difference would be if all the books were collated by the date they were written? One also has to wonder why they were collated like this in the first place?

The New Testament or 'NT' is made up of various books written by Greek religious scholars and scribes. There are many hundreds of texts that were not thought desirable to be included in the NT Canon due to the conflicting nature of what was written or who they were written by.

The books included in the NT and their writers.

THE GOSPEL
According to Matthew... was written by Matthew in Palestine by 41.
According to Mark... was written by Mark in Rome between 60 and 65.
According to Luke... was written by Luke in Caesarea between 56 and 58.
According to John... was written by the Apostle John near Ephesus by 98.

Acts of the Apostles... was written by Luke in Rome by 61.

LETTERS
Romans.
1 & 2 Corinthians.
Galatians.
Ephesians.
Phillipians.
Colossians.
1 & 2 Thessalonians.
1 & 2 Timothy.
Titus.
Philemon.
Hebrews... were all written by Saul, who was a Roman Centurion who changed his own name to Paul after becoming a self-appointed Apostle. He had previously been murdering the Christians and had never met Jesus as he only came onto the scene seven years after Jesus was slain. The dates of all of his 'Letters to the congregations' are disputable as is his authority and the relevance of any of his writings in the completed Biblical Canon! 
Under Essenic Jewish Tradition the next in line to take the position of High Priest after Jesus was Jesus own brother James. Saul/Paul was not even of the Davidic bloodline! (Personally... I do not believe they should even rate a mention as so much of what is written goes completely against the message of Unconditional Love that Jesus preached on behalf of his Father who was one of The Elohim.)

LETTERS
James... was written by Jesus brother James in Jerusalem in 62.
1 & 2 Peter... were written by Peter in Babylon by 64.
1, 2 & 3 John... are all thought to be written by the Apostle John near Ephesus by 98.
Jude... was written by Jesus brother Jude in or near Palestine in 65.

The Revelation of John... was thought to be written by the Apostle John on the island of Patmos in 96.

All other texts that were not considered suitable to be included as a part of the Biblical Canon are still a part of the Roman Catholic Bible under the heading of THE APOCRYPHA. Most modern day Christian Bibles do not include The Apocrypha and it is rarely, if ever, referred to by their clergy or in their churches.

The books included in the Apocrypha. 

1 & 2 Esdras.
Tobit.
Judith.
The rest of the chapters of the book of Esther... was written by Mordecai in Shushan and Elam by 475.
The wisdom of Solomon.
Ecclesiasticus or the Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach.
Baruch.
A Letter of Jeremiah.
The Song of the Three.
Daniel and Susanna.
Daniel, Bel and the Snake.
The Prayer of Manasseh.
1 & 2 Maccabees.

None of the Gnostic texts or 'Gospels' are included in any of the translations of the Bible despite all of them either referring to or being written by people mentioned in the bible. They are still deemed as 'Heretical' or 'Blasphemous' texts in most 'main stream' religious circles. (These Gospels are widely available through most religious book shops and are well worth reading and considering as a valuable contribution to religious history or Theological understanding.)

There are also many documents referred to as 'Spurious Texts' due to their contradictory nature. Though this is not always the case... much of the information just throws a different light of understanding on current Biblical texts as they were meant to read and highlights the inconsistencies of the mis-translations. (I will add eventually go into these texts at a later date.)

There are many different versions and translations of the Bible with most of the modern versions being extrapolated from the original King James Version, or KJV!
  
My own choice of Bible is The New English Bible with the Apocrypha. It was first printed in 1961 by representatives of; 
The Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland. 
The Church of England, The Church of Scotland. 
The Congregational Church in England and Wales. 
The Council of Churches for Wales. 
The Irish Council of Churches. 
The London Yearly Meeting of The Society of Friends. 
The Methodist Church of Great Britain. 
The Presbyterian Church of England. 
The British and Foreign Bible Society. 
The National Bible Society of Scotland.  
It is written in modern day English, unlike the KJV which is written in Shakespearean English, and the translation is far more accurate than any other translation to date.
I also cross reference most texts using; a very old version of the KJV printed by the University Press in Oxford UK, a New KJV printed in 1983 by Thomas Nelson Publishers of Nashville USA, a New International readers Version or NIrV printed in 1998 by the International bible Society of UK and the USA, and a 1984 copy of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures printed by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania USA.

While reading through the Biblical Chapters in the following posts it would be advisable to have your own version of the Bible, or as many versions as you wish, to compare them word for word. This will assist you to develop a clearer understanding of how the original texts have been perverted and mis-translated into the Bible as we know it today! 
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Retracing My Own Steps.

RETRACING MY OWN STEPS

I have always believed there was a ‘God’ from as far back as I can remember. 
I do remember talking to him for many years... many times in conversation while trudging the long, hot, walk to school and back. This was when we lived in the mid-Western, Australian country town where I did my primary school education. I would wander through the bush on the winding, well used trails that made the short cut from our house on Endersbee Street all the way to the back of the South Merredin Primary School sports oval. I would ask God about the plants and animals, problems at home or with my friends and ask for him to sort things out.

Even then I knew that the answers were always given to me in my dreams. I would awake most mornings with one puzzle or another clearly ‘painted’ in my mind and would know immediately and instinctively how to put the information I had been given into practice. 
Sadly, many of my queries about my parents would go unanswered... but I wasn’t to learn about ‘free will’ and ‘spying’ until many years later and after my own divorce!

