aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

The faith-based book (again)

Bart Ehrman was on the Daily Show tonight. His book, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, explores how scribes—through both omission and intention—changed the Bible.

He was on Fresh Air back in December. Well worth a listen. I said then and I’ll use this occasion to say it here again:

In the context of the discussion of the accuracy of Wikipedia, dare I point out the huge percentage of folks in this country who read the Bible as technically accurate literal truth?

Now, I’m no Bible scholar, not even an amateur, but I know that the technology of the day required that it came down to us either as oral stories, or it was hand written and copied. Then we toss in the vagaries of translation.

But still today I live in a country where 45 out 50 states prohibit legal recognition of my committed life-partnership based largely on people’s faith in the accuracy of that book.

And we’re upset that Wikipedia is badly written and has errors?