"Somebody
ought to tell the truth about the Bible. The preachers dare not, because
they would be driven from their pulpits. Professors in colleges dare not,
because they would lose their salaries. Politicians dare not. They would
be defeated. Editors dare not. They would lose subscribers. Merchants dare
not, because they might lose customers. Men of fashion dare not, fearing
that they would lose caste. Even clerks dare not, because they might be
discharged. And so I thought I would do it myself . . . "
Robert G. Ingersoll
"God sacrificed
his own son in place of humans who needed to be punished for their own
sins might make some Christians love Jesus, but is an obcene picture of
God. It is almost heavenly child abuse, and may infect out imagination
at more earthly levels as well. I do not want to express my faith through
a theology that pictures God demanding blood sacrifices in order to be
reconciled to us." (page
145-146) and "Actually, the fact that we have
four gospels lies at the very heart of our problem. Because we read particular
parables or sayings or stories in several different versions, we can't
miss the disagreements between them" (page
3-4), From "Who is Jesus" by John Dominic Crossan (35 years of searching
for the historical Jesus and former Catholic priest)