The Bible is usually seen as the basis of Christianity.
It is not the only word of God, for God speaks in many ways,
but it is still a route that God can use to interact with man.

Some see the written word as inviolate and eternal,
producing a frozen faith that glorifies ancient dogma;
the ideas and man-made myths, of a different time;
ideas crafted to address the needs of long ago;
problems that we no longer understand.

The Bible includes both myth and fabled stories
interwoven with history written from set perspectives;
the camp-fire-told legends of ancient warlike glories
mix with tales of spiritual direction and experience.

Its contents were carefully chosen
by powerful religious councils
to endorse their theological position
with the more useful of those tales
currently available in the public domain.
Less compliant writings were simply burnt.

Knowledge of its content in a non-literate society
was used to enforce priestly control, authority,
proclaiming dubious written truths
to those who knew no better.

Can we now read the Bible with opened eyes;
be freed by modern scholarship from superstition,
the ideas of ignorant hermits and power-hungry priests?
Can we separate what is truth from what is false
and still ponder upon the dubious?