the Bible's veracity

I'm still trying to find an email I'd sent last year detailing many of my religious beliefs. Here is a small group (sub-list) of beliefs about the Bible from memory of that email. I believe:

1. The Bible is a document of content derived from oral history. This applies mostly to the common content of the old testament, Torah, and Koran.
2. The Bible New Testament books' content was also transferred through oral history.
3. The Bible underwent extensive editing by the translating/transcribing monks and the Catholic Church.
4. Protestants also made changes to the Bible's content.
5. As such, The Bible's content should never be taken literally.

I was so pleased when (in 2006) Bart Ehrman wrote Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. I'd formed my opinions about the Bible content decades earlier. To see that a biblical scholar had found evidence was a big relief, since I didn't want to learn ancient languages in order to do my own research. In case you missed some of Bart's interviews, here's a sampling:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5052156
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/04/AR2006030401369.html
bio & online courses: http://www.teach12.com/store/professor.asp?ID=150

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When the family assembled in Winston-Salem after my father passed away, the conversation turned to kids' names. After my naming (decision) was detailed, I mentioned that, like me (first born son), the book of Mark was the first Gospel written (approx 60 AD/CE). Moreover, I explained to my nieces and nephews, they should recognize that Mark is not the first book of the New Testament and that fact alone should serve as a warning to anyone trying to use the Bible's content literally. They weren't ready for that idea and I dropped it.

The title of this blog entry is about the Bible's veracity. I'm not questioning its truthfulness. Rather, I've come to a realization and belief that the Bible's content should be read with some skepticism -- not as a work of fiction, but as a collection of stories, fables, and life lessons by different writers and editors across millenia.

It's a rainy Monday and I'm not completely over what I think is a bout of pneumonia. But I'm feeling better...fever broke Saturday night and my alma mater won its first conference hoops game Sunday, poised to assume a #1 national ranking.

Moreover, I saw something that really brought a smile to my face this morning -- a refridgerator magnet:
Jesus Is Cool but Some of His followers Give me the Creeps
http://www.buzzflash.com/store/items/468

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I guess this is as good a way to start belief/faith blogging as any. Hi. I'm Mark Hutchinson. I'm a neighbor of Paul and Gina. I'm 51 years old and a North Carolina native. You'll learn more about me as I post. In the coming months, I hope to post many entries -- some serious and some, like this one, more humorous. I accept the probability that I will offend some readers in my posts, but that will never be my primary intention.

My posting goals:

• to create prose that makes you think about your own beliefs and faith as much as I do when I create my blog entries
• to distinguish fact from opinion
• to source and cite my references
• to create some permanent resource for my god son, Hamilton, when he is ready to understand faith and belief.

Happy New Year,

Mark