Studying the Bible, Again

THE FOLKS OVER AT THE SENIOR CENTER are having Bible study...again. They have Bible study often, at least once a week, sometimes more. And I'm thinking...look. You're all about seventy five years old. You've been Christians since you were, what, ten? that's six and a half decades of Bible study, isn't it? I mean, how much does it take? I read the Bible in high school then moved on. Great book, in its own way. mark Twain said it best. its got some noble poetry, clever fables, a lot of violence and general obscenity, and at least one thousand outright lies. A fine insight into the mind of ancient mankind. Good, interesting folklore. Either that, or the undeniable, indisputable Word of God. Take your pick. But either way, the point is, how long odes it take, how much study does it take, to fundamentally comprehend, to know the content of, to understand, one single book???And that's no matter how good, important, or divine the book is. Even devout Christians have to admit that there are worthy books in the world other than the Holy Christian Bible. Well, maybe they don't. Or maybe they can't? Again, the bible is a great book, and should be read by everyone. What strikes me about Bible readers is that the more devoutly they read it, the more often they read it, the less often they seem to read anything else, or seem to have ever read anything else. They don't seem to know much about books, any books, or books in general, other than the Bible. Most of all what bible worshippers do not seem to understand is how limited books really, how inadequate as methods of preserving and transmitting information. Oh, they have their advantages, don't get me wrong. Considering what book do to advance human civilization, books work wonders. But that isn't the point. The point is that books, inherently, are not capable of perfection. And perfection is what believers require from sacred books. You have no idea, or maybe by now you do, how badly I want to walk into the Bible study gang, and hand out copies of "The Age of Reason" by Thomas Paine. Just to help out. There is no harm, none at all, in expanding one's mind, in learning something new. In fact, it is arguably a good idea to so do. Bible study groupies, like all other narrow minded fanatics, would do well to consider that fact. And, one last time, all t his has nothing to do with whether the Christian Bible is the Word of God. It has more to do with the intelligence that God gave us, and how to use it.