The Art of Deception

One way we are told is that we are being deceived by another, the dark one, the horned one, beelzebub, the devil himself and that his deception of our beleif is his only conceivable wish and purpose in our lives.

So are these facts and differences in the bible there to deceive us? Is the devil already prevelant in the sacred texts? Have they been put there by a more powerful being?

Does our bible need a healthy re write? So what are we to believe? What was written on the cross? What was Jesus' last words? Who was Josephs father? Who can give me a straight answer?

Rev: There was a debate on the news over the weekend about whther we should come up with some more commandments for modern day etc and they had people emailing in their ideas and there was a vicar on judging them. Have any in mind?

Man: I believe that these people were only having a laugh, but nevertheless, yes. I will not give one of my own, but i believe that He would say something like this, even though He would not need to give any other than He has already given to us in the bible:

"Thou shalt not believe in the age old lie of the serpent"... you will be like God knowing good and evil and you shall not act on it by adding new commandments or taking any away from what i have given you. I, the Lord Your God do not change. I am the same yesterday, today and forever. I do not lie, nor change my mind. If i, the Lord, speak, then i act, and if i promise, i will surely fulfill it. My commandments are not burdonsome. They are for your benefit, so be diligent to keep them and you will prosper. I am the Lord Your God, and i will bless you, if you listen to my voice and keep my commandments and do not add them or take them away from any that i have given you.

Rev: Ok thanks for that.

Each of the books depicted in the bible tell a different version of events. Is this spin or just rough translation? If so, how can we take the word from something described as 'rough'? Granted, this was all a long time ago and the facts could have been slightly misconstrued over time. Why a different version of events? Is this important to get right considering how influential these works are to modern day soceity? After all, we demand the truth from our governments and we are not satisfied until we do. It is true of course that we dont always get that and the governments cover the lies with more lies.

Lives are currently being lost all over the world over peoples faith, who has the rightful ownership of holy sites because what they read is a contradiction, so it is left to our governments to work it for them. Its wrong. This begs the question either we can assimilate that the religious scriptures in history are not only unreliable sources but in fact inconceivable towards modern day prayer or they were not sure in their consistancy. Are fundamentalists being deceived by the devil or a similar evil force or is the extremism in their faith being fuelled by confusion?Confusion, not that i believe that is being delivered by the devil but peoples understanding of the scriptures and given denial in their mind when they come across such inconsistancies.

This builds confusion and the fear that is in built into the psyche of peoples faith leads them to believe in such banalities when faced with what non believers would consider as simple logic.Who am i to question the truth?Well i believe its open to interpretation. It had of course been translayed, modified, simplified, conceptualised, ostracised, criticised, trivualised and now televised.The big budget Hollywood cash injection motion picture treatment.I was intrigued by the content and the surrounding controversy and subsequent reason behind the film.Was this a cleverly timed and thinly veiled PR stunt on behalf of the church community when there is a disillusion in the community due to the current political environment, as it does not reflect well on religion at the moment.Was this an honest portrayal of the most sacred of texts or a publicity spin to regain the essence of faith.