HISTORY OF THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETATION
After many years of looking into the Bible and also attending various “Christian” institutions and listening to a lot of various “Christian teachers,prophets etc, and reading a lot of books on the subject. Of course each prophet and teacher thinks or even demands that they alone have the correct “angle” on the entire subject. Criticism is just not allowed, the status quo must be maintained at all costs. The party line must be held. I for one need the freedom to disagree with the ruling majority. In other words the ability to dissent from the majority view. In countries like China,or North Korea or Russia of course dissent is forbidden. And even in the so called democratic liberal West, it becomes harder to challenge the status quo. But thankfully so far, not impossible. But even in the West it is hard to say challenge climate change,or same sex marriage, or so called gender issues. One is expected to conform it would seem.
The same is true of our religious institutions it would seem. It is verboten to challenge the prevailing orthodoxy. So what is going on? For decades I have been saying “faulty diagnosis, faulty solution”. What happens if my diagnosis of the Christian issue has been incorrect? What happens if say Reformed Protestant fundamentalism is actually not true? The Pentecostals have had it wrong for decades. And then to actually challenge my own reformed “theology” is a very difficult thing to do. Sola Scriptura is not then the truth of the matter. And then perhaps the Roman Catholic position is then correct? The Magisterium then becomes a valid source of data? Then ones view of the Sacred Texts and their interpretations becomes a matter of critical moment. And this then becomes a power relationship. One must accept the prevailing orthodoxy upon pain of death, or worse,exclusion. The Guardians of Orthodoxy have powerful weapons at their disposal.
But there have been individuals in the past who have challenged orthodoxy. Not out of a sense of rebellion but as a question of Truth.
So my researches into the history of the Bible led me to find out that even in the Christian Church a lot of people believe that the book of the prophet Daniel was written late. Thus,in my view casting aspersions on the Word of God. If one is to accept a late dating of the book of the prophet Daniel, then one is casting doubt onto the veracity of the Word of God.
So from a simple desire to understand the history of the Bible, to getting involved on a major controversy.