In quest of Biblical Truth

When I seriously started searching for God, trying to find enlightenment, strength, meaning and purpose in my life, the Bible was the first book I turned to, with great awe and expectation. This was natural for me, a nominal Greek Orthodox up until that time, as in my school I had been taught that the Bible, both the Old and the New Testament, was the foundation of Christianity.

Hungry for spiritual food as I was, I threw myself into studying “the Word of God” diligently. However, I was soon to realize that a systematic inquiry into the Bible wasn’t going to be an easy task. Particularly the study of the Old Testament proved rather difficult. Quite often I lost patience in the process, as I had to search through lengthy historical accounts and ceremonial descriptions before finding some spiritual “germs” here and there, which nourished my soul and lifted up my spirit. 

There were even instances when I dared to murmur, “NO! This cannot be the Word of God”,...
 only to repent of my ‘rebellion’ a few minutes later! At times I almost gave up reading the Old Testament. Nevertheless, in spite of the difficulties, I did force myself to thoroughly examine the entire Bible. I was determined to discover the Biblical roots of fundamental Christian doctrines – beliefs that had indeed bewildered my mind and had left so many of my theological questions unanswered…

Thank God, it was through this systematic, unbiased and critical study of the Bible that my eyes were gradually opened to the Truth – the Truth that liberates the soul and unites people!

I must confess that at times my awakening was painful. Occasionally it was devastating…Sometimes I felt as if the ground was sinking under my feet.  But NO! I didn’t want to go crazy trying to convince myself that the “bones” in the Bible were “meat”, that the “black” in there was “white”!

So, eventually, after a period of almost a year, I came to terms with my new beliefs. I had concluded that the Great Teacher is inside us, and each one of us has the responsibility to seek and find God for himself/herself. The purpose of this blog is exactly this: first to encourage people to  critically examine and evaluate what religious leaders would have them believe unquestionably, and second to encourage them to think and seek God for themselves.

Which, then, were my conclusions on the inspiration of the Bible? Well, eventually it became very clear to me that the Old Testament was simply the history of a people who, individually and collectively, longed to know the living God and His precepts and tried to involve Him in their daily life. What had impressed me mostly, however, was the deep soul agony, even the desperation, of the O.T. prophets and patriarchs as they endeavored to make the Jews behave as God’s chosen people, a light to the Gentiles.

 Quite often, I felt great sympathy towards the Israelites, who suffered as a result of the merciless curses delivered against them by their own prophets, in the name of Jehovah, whenever they fell short of the great standards they had set up before them, thereby breaking God’s Covenant! I didn’t understand this kind of prophets’ love nor was I ever convinced that it was God who inspired them to bring, through the word of their mouth, such calamities upon the chosen people.

 I also found some messages there that were not simply man’s distorted ideas about good and evil, but also very harmful, if taken seriously. I am talking about instances where Jehovah supposedly instructed the chosen people to kill human beings belonging to other nations, causing them to violate one of His Ten Commandments! Nevertheless, while I couldn’t accept that the entire O.T. was God inspired, I had been greatly blessed by studying the many undoubtedly wholesome messages, visions and prayers of the great prophets therein.

As regards the New Testament, well, its God was so different to the O.T. Jehovah that made me wonder how He had suddenly changed so much! It took me quite a while to conclude that it was the people’s understanding of God that had improved and not the Almighty. Studying the N.T., I gradually realized that it, too, contained many discrepancies and contradictions that again forbade me to take all of it as God inspired.  This explains why so many different Christian denominations, cults and sects have derived from the same Bible! It also explains why so much intolerance, divisions, fanaticism and bloodshed have, alas, been “inspired” by the Bible…

But God cannot be the author of confusion, divisions and hatred. Impossible! If a “holy” scripture can be interpreted in so many different and contradicting ways as to cause divisions and hatred among its believers, then it is not holy at all. It is as simple as that, and Christians must find the courage to admit it, if Christianity were to lead the world into a brighter future.

The shaking off of deeply embedded old religious deceptions is absolutely necessary, if humanity were to enter an era of love and reconciliation among all Christian denominations and even among other religions. The time has arrived that Christians should abandon infancy, gradually getting rid of their “toys”, and grow into adulthood, if they want to make a positive difference in the world.

 I am not saying that such a change is easy. Not at all! As I said, I have personally gone through the pain and agony of uprooting comfortable old beliefs, doctrines and religious traditions deeply weaved in our collective subconscious, and I know that it could be absolutely excruciating. Traditions, sweet religious memories from our childhood, have become a second nature to us. It is like a drug to which we have long been addicted. This applies not just to Christianity, but also to all the other religions. Yet, it is for our own good and for the sake of the world’s spiritual evolution, peace and prosperity that we should set ourselves free from our deceptions, no matter how precious and how important to our emotions these are. Nobody else can do it for us! We must be our own saviors, responsible for our lives and the international affairs of our planet, so that we may build a peaceful and brighter future for the generations to come.

The aim of this blog is not to promote yet another religion. God forbid! There are too many already! Humanity cannot afford more religious fragmentations. My endeavor is to address controversial Christian issues by quoting and analyzing characteristic verses from the Bible – verses that liberate the soul, revive and feed the spirit, edify the personality, sustain the body and unite believers.

Of course, the verses I shall quote here, in order to substantiate and support each issue may not be the only relevant ones in the Bible. However, for practical reasons, I must keep this study reasonably short. I want this work to be a kind of Biblical manual for busy people. Furthermore, since the Biblical truths that I shall unfold here are truths that unite, readers of different religious persuasion could also benefit from this blog without being threatened in their own faith. Especially the other “Children of Abraham”, Jews and Muslims, will feel at home while reading this work.

Regarding the Christian fundamentalists who might be offended by this book, since it challenges the basic doctrines of Christianity, I feel sorry, but I must say that it is not my fault that the Bible contains also verses that contradict their beliefs. Nor do I feel guilty for trying to present the universal spiritual meaning of the Scriptures, disregarding some dividing and questionable doctrines based on “the letter that killeth”. On the contrary, I am at peace trying to discharge my duty for the benefit of unprejudiced people of every faith.

Surely I do not claim to be the wisest person for undertaking such a high task, or to be infallible in my evaluation and analysis. As St. Paul said, I also admit that “I know in part”. However, I trust the Spirit of God to enlighten the mind of the reader and guide the sincere and devout seeker, so that he/she knows with certainty what is of the Truth.

I hope that this blog may become a humble instrument of blessing, reconciliation and understanding among people.