The quest to find ancient scriptures in support of the largest religion in the world – Christianity. At stake – the faith of millions and the Bible at its heart ... I’m following in the footsteps of the Bible hunters. Bible Hunters I, BBC 2014
Scholars had the audacity to challenge the very word of God. ibid.
There are 35,000 edits in the Codex Sinaiticus. ibid.
For almost two thousand years they [Gospels] had the monopoly on the story of Jesus. Until the discovery of the New Sayings of Jesus in 1897. In Europe, the introduction of a new Biblical text caused a storm. Bible Hunters II, BBC 2014
Curzon’s cache of manuscripts included a surprise, a Christian text no-one had seen before: the Acts of Peter & Paul. ibid.
The text was attributed to the disciple Bartholomew but was not included in the Bible. ibid.
The Gnostics were increasingly under pressure: their intellectual take on Christianity didn’t tally with the official Church doctrine. ibid.
It was the Orthodoxes who would shape the future of Christianity. ibid.
The devil can quote scripture for his own ends. Late 16th century proverb
And Jesus said] unto the lawyers, [?Punish] every wrongdoer and transgressor, and not me; … And turning to the rulers of the people he spake this saying, Search the scriptures, in which ye think that ye have life; these are they which bear witness of me. Think not that I came to accuse you to my Father; there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, on whom ye have set your hope. And when they said, We know well that God spake unto Moses, but as for thee, we know not whence thou art, Jesus answered and said unto them, Now is your unbelief accused. Egerton Papyrus 2 & Cologne Papyrus 225: Fragment 1: Verso
The desire to take these texts too literally I think leads a lot of people astray. William Schniedewind, UCLA
I have devoted my energies to the study of the scriptures, observing monastic discipline, and singing the daily services in church; study, teaching, and writing have always been my delight. The Venerable Bede
Be on guard against giving interpretations of Scripture that are far-fetched or opposed to science, and so exposing the Word of God to the ridicule of unbelievers. Augustine of Hippo
The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity. Aldous Huxley, Sacred Jewls of Yota: Wisdom from India’s Beloved Scriptures, Teachers, Masters and Monk
But the man who rejects the words of the Scriptures and follows the impulse of desire attains neither his perfection, nor joy, nor the Path Supreme. Bhagavad Gita: Krishna’s Dialogue on the Soul 16:23
Words which give peace, words which are good and beautiful and true, and also the reading of sacred books: this is the harmony of words. ibid. 17:15
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little. Isaiah 28:10
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are which testify of me. John 5:39
This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil). Koran 2:2
Mankind were one community, and Allah sent (unto them) prophets as bearers of good tidings and as warners, and revealed therewith the Scripture with the truth that it might judge between mankind concerning that wherein they differed. And only those unto whom (the Scripture) was given differed concerning it, after clear proofs had come unto them, through hatred one of another. And Allah by His Will guided those who believe unto the truth of that concerning which they differed. Allah guideth whom He will unto a straight path. Koran 2:213
O People of the Scripture! Now hath Our messenger come unto you, expounding unto you much of that which ye used to hide in the Scripture, and forgiving much. now hath come unto you light from Allah and plain Scripture, Koran 5:15
Literature, not scripture, sustains the mind and – since there is no other metaphor – also the soul. Christopher Hitchens, God in Not Great p5
More people are troubled by what is plain in Scripture than by what is obscure. Roy L Smith
In order to carry out the fundamentalist program in practice, one would need a perfect understanding of the ancient language of the original text, if indeed the true text can be discerned from among variants. Furthermore, human beings are the ones who transmit this understanding between generations. Even if one wanted to follow the literal word of God, the need for people first to understand that word necessitates human interpretation. Through that process human fallibility is inextricably mixed into the very meaning of the divine word. As a result, it is impossible to follow the indisputable word of God; one can only achieve a human understanding of God’s will. Elliot N Dorff (co-author Arthur Rosett) A Living Tree: The Roots and Growth of Jewish Law 1988
What have you been reading, the gospel according to St Bastard? Eddie Izzard
He who sees by himself, needs no instruction. But the miserable, afflicted fool who delights in pleasures and whose miseries do not cease, is turned round in the whirl of pains. Jaina Sutras bk1
A wise man should avoid wrath, pride, deceit, greed, love, hate, delusion, conception, birth, death, hell, animal existence, and pain. ibid.
All breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away. This is the pure, unchangeable, eternal law. ibid.
Four things of paramount value are difficult to obtain here by a living being: human birth, instruction in the Law, belief in it, and energy in self-control. ibid. lecture 3
Death against one’s will is that of ignorant men … death with one’s will is that of wise men. ibid. lecture 5
There are five causes which render wholesome discipline impossible: egoism, delusion, carelessness, illness and idleness. ibid. lecture 11
By the adoration of twenty-four Jinas the soul arrived at the purity of faith. ibid. lecture 29
By renouncing his body he acquires the preeminent virtues of the Siddhas, by the possession of which he goes to the highest region of the universe and becomes absolutely happy. ibid.
A monk destroys his austerities the bad karma which he had acquired by love and hatred. ibid. lecture 30
There are three ways of committing sins: by own’s own activity, by commission, by approval. ibid. Sutrakritanga 1
This is the quintessence of wisdom: not to kill anything. Now this to be the legitimate conclusion from the principle of the reciprocity with regard to non-killing. ibid.
This creed of the Nirgranthas [Jains] is true, supreme, excellent, full of virtues, right, pure, it removes doubts, it is the road to perfection, liberation, Nirvana. ibid. Sutrakritanga 2