Fragmented Christianity: Practice vs. Origins
“We all long for Eden, and we are constantly glimpsing it: our whole nature at its best and least corrupted, its gentlest and most human, is still soaked with the sense of exile.” — J.R.R. Tolkien.
There is a fascinating aspect to the origins of scripture that often goes unnoticed. Scholars frequently critique old scripture documents, suggesting they have been altered over time. Most surviving documents can be traced back to two centuries before the current era (BCE) for Old Testament scripture and within the late first century to the third-century current era (CE) for New Testament scriptures. This means none are actual first editions but copies of a missing original document. Moreover, it is assumed that the originals were written many years after the event’s occurrence and likely weren’t written by an eyewitness. This creates doubt in the accuracy of the copies and makes suspects the redaction or changes that reflect a later future understanding or are manipulated to express a point of view. I think this is the “doubt by time gap” theory.
What further intensifies the gap theory is when scripture seems to reflect ideas that were not common at the time of the original writing. Many old text documents survive, but they were eliminated from the current biblical canon because they appear to reflect thoughts that would be more common in the future rather than at that time. Some Old Testament Apocrypha (books or scriptures outside the biblical text) have themes more common with Christian views rather than Jewish or Hebrew. An example of that is the ancient book of Enoch. This book can be traced back to the 2nd century BCE and was considered scripture by Jews and Christians until the 3rd century. There is a quote from Enoch in the New Testament book of Jude. However, there is serious doubt that the book was written by the biblical character Enoch as based on the bible; this character disappeared before the time of the Genesis flood account many centuries before the 2nd century BCE. Also, there are passages within Enoch that reflect messianic thoughts (a Messiah figure that saves the righteous and judges evildoers) that are more Christian-like than Jewish. This is just a small sample of common doubts about the Bible that keep scholars employed and debating. This also causes more doubt in today’s societies.
However, amidst these uncertainties, we must not overlook the role of prophecy. Prophecy is a spiritual ability to see the future in fragments, gain insights from the spirit world on issues, and rely on the concept of unseen forces working within those individuals who created scripture. This provides an extraordinary aspect to historical concepts that scientific scrutiny can’t capture, offering a unique and enlightening perspective.
While a common thought may exist at each period or epoch, if outside forces provide insights beyond the normal at that period, it would be captured in the writings of individuals given a prophetic vision. This is an outlier in classical thought and literature. A quote out-of-time with no existing reference at the time it was given would seem odd and stick out precisely what scripture is meant to accomplish. A redaction is a foresight, not an error.
In today’s modern world, rationalism and materialistic concepts guide our thinking. We tend to believe that everything is based on physical manifestations, and what is real can be felt, tasted, seen, smelled, heard, and realized in a physical scientific way. Although science has opened many new doors to knowledge, many unanswered questions remain. One such fascinating debate in the scientific community is about the source of consciousness — is it a purely physical phenomenon associated only with the human brain, or can consciousness exist outside of a bodily structure? Some people believe in a principle called panpsychism, which suggests that everything has a consciousness and that there are no physical boundaries that limit ultimate consciousness. This, along with the mind-bending paradoxes of quantum mechanics, which defy cause-and-effect realities, makes it seem like something exists beyond modern science’s realm.
This postulation suggests that differences between spiritual phenomena and physical reality can be explained if consciousness exists outside of a physical form. Both hold consciousness as the ultimate expression of life and existence. We, in turn, are manifestations of both consciousness within a body and consciousness extending outside the body — a hybrid spirit-body combination. The invisible spirit side opens our potential insights into the invisible spirit realm, offering an enlightened and open-minded understanding of spiritual phenomena.
Today’s Western World thought pattern moves against the prior framework of the significant Abrahamic established religions. These religions, such as Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, are seen today as misogynistic, sexist, homophobic, controlling, and based on fabricated myths from more primitive times. It seems reasonable to make such judgments based on criticism of textual evidence, practices, and sometimes abusive ecclesiastic authority. I make no excuses for the many errors the established religions have made over the years.
There are terrible abuses, but does that indicate a failure of religion’s foundations or practices? The real issue is practice, which is void of meaning and disconnected from the unseen spiritual underpinnings that give life to true faith.
