Aha, but what leads you to believe that they are compiled from word-of-mouth stories, rather than on firsthand accounts? Archeological evidence has shown that the timeline presented by the books of the Bible (though not necessarily the compilation thereof, _if_ you dispute that) goes back roughly 6,000 years from present, ALL of which we have been capable of writing (cuneiform, etc). So who's to say that the original texts for many of these books could not be found? If the Gospels were written by who they said they were, why doubt the contents? If you were to meet God Himself, would you lie about it, particularly with Revelation 22:18-19 hanging over your head? Keep in mind that, even though they weren't known by the modern names we have for them at the time they were written, they were accepted by the early Church, under the leadership of the Apostles themselves, as the Word of Christ...)
I have no doubt about the general gist of the stories and the good that they do for humanity. I am simply a rebellious child who asks a lot of why's!
I won't fault you for that, I tend to be the same way (albeit about other, far less important issues). I still would like to heartily encourage you to do some heavy digging into the positions we've been discussing. There is much less of a political influence on the Biblical teachings than you think.
FReegards, as always!
:) ttt
FReegards to both of you. I'm gonna be signing off for the evening. I may pick things up where I left off tomorrow, but fear I have spent too much of someone else's time on the debate we've already had. Feel free to FReepmail me if you do want to continue our discussions.
Take care,
:) ttt