I wasn’t raised in any religion or given any form of religious instruction as a child. Both my parents were raised with varying degrees of Scottish Presbyterian practice and belief but both had turned their backs on all forms of faith and religion by the time they married. 
My mother had read books about spirituality and psychic phenomena and had dabbled with some of the practices that they entail... but she had never taken any of it too seriously... and certainly not seriously enough to do anything more than warn me of the inherent dangers of messing irresponsibly with the unknown.

When I was in about grade three I was invited to the local Anglican Church by the lovely wife of the local baker. I was so excited that I was finally going to learn everything about God and to understand ‘his book’ the Bible. 
My father caused one hell of a ruckus but my mother persisted and I got to go along to the Sunday school and Church Service the following weekend. Boy... was I disappointed! All the kids got sent into an adjoining room to colour in pictures of someone called Jesus and we got to eat slices of cold apple and orange... and that was it! I wanted to be in with the adults to learn what the preacher was teaching. I even asked if I could go in but was told it was only for ‘mature Christians’ and not for the likes of me who had not even been baptised!

I may not have learned anything about God but I was well set on the path of despair that would lead me through many a religious experience of bigotry and prejudice.

At the age of sixteen I was invited to a basement meeting of the fledgling Potters House religious organisation. They were all young and vibrant and so smiley-bright and enthusiastic when I walked through the door. It felt good to be acknowledged and welcomed like a familiar friend... and not the stranger that I really was. The singing, the music, the closed eyes and raised arms in the air while swaying from side to side looked so ‘spiritual’ that I truly felt I had found ‘God’s people’... until they began the prayers.
The man sitting directly behind me started to utter intelligible words accompanied with guttural grunts and growls. My hackles were up like a razor back pigs... right down my back. I started to feel very sick indeed! The woman across the aisle, next to me turned and shouted at the man to shut up! “You are swearing and cursing God in German you fool!” she yelled before storming out of the basement. 
I was hot on her heels and immediately threw all my dinner up in the gutter, which was highly unusual for me as I never throw up unless forced to sit in the back seat of any Falcon, before heading straight for the ‘safety’ of the bus station and my ride home.

It was also at about this time that I was given a copy of the Scientology book by a handsome young man in Hay Street Mall. I think I got to about the third chapter before I threw it in the bin. Young and gullible I may have been but I certainly wasn’t an idiot!

It wasn’t until I was 20 that I actually opened my first Bible and had a go at reading it. I would like to say that it was due to my spiritual fervour and unbridled interest that had, so far, gone unquenched. But, it was actually fear that caused me to go out and buy one from the Christian book shop in the city. I had been told to leave one open on my bedside table while I slept as I had been visited by a shadowy spectre in the middle of the night that had left me afraid to close my eyes. 
But that experience, as well as many others much worse, are for later!

If you have ever tried to read the bible like you would a normal book, starting at the beginning, then you were probably doing a much better job than the majority of religious folk who only bother to open their Bible when directed to a particular scripture. 
The problem is that any minister, preacher or pretentious fool can take any text and use it in any way they want... manipulation and coercion using ‘fact’ is not for the exclusionist science world alone... religious organisations are masters of both and have been for thousands of years!

But to take a scriptural text out of the context of those it was meant for... when it was written... who was speaking and to whom... and from its position within the chapter, is blasphemy at its worst. But all religious organisations do it!

The only thing worse than Contextual Scriptural Blasphemy is... Translational Blasphemy! This is the ‘fine art’ of mistranslating something to suit one’s own bigoted and religiously intolerant agenda!

So, for better or for worse... here is my ‘take’ on the first book of the Bible - GENESIS.
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The Silver Cord

THE SILVER CORD

We each have our own 'Silver Cord'.
It is the only way that our spirit remains attached to our human body.
You may well ask, "How do you know this?"
My reply is, "This is the very reason that I decided to start this Blog!"

Very few people today know who they are but they instinctively know that there is more to life than just being born and eventually dying. Life may be what takes place in-between but, what is the purpose of life? What are we here for?
This blog will answer all of those questions... and much more as well!

My choice for the title of my blog comes from the book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 12. (...and yes I will refer to many written sources and quote from them too! The Bible is just one of the many... but it is also the most used religious text world wide and is also the most mis-translated and mis-used book... so I will also be sorting out that religiously created mess too!)

The son of King David speaks about death and dying;

"For man goes to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets. Remember him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well, before the dust returns to the earth as it began and the spirit returns to The Elohim who gave it."

Ecclesiastes 12:5-7

The silver cord is like our 'spiritual umbilical cord'. It is attached to a spot near where our original umbilical cord was. If you are able to 'take a step outside' your body in the same way as those who Astral Travel, and look down you will see your own silver cord. It is this attachment that allows you to travel anywhere in spirit and to return safely to your body afterwards and it will stretch as far as you need it to go.
Some people have gotten lost outside their body and do not know to follow their silver cord back to it. In many cases they are diagnosed with Alzheimers or Senile Dementia due to their body remaining on 'auto-pilot' while their spirit is lost and wandering. Those who are adept at Astral Travel can follow the silver cord and find the person to show them the way back to their body... but this should not be undertaken by any novice as their are many perils on the other side of 'Normal'!
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31/08/2013