A Layman Bible 101 : Introduction

Welcome to my new website – The iPriest. Here, I discuss different issues – mission, society, language, literature, theology, Bible, and so on. In recent weeks we have assisted in different debates where the Bible has been used, once more to discriminate against different minority groups. And we have all heard people push forward an ideology based on the assumption that the Bible said this or that. We have also, in different moments assisted in the “holy homophobic” treatment of others in the name of God of the Bible.

Fortunately, a close look at the origin of the scriptures might give us enough reasons to ask if all those decisions taken in the name of God are really what he wanted of us. This is why a layman Bible 101 will be exploring the relationship between what we read from the Bible and what God intends to tell us. In other words, we would want to understand to what extent is the Bible God’s message in his own words.

A layman Bible 101 will be a series of texts that will, without any pretext, examine the Bible as a Holy Book. We will try to explore different topics. Among other ones, we will have a look at the books and the inspiration of the Bible, Inspired Writers (hagiographers), the Competent Copyists, the canonization of the Bible, the interpretation of the Bible, and so on.

As a non-expert, it will neither be a master class nor a sermon session as I do not also intend to preach to any audience. I’m simply going to ask, publicly, those questions all those who did an introduction to the Bible ask privately.

Layman Bible 101 might shock those who ignorantly think they are Bible specialists simply because they had a religious encounter that exposed them to the power of the scriptures. These good Christians might be scandalized by certain questions that this series will tempt to raise. It could also be seen as irrelevant by Bible scholars as they are often tempted to take these types of questions for granted.

In whichever group you find yourself, simply know that I write, first, for myself and later for those who are not afraid to ask questions. And that I am a partisan of Saint Peter’s injunction:

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

This series should not also be a pretext for non-Christians to question the legitimacy of Christianity. The same lens could be applied to any other religious text or creed and the result will not be better. So, if you are not afraid to embark on such a journey, you are welcome. And please, feel free to share your points of view or ask any questions you think worth looking at. I wouldn’t promise to answer your questions but remember that every answer is a new question and every question a new answer.