NINE LETTERS TO LUKE
Visionary Fiction - A Story
Second Letter to Luke
Dear Luke,
Today I want to write to you about the Bible and how it was formulated.
The subject of how our New Testament came to us has been an ongoing interest of mine. Up until a few years ago I have always accepted what I was taught. Though I am a questioner by heart, for the longest period in my life I never thought to question the basic origins of the documents we call the New Testament.
How did I believe our New Testament was written? For most of my life I assumed the stories of Jesus were first distributed and circulated by word of mouth, and then by teaching and preaching. Thus, I accepted the belief that all the New Testament writings were collected over a period of years and finally put into the framework that we presently have in our common Bibles.
I am now of the opinion that the earliest writings we have in the Bible are not the Four Gospels, nor the Book of Acts, but rather some of the letters attributed to Paul. However, Biblical scholars today are discovering what they see as discrepancies in Paul’s Letters to such an extent that they are calling many of Paul’s writings forgeries. Thus, I am open to changing even my present beliefs about the Bible!
I am writing these things to you now, so that – should we meet face to face, you will have a better understanding of my present journey. You see, Luke, I am convinced that the New Testament that you love so much is, in my opinion, only a very small collection of many other documents that are available to provide a picture of the early church.
The church that created the New Testament did not come into existence until nearly two hundred years after the life of Jesus. And it was yet another 150 years until the actual books were agreed upon to include in the canon called the New Testament. Allow me to remind you what happened in 325 A.D., at the Council of Nicea. How many hundreds of books were rejected as not meeting the standard of the Roman church? You know the answer to that. Can you imagine that only Four Gospels were chosen among so many that were available? Why was this done?
Why were the other books rejected? And why were the volumes of the rejected books not kept in a library for future generations to see? Why did Rome go on a book burning binge? In my mind, this horrific action of the Roman church begs the question, “Who created the stories of Jesus anyway?”
Continue Reading - Go to Third Letter to Luke
Today I want to write to you about the Bible and how it was formulated.
The subject of how our New Testament came to us has been an ongoing interest of mine. Up until a few years ago I have always accepted what I was taught. Though I am a questioner by heart, for the longest period in my life I never thought to question the basic origins of the documents we call the New Testament.
How did I believe our New Testament was written? For most of my life I assumed the stories of Jesus were first distributed and circulated by word of mouth, and then by teaching and preaching. Thus, I accepted the belief that all the New Testament writings were collected over a period of years and finally put into the framework that we presently have in our common Bibles.
I am now of the opinion that the earliest writings we have in the Bible are not the Four Gospels, nor the Book of Acts, but rather some of the letters attributed to Paul. However, Biblical scholars today are discovering what they see as discrepancies in Paul’s Letters to such an extent that they are calling many of Paul’s writings forgeries. Thus, I am open to changing even my present beliefs about the Bible!
I am writing these things to you now, so that – should we meet face to face, you will have a better understanding of my present journey. You see, Luke, I am convinced that the New Testament that you love so much is, in my opinion, only a very small collection of many other documents that are available to provide a picture of the early church.
The church that created the New Testament did not come into existence until nearly two hundred years after the life of Jesus. And it was yet another 150 years until the actual books were agreed upon to include in the canon called the New Testament. Allow me to remind you what happened in 325 A.D., at the Council of Nicea. How many hundreds of books were rejected as not meeting the standard of the Roman church? You know the answer to that. Can you imagine that only Four Gospels were chosen among so many that were available? Why was this done?
Why were the other books rejected? And why were the volumes of the rejected books not kept in a library for future generations to see? Why did Rome go on a book burning binge? In my mind, this horrific action of the Roman church begs the question, “Who created the stories of Jesus anyway?”
Continue Reading - Go to Third Letter to Luke