The Unfamiliar, Unexplored, Secret Gospel

Quotation

 

“There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.”

 

--Aldous Huxley

 

Reflection

 

Who cares about the Gospels. The short answer, billions!

 

First, I will ask this question. What is the most popular book in human history, Harry Potter, Quotations from Chairman Mao, or the Bible?

 

If you guessed the Bible, you would be right. There have been over four hundred million books about Harry Potter sold. Over eight hundred twenty million quotations from Chairman Mao have been sold. And a whopping 3.9 billion books of the Bible have been sold! Another interesting fact, the most widely read books of the Bible are Psalms and the Gospels of Matthew and John. Interestingly, Psalms is also the longest book in the Bible.

 

You would think since the Bible is the most popular book in history based on the number of copies sold it would be read, revered and its contents known, but is that the case?

 

Most people who read the Bible revere it, but not all. Some read the Bible out of curiosity or to find out about the man called Jesus and for other historical purposes. Many who read the Bible do so because they are believers, and they consider it sacred Scripture.

 

 In my research, it seems it may be read and revered, but not necessarily understood or much known about its contents. According to Bart Ehrman, professor of religious studies at UNC Chapel Hill, based on his annual pop quiz given to students taking his course, An Introduction to New Testament, consisting of eleven questions about factual, basic information found in the Bible, most people know very little about the information contained in the Bible.  

 

What about scholarly views of the Bible?

 

There are people who devote their entire lives to the study of the Bible. The failure of scholarship of this sort is that although the scholar may be an expert about the Bible, he often cannot communicate what he knows to others in a way they can understand it. Not only is this a problem, but most people think those who study the Bible from a scholarly perspective, do so, just to pick it apart, “trash the faith”. But the truth is, most Biblical scholars respect the Book of the Bible, and study it because they want to know more about it and understand it better.

 

So, what do the Gospels tell us regarding the overarching narrative and what can we know in a general sense?

 

Jesus begins his ministry with John the Baptist, teaches a new understanding of the Jewish faith, gathers twelve disciples, does astounding miracles (healing, raising the dead, controlling nature), attracts crowd, arouses opposition among Jewish leaders, travels to Jerusalem for the Passover feast the last week of his life, enters to the acclaim of the crowd, arousing more opposition, takes a last meal with his disciples, is betrayed, arrested, tried, crucified and then buried, and finally, is raised from the dead.

 

Whew, that is an amazing story! No wonder so many billions of people have read and continue to read this amazing book called the Bible. If you haven’t, I invite you to read it, whether a believer or not! Try to answer for yourself whether the Bible is inerrant, myth, biography, historical accounts with legendary accretions, fairy tales, or a combination of all!

 

Petition:

 

Creator God, help me discover your absolute truths!

 

Music

 

Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns

Barry