Hi Gumby, nice to hear from you.
I think you have presented a good profile as to the expectations most people have about their sacred book, the Bible. If this is really God's Word, and it is inspired by Him, then He should protect it, and He should make it's meaning(s) clear for people from all the diverse eras of human history- past, present and future. And it should tell the truth, and all prophecies should come true as stated. It should also reveal God's will, teaching mankind truths that he could not know in and of himself.
Knowledge, science, medicine, politics, economics, etc. may advance over time, but human nature pretty much stays the same. Study some of the characters in the Old and New Testaments and we can readily recognize some of the age-old behaviours and motivations of people living in this day and age. Study Shakespeare, with his inciteful character analysis and studies, and we could just as easily tell the same stories for the same characters in the context of the 21st Century. In other words, another one of the high standards for sacred texts is that it must apply to the human race for all time periods and not just for 2000 years ago, or 5000 years ago, to the cultural flavour of the day.
Having said all that, I would further add that this is pretty much the standard that believers hold up for their Sacred Texts that are not the Bible. And so we have the Defenders of the Faith, the Apologists, the Scholars who make it their Mission in life to "prove" their Holy Book is inspired of God. Some make a thorough study of the history and culture of those times, while others focus on the ancient languages and hermeneutics and textual criticism in respect of the Bible, all of which they feel builds strength and hope in their faith that this is of God.
Enter the detractors, the skeptics, the atheists. They set about attempting to disprove everything in terms of the above claims, and the great debate is on, with them on one side, and the believers on the other. There are winners and losers on both sides, and so you will, observe, over time, individuals on one side or the other change their conclusions and cross over to the other side. But by and large, they pretty well stick to their own convictions, becoming more and more "sold" on the notion that they are right and the other side is wrong.
And so it is not surprising to me in the least that we are never going to find unanimity or consensus when it comes to the Sacred Scriptures around the World. Also, so much has been invested in time, expense and reputation that no-one is ready to give things up so easily. Many would defend their position to the death. "God is on our side." says the believer.
The skeptic and the atheist are equally intransigent in their viewpoint that only what you can see, hear, feel, taste or touch (and a few other things that scientfic instruments have detected along the way) will be accepted as valid. Everything else is myth, illusion, superstition or self-deception. They worship at the Altars of Science and Humanism, and are convinced this is the only logical alternative.
With all these colorful and varied viewpoints, perspectives, belief systems, attitudes, biases and predispositions, all intermingled with race, language, culture and nowadays scientific method, it is inevitable that the debates surrounding meaning and interpretation will rage on endlessly.
This is exactly why I do not buy the argument that any one religion is right, or that only one religion has the right interpretation of the Bible. And therefore, the question of our Eternal Salvation, IMO, cannot and does not rest on whether we accept the Bible as the Word of God, according to the interpretation of some Church or Religion.
Rather, I see the Bible, like many other Sacred Texts, as precursors, leading us on an individual and inward journey, and there we shall find the Kingdom of God. This is the world of Inner Truth and Light, that will take us beyond mere words. This is a world that will change the Mythical, the Theoretical, the Speculative and the Pseudo into the Mystical, the Spiritual, the Authentic where will be found Wisdom, Harmony and Love. These are not mere platitudes, but rather qualities to be experienced, not rationalized. Our brains need to get out of the way, so to speak, because our intellect at one point, actually stands in our way. Rather, we need to take the plunge into the Unknown, and just let it happen. "Be still, and know that I am God." That is my Mission and my Goal.
This is not my attempt to convert you to some kind of belief system. I am only telling you all that "For Me" this is where I am heading. You have to decided what's right for you.
Rod P.
