Wolf_ODonnell wrote:neologist wrote:For centuries the religious elite have manipulated the scriptures to maintain control over the masses. The bible, however, is straightforward if you are willing to expend some effort in learning it.
I agree with you on this post, but it can be argued that the manipulation started with Constantinople and the very construction of the Christian Bible.
The New Testament writings, from their very inception, were copied and recopied by MANY different scribes and shared all over the ancient world.
They were translated into many different languages and disseminated widely in many different countries.
They were also quoted voluminously in the writings of the early Church Fathers.
These factors, among others, meant that the scriptures were NEVER under the control of a small group who could manipulate and change them. The multitude of copies, ( produced not by a central publishing house of one sect, by in widely divergent geographical locations in a time when travel and communication were long and difficult propositions ) functioned as checks and balances upon each other.
Most scribes were careful and did their work in reverence. A few did not and produced erroneous copies based on their bias. It is easy to discern the few flawed manuscripts when the majority hold to their testimony in unanimity.
The constant recurring conspiracy theories regarding the various church councils, Constantine or other prominent individuals are fighting the current of testimony from thousands of manuscript copies, ancient translations and early citations by the Fathers of these ancient texts.
The same can be said of the few errant translations that are produced today with the "authority" of just a handful of manuscripts continually cited as their excuse for changing the text or the meaning of the scripture.
