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BOOKS OF SCRIPTURE
There is only one religion, though there are a hundred versions of it. —George Bernard Shaw, Plays Pleasant
and Unpleasant, Vol. 2, Preface
The common theme that runs through all religions is that if we believe in God and
submit to His decree—obeying the commanded and avoiding the forbidden, and
repenting our transgressions to Him—we will achieve salvation. The difference is in
defining God’s decree. Jews consider the Old Testament the endpoint of revelation at
present, whereas Christians and Muslims alike contend that if the Jews followed their
scripture, they would accept Jesus as a prophet and embrace his teachings. Muslims carry the thought a step further by asserting that anybody (Jewish,
Christian, or otherwise) who does embrace Jesus’ teachings has to acknowledge that he
taught strict monotheism, Old Testament Law, and to coming of the final prophet. But in
fact, most who claim to follow Jesus don’t follow what Jesus taught, but rather what others taught about Jesus. In this manner, Paul (and the Pauline theologians who
followed in his wake) usurped Jesus in the derivation of Christian canon. And yet we find
the Old Testament cautioning us:
“Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not
add to it nor take away from it. If there arises among you a prophet or a
dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or
the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go
after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’
you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams,
for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the
LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk
after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and
obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him” (Deut. 12:32–
13:4).
Despite this warning, Paul proclaimed a construct of God which “you have not
known.” The theological morass derived from Paul’s mysticisms is unavoidably thick and
confusing. Many, if not most, worshippers are not aware of the questionable origins of
their religion’s doctrine, and simply trust a charismatic leader (pastor, priest, pope, etc.)
and commit their path to his (or her’s). Once that choice is made, the followers become
confirmed believers in a religious construct of men, which as we have seen, significantly
conflicts with the teachings of Jesus himself. Monotheistic Christians, on the other hand, recognize that charismatic leaders, though convincing, are frequently astray, and struggle
to adhere to scripture instead.
This isn’t always easy, as anyone who attempts to distill God’s teachings from the
Old and New Testaments knows. The broad guidelines (to believe in God, His prophets
and revelation) and laws (e.g., the Ten Commandments) are clear. The finer points are
not, and to this the tremendous variety of Jewish and Christian sects and churches, and
the depth and breadth of their differences, testifies. Where, then, does this leave the serious seeker? To give up on religion, as many
have? Or to seek a final, clarifying book of revelation, as conveyed by the final prophet
predicted by both Old and New Testaments?
What follows is an analysis of the Old and New Testaments, not to validate them
as scripture, but rather to expose the many errors and inconsistencies which betray their
corruption. The purpose of this book is not to shake the faith of those who revere these
texts as scripture, but to redirect that faith where these texts direct it themselves. In the
face of modern textual criticism, we deceive ourselves (as well as invite ridicule and
condemnation) if we believe the Old or New Testaments to be the unadulterated Word of
God. However, if we recognize the errors of the Jewish and Christian bibles and
understand the significance of these errors, this understanding might direct our search for
guidance.
After reading the following chapters, those wishing to continue that search may
do so in the sequel to this book, God’ed, which extends the analysis first to the Holy
Qur’an, and then to the prophets. In the same manner that the scriptures demand analysis so too must we validate the prophets if we are to trust the revelation they claimed to have
transmitted.
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