That does not prevent the Bible from being a collection of tales, nor does it make Lao-Tzu any more real a person, nor does it mean one can believe even the smallest fraction of the tales one hears of Buddha as a child.
Don't get me wrong: I have a deep respect for the spiritual wisdom embodied in many scriptures. And I am thrilled when I encounter people who do hear the message in a parable.
But, all too often, I have encountered people who honestly believe the world was created on October 10, 4004 B.C. (at 9:00 in the morning, because God likes to get things done early so He can have the afternoon to Himself <g>), and who will scream for my blood if I hold up a Sumerian pottery shard and say "this is 7,000 years old." I would recommend that such persons take a few courses in Natural History, Comparative Anthropology, and Theology, but, sadly, their minds are closed to anything beyond the confines of one single book. And, even though that book contains much that is wise, it encodes that wisdom in a mythology to make it more palatable to the masses.
Not all have your ability to discern Truth, unjust, nor to understand its purpose. |
