Just as in the classic child entertainer, telephone, the original message is never the same as the terminal one. Why wouldn’t this apply to everything else, such as history? Humans are not perfect, and can not be reliable for remembering things, let alone relaying messages from God. If you can doubt what the 10th person in the telephone line said, why wouldn’t you doubt what the Bible says? The true meaning behind these stories can be contorted in a totally different direction with a simple change of a word. Translations from Greek, Latin and Arabic are not persistent with the alphabet, grammar, or vocabulary of modern day English. So much meaning could have been lost in the years that it took to translate the Bible itself. The very guidelines of the majority of the population could be corrupt, and it is almost impossible to find out if it is. With one slight change of a word, and the meaning could become inversed. They could be worshiping something that is truly against their religion. People can figure out what to believe in by themselves. They don’t need to be taught what to believe.
Throughout history, the church has accumulated multiple flaws. Although high ranking priests were sworn to celibacy, some of them, even popes such as Alexander VI, who served from 1492-1503, had many mistresses and many kids. Those officials then used church influence to get advantages for illegitimate children. Even more ironic is in the case of Clement VII who denied Henry VIII his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, fathered a son. Leo X was quite well known for pampering himself with church cash. All the three Popes were privelaged men from wealthy families who received cushy Church positions by virtue of their connections.
Oh, and of course we cannot neglect the indulgences. One of my resources, World History for Dummies, puts the concept very well, “You can think of an indulgence like this: Say you do a good deed. Your reward is that God doesn’t make you suffer so much for your bad deeds, so you get into heaven a little easier. Now, say you need a good deed to earn this consideration. Doesn’t giving the Church money count as a good deed? But what if your brother died before he could build up his spiritual credits? Not a problem. You, his surviving relative, can give money to the Church by purchasing an indulgence, then transfer your credit to bro, getting him off the hook in the afterlife.”
It’s pretty silly - farcical actually. That’s exactly what a brilliant man from Netherlands who lived in England exposed in his book the Praise of Folly. This man, Desiderius Erasmus, ridiculed lazy, incompetent churchmen in his widely read and popular satire. He understand firsthand the mistakes in the Church. He was the illegitimate son of a priest and a physician’s daughter.
The Pope Clement V surrendered to a blackmail which required him to make an offense against God. The French King Phillip IV coveted the property of a society known as the Poor Knights of Christ, founded in 1119 by Hugh de Payens in his companions. After accomplishing its purpose of protecting pilgrims to the Holy Land, they were discharged from their base at Solomon’s Temple. For reasons unknown, they began amassing wealth, numbers, and power that grew exponentially over night. They became bankers (presumably the first, but that is questionable) and began bankrupting royals! They hoards of treasure were unimaginable! They quickly became the new superpower of Europe! They are better known to today’s world as the Knights Templar, due to the temple at which they were based. So Clement sent letters to all of his and Phillip’s legions scattered across the map of Europe - all of which were to be opened at dawn on October 13, 1307 - a Friday. Coincidentally, that’s where we derive the term Friday 13 as unlucky. In these letters was a message ordering the arrest and torture of all the Templars. It accused them of sodomy, defiling the cross, homosexuality, and etc. of completely absurd vindications. In a single day the Templars were gathered up and burned after being tortured. Some recanted, some didn’t. Among those who didn’t was the Grand Master, Jacques de Molay. The tale is a sad one, and it is most commonly agreed by historians that the Templars committed no such crimes.
There is also the Catholic and Spanish Inquisitions, which eliminated thousands, possibly even a million! It targeted all “Free-Thinking Women” - any female essentially. They even published a book instructing the clergy on how to capture, torture, and kill these women - Maleus Maleficurum - literally “The Witch’s Hammer”.
Don’t forget the Illuminati, the society that originated of five members when it was founded by Adam Weishaupt in Bavaria. When their membership eventually reached that of 2,500, they invaded the Freemasons (due to the fact they were both against religious persecution, the Masonic lodges made a great cover up for revolutions). Their purpose was to overthrow all religious and political leaders and create a “perfect” government ruled by - guess who - themselves of coursw.
Adam Weishaupt was a professor of canon law at a Roman Catholic university, and was also a Jew.
There are plenty of gospels that were rejected from entrance into the Bible as we know it today. More than 80 gospels competed, but as you well know there are not 80 gospels in our Bible. The final compilation was presided over the by the First Council of Nicea in 325. They bickered and voted not only about the acceptance and rejection of certain book candidates, but also the date of Easter, and the divinity of Jesus.
You can find these facts recorded in a multitude of books such as World History for Dummies, The Freemasons, Secret Societies, The Lost Gospel, The Jesus Papers, and God’s War. Or perhaps you could also check Wikipedia (not that that is quite reliable) or Encarta Online Encyclopedia and Reference Library.
It also seems odd considering that the (arguably) most successful period in history, the Renaissance of course, emphasized the concept of Individualism and looking into one’s self, and not having to rely on such a corrupt community as the Church.
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