Do
men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so
every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt
tree bringeth forth evil fruit ... Wherefore by their
fruits ye shall know them. Jesus'
comments on false prophets. Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 7:16-17, 20.
The
Bible might contain passages of great beauty and power, but
we cannot afford to forget that it contains passages that
have brought such savagery and destruction upon the human
race.
An
old bishop once warned people not to press the paps of
scripture too hard, lest they yield blood and not milk.
Therefore I would ask anyone who happens to believe that the
Bible has any particular authority to be careful in their
choice of texts and the interpretation they put on them.
Michael
Glass,
August 1980
Sources
of Information: Scriptural
references are to the Authorised Version unless otherwise
specified, but I also made use of the Revised Standard
Version, the Good News Bible, and, to a lesser extent, the
New English Bible. Different translations tend to bring out -
or cover up - different things in the text, so a comparison
between different versions can be instructive.
A.D.
White: A HISTORY OF THE WARFARE OF SCIENCE WITH THEOLOGY IN
CHRISTENDOM, Dover Books, 1960, New York.
John Bowden: THE BIBLE CONTRADICTS ITSELF, 1968, published by
The Rationalist Association of New South Wales, Sydney.
G.W. Foote & W.P. Ball: THE BIBLE HANDBOOK FOR
FREETHINKERS & ENQUIRING CHRISTIANS, 11th edition, 1900,
Pioneer Press, London.
CRUDENS COMPLETE CONCORDANCE, Zondervan Publishing House,
U.S.A.
Joachim Kahl: THE MISERY OF CHRISTIANITY, Penguin Books,
1971.
Raphael Patai: FAMILY, LOVE AND THE BIBLE, MacGibbon &
Kee, London, 1960.
G. Seldes: THE GREAT QUOTATIONS, 1960, Pocket Books, New
York.
"The Bible - Humbug and Horror",
by Michael Glass.
ISBN 0 908256 01 9
