July 30, 2025

The church was before the Bible.

The church was 397 years (or better, between 367 and 401) before the Bible. Exactly when is a bit murky, but clear enough to be appalling.

Let that sink in.

The church--and this would be the Church of Rome,
which became The Roman Catholic Church--
had 397 years to get the Bible "right" in the mind of the church, before "closing the canon" between 367 and 401 BCE.

So, when the church says, "the Bible says," the church is saying what the church wants the Bible to say, with a wink, wink and a nod, nod, and a quiet bow to itself for being so clever in giving itself an eternal platform for "saving sinners from the maw of hell" through all those years after making up the power of sin and the horrors of hell to the glory of God everlasting.

It's all a sham, a farce, a shame and a mockery.
And, it is here to stay because truth is an assumption that rests on "everybody saying/knowing so" over time. And, after all, what does it matter anyway?

It matters in knowing what our foundation is, in knowing what we can count on, in knowing how to orient ourselves in time and space, in putting together a life that has some heft to it, some validity about it, some sense of direction, purpose, drift and flow to stabilize it, and not something we just make up anew every day in light of what we want and feel like doing today in a "Here we are, now what?" kind of way.

What are we trying to do? Why? What is worth our time and our trouble? Who says so? How do we know they know what they are talking about? In light of what do we live? Toward what do we live? What guides our boat on its path through the sea? How good is the good we call good? What determines "right" and "wrong" in each situation as it arises? What is the measure by which we decide these things? What leads us along the way? Day by day?