Religion Alone Can Be A Destabilizing Force
- John Bost
- Jan 25, 2024
- 5 min read
This morning as I continued my trek through Zechariah, I was struck with his language and amazingly visionary, almost trance-like conversation with an "angel."
A "flying roll" that is 10x20 cubits, likened to an ephah (about a bushel) with a lead lid, and a woman inside!
Then two women emerge with wings like a stork, followed by four chariots, each pulled by different colored horses, all this leading up to the man whose name is The BRANCH (6:12).
In the midst of all this near violent drama comes a word of compassion, distinctly and differently identified as a "Word from the Lord", almost as if interrupting an otherwise solely angelic conversation.
"Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart." Zechariah 7:9-10 KJV
I'll call that another love leak! They're found all throughout the Canon of Scripture.
Having experienced a few visions and audible words in my day, I am still amazed at the intimate detail captured in the writings of these minor prophets.
Such personal moments leave a lot up to human interpretation, though often leaking clear and focused mandates such as above.
These "Divine Words" have served for centuries as moral guidance, while much of the other wording one must wade through, seems simply to record and reflect upon the culture of that day and the consequences their future might bear. However, there is wisdom to be gained even there, if open to the "voice."
I must say however, there certainly appears to have been quite the difference in divine interactions among these prophets than seems the case with the average Joe or Jill clergy of our day.
Still, the idea of a "priesthood of believers" without "respect to person," as spoken of in the New Testament, indicates that the gulf between "laity and clergy," has been remedied, though I respect those who give the lives toward the Gospel.
All now have full access to the wonder and gifts of the Spirit. Gifts such as prophecy, a "word of knowledge" and the likes, though cessationist doubt such possibilities.
Perhaps we are too driven by a fear of violating what ancient religious councils have long advised, offering ourselves little margin for further revelation apart from the sixty-six books in the Bible. That hesitancy is even strengthened by warnings to those who dare "add or takeaway from this Book," as seen in Revelation 22:18-19. I'll let you "work out your own salvation!"
However, as I pour over the history of how we recieved the Canon, translated from handwritten manuscripts such as the Codex Sinaiticus, I am not sure where I stand on what was once a very literal approach to the text.
The Codex Sinaiticus is a 4th century uncial (hand written) manuscript of the Greek Bible, written between 330–350. While it originally contained the whole of both Testaments, only portions of the Greek Old Testament or Septuagint survive, along with a complete New Testament, the Epistle of Barnabas, and
portions of The Shepherd of Hermas (suggesting that the latter two may have been considered part of Biblical canon by the editors of the codex).
Along with Codex Vaticanus, Codex
Sinaiticus is one of the most valuable manuscripts for textual criticism of the Greek New Testament, as well as the
Septuagint.*
I still can't help but struggle with the historically documented political and institutional bias within the processes used to deliver this mysterious Canon of scripture.
Come to think of it, our current political culture serves as evidence of just how biased religious thought can become when swayed by power hungry politicians, even those genuinely concerned for civil stability.
A simple inquiry into Constantine's reign indicates that those iin leadership of the church, some three centuries after the time of Christ and the earliest of the Ecclesia (the "called out ones) had created numerous sects, that were often in disagreement. At times, because of the powerful influence of the church, their interactions could pose a destabilizing threat to the empire.
Thus the Council of Nicaea and the political necessity of a common Creed. That began what would eventually lead to the compilation of the Canon around 367 A.D..
It was once kosher to simply proclaim that the Bishops had piled all the surviving manuscripts on a table (altar) and asked that God would sort them out. They agreed to petition the Lord to leave those that should comprise the Canon on top of the table, miraculously moving to the floor below, those that should not be. I would assume a very gullible populace, though in all respect likely more open to miraculous interventions than the church of our day.
This myth was later fortunately countered by Athanasius* in 367, with a more scholarly approach to compiling the Canon, fortunately now well critiqued over the centuries.
Athanasius (293-373 A.D.) was the bishop of Alexandria and had played an important role in the Council of Nicaea. Athanasius deals with the canon in his thirty-ninth Festal Letter written to the churches in Egypt, all then under his supervision. The letter was written in 367 A.D. The link below provides the text of his letter and a detailing of the books legitimized by him.*
Upon reading all this, I was then driven to explore an academic process called, "Textual criticism", the study of ancient manuscripts to determine the original text of the Bible.*
"Textual criticism is necessary because the original manuscripts of Moses, Paul, and others are no longer in existence. Textual criticism deals with Hebrew and Greek, not English translations.
Textual criticism examines biblical manuscripts and their content to identify what the original text probably said. The goals of textual criticism of the New Testament include:
Identifying textual variants
Identifying transcription errors
Analyzing versions
Attempting to reconstruct the original text
Some types of textual criticism include:
Source criticism: Searches the text for evidence of their original sources
Form criticism: Identifies short units of text seeking the setting of their origination
The New Testament has been preserved in more than 5,800 Greek manuscripts, 10,000 Latin manuscripts and 9,300 manuscripts in various other ancient languages including Syriac, Slavic, Ethiopic and Armenian. There are approximately 300,000 textual variants among the manuscripts, most of them being the changes of word order and other comparative trivialities.*
Though the emotion among followers of Christianity, when lacking personal discernment, has often been capitalized upon by power hungry "crusaders", somehow these 66 books faithfilly convey the story of a BRANCH that would come, has come and will come.
It behooves one to seek out for themselves a personal experience, one all-in, even akin Zechariah's experience. For leaving oneself to the mercy of institutional religion alone, even sitting under those skilled at cherry-picking the text, without some personal epiphany may preclude one from the full impact their life was meant to deliver.
So much for my promised brevity! Hopefully you learned a little!
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