If a legitimate investigation is performed on the Bible, what will it reveal? More to the point, why do scholars, theologians, and ministers adamantly oppose the usage of investigative principles--principles that actually originated from the Bible itself? After all, the application of such principles is required by law enforcement agencies in order to arrive at the one and only correct conclusion. Surely this method would not cause anyone to fear the results of a biblical investigation. Then again, maybe the clergy do have reasons to be afraid, especially since Paul, a New Testament apostle, prophesied their indictment in the end-time.
Who I'd like to meet:
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Perhaps nothing creates as much trouble for mankind as its need for authority. Virtually no one argues that human beings can exist without it. Authority, properly executed, gives order to a life that might otherwise be violent and chaotic. Submitting to it is, in fact, the ultimate compromise between personal will and the need for safety. Structures of authority have existed from the very beginning of civilization, and it is nearly impossible to imagine a world without them. At the same time, however, authority has been responsible for some of the bloodiest, most savage abuses against the very humanity it is supposed to protect. How can something so necessary to survival also work against it?
The answer is that authority often gains legitimacy through factors unrelated to its right and ability to rule. For instance, a government may do nothing more than restore economic security, but as a result, millions of grateful citizens endorse a long and costly war with another nation. The newfound comfort of the masses is purchased with the loss of thousands, sometimes millions of lives, but that does not matter to the family that is finally able to sit down to a full meal. In such a case, it is the control over peoples' pain that grants the authority its legitimacy, not necessarily any moral validity.
People do not realize that the primary definition of authority is simply power, and power is nothing more than control. Unfortunately for humanity, control can be almost anything. It certainly does not imply knowledge or right. When someone submits to authority, the only sure conclusion is that they are submitting to some form of control. At the same time, knowledge is often part of the lesser meanings of authority, as in when someone is considered an "authority" on antiques. In this case, power comes from the ability to convince others, through a barrage of plausible sounding facts, that the "authority" knows more than the average person about the subject at hand. Again, however, legitimacy is not a given. The only way the listener can truly determine if the "authority" has true knowledge is to know as much as, or more about, the subject than the presumed authority does.
Obviously, people cannot know everything about everything, so they frequently submit to "authorities" for the sake of expediency. This is a convenience that can simplify and improve human life enormously, but, like granting power to governmental "authorities," it carries the risk for tremendous abuse. Where knowledge is at issue, most of this abuse comes in the form of deception. Deception is often very difficult, if not impossible, to detect, for the very reason that the average man cannot know all things. When plagued by back spasms, for instance, a person has neither the time nor inclination to read through all the information on the subject. He simply goes to his doctor and asks for a prescription to ease his discomfort, hoping the doctor has enough knowledge to prescribe the right medicine. Many times, the treatment is successful and the patient finds relief, but if the doctor fails, the discomfort may continue or even get worse. This leaves the sufferer no choice but to make subsequent visits to the same doctor, or to waste valuable time seeking another physician. Faulty information, then, has all the potential for harm as any direct abuse of authority, but in a world inundated with partial or imperfect knowledge, a surprising amount of it goes unrecognized.
It would seem that, to protect himself, man would want to see imperfections in knowledge revealed as often as he could, and many times he tries to do just that. Deception, however, is a formidable enemy with a fierce will to survive, and to do so, it will draw on any shield, any weapon. One of the most potent devices it has developed to protect itself is the professional title. The world has become saturated with men of title and degree, men whose labels define them far more than their actions, while at the same time, there arguably has been no increase in human competency over the ages. People still die needlessly under a doctor's care. Mechanical devices still fail. Children still leave school without an education. The obvious question then is, what are the titles and degrees meant to do? The answer is they are meant to divert attention from the ongoing imperfections in all professions.
At the same time that man has wrestled with his need for authority, particularly professional authority, which may well be imperfect, he has also struggled with his spiritual side. Who am I, he asks? Where did I come from? Where am I headed, both in this life and the one to come? This need, like all others, has led him to submit to "authorities" who claim to have the answers for him. These authorities take many forms, but the most familiar and prevalent is the organized religion. Numerous religious systems, many larger and wealthier than major corporations, have sprung up under the aegis of helping man find his spiritual destiny. Some of these are churches, many of which have grown so powerful over the centuries that they have even managed to combine forces with governmental authorities, in the process influencing laws and public behavior. Countless millions submit to their leadership, thinking surely there could be nothing bad about a system that seeks their own spiritual wellbeing.
Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. There is no magic that assures that religious authorities cannot deceive people, any more than there are assurances that governments will not deceive people. Churches are made of men, and unless men can be rid of their imperfections, people must realize that religious authority can commit all the same abuses as any other kind. Most people understand this to some degree, as there has been no shortage of scandals within churches over the centuries. What they do not understand, however, is that where authority is flawed, the information wielded by that authority must be considered flawed until proven otherwise. The simple attachment of a title to an individual's name does not change the fact that the holder is imperfect, nor should it be construed to confirm that everything said by the holder is true. Only independent verification can accomplish that, and unless the listener is willing to undertake his own investigation, he must accept the consequences of whatever faulty information he receives.
Revealingly, churches have suffered the same explosion of titled practitioners as any secular profession. It started with relatively simple titles like "reverend" and "father," but today one is just as likely to find a doctoral degree appended to the name of the neighborhood preacher, and to have to address him as "Dr. Jones." If such titles are a diversion in the secular professions, then it must follow that they can serve the same purpose within organized religion.
This book will demonstrate that the vast bulk of information received from religious leaders is flawed and that much of it is deliberately deceitful. Specifically, it seeks to indict the Christian clergy, who have taken a verifiable source of the word of God and bastardized it to draw people under their control and to amass endless stores of personal and institutional wealth. As with any criminal indictment, this one is not sought without the careful collection of evidence against the suspects. Using the investigative principles of law enforcement, this book will build a step-by-step case against the Christian clergy, citing them for criminal conduct toward humanity. The crime, as complex and daunting as it is in operation, comes under a very simple heading: conspiracy to commit fraud. In laymen's terms, the clergy have undertaken a con game against millions of people, robbing them, in the end, of the spiritual truth they sought in the first place. Unlike a criminal case in a court of law, however, this indictment will not allow for legal maneuverings like jury selection and sidebar arguments. The proceedings are wide open, and the information is presented so that all may serve as judge and jury. All that is required of the juror in return is a desire for the truth and a willingness to take a stand.
Peace Sunday, June 5, 1982, Rose Bowl, no nukes - nuclear disarmament - stop nuclear madness concert - NYC - Central Park - June 12, 1982, 1,000,000 person march and rally for Nuclear Freeze. Photography and presentation by Curtis Rainbow. 'Give Peace a Chance' music by Achim Schultz. Inspiration by Yoko Ono. Dedicated to John Lennon.
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