Prelude to the History of Christianity

As I mentioned in my last post, “Why Bother” , I will start first with the Real History of Christianity as I would hope could be taught in schools.  Following this will be the history of Islam and Judaism.

As a prelude to this series I want to provide a quote from a Christian Bishop and Priest John Shelby Spong.  I have read many of his books and while he is a “professing Christian” he is also a realist and understands how Christians should view the bible.  We could use a few more “Christians” like Bishop Spong to “Spread the Real Word”  🙂

“In the world of Christian scholarship, for example, to read the Bible literally is regarded as absurd. To call the words of the Bible “the Word of God” is more than naïve. No modern person can still believe that a star can wander through the sky so slowly that wise men can keep up with it, that God actually dictated the Ten Commandments — all three versions, no less — or that a multitude can be fed with five loaves and two fish. No modern person understanding genetics and reproduction can believe that virgins conceive, nor can those who understand what death does to the human body in a matter of just minutes still view the resurrection as the resuscitation of a deceased body after three days. Biblical scholars know that the accounts of the crucifixion read in Christian churches on Good Friday are not eye witness reports, but developed interpretations of Jesus’ death based on a series of Old Testament texts selected to convince fellow Jews that Jesus “fulfilled the scriptures” and thus really was the “messiah.”

Bishop John Shelby Spong