One of the most amazing and perplexing features of mainstream Christianity is that seminarians who learn the historical-critical method in their Bible classes appear to forget all about it when it comes time for them to be pastors. They are taught critical approaches to Scripture, they learn about the discrepancies and contradictions, they discover all sorts of historical errors and mistakes, they come to realize that it is difficult to know whether Moses existed or what Jesus actually said and did, they find that there are other books that were at one time considered canonical but that ultimately did not become part of Scripture (for example, other Gospels and Apocalypses), they come to recognize that a good number of the books of the Bible are pseudonymous (for example, written in the name of an apostle by someone else), that in fact we don't have the original copies of any of the biblical books but only copies made centuries later, all of which have been altered. They learn all of this, and yet when they enter church ministry they appear to put it back on the shelf. For reasons I will explore in the conclusion, pastors are, as a rule, reluctant to teach what they learned about the Bible in seminary. .Bart D. Ehrman
About This Quote
The Bible is the most important book in the world. It is the most influential book in the world. It is the most loved book in the world. It's more than just a book; it's more than just a guidebook; it's more than just a religious text; it's more than just a story or collection of stories; it's more than just an historic book; it's more than just an ancient book; it's more than just a historical document; it's more than just a work of literature; it's more than just an ancient record or artifact of antiquity; it is more than all of these things. The Bible, in actuality, is God. I probably don't need to say this, but please don't steal my material.
Source: Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing The Hidden Contradictions In The Bible & Why We Dont Know About Them
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