It seems that true faith is not simply a matter of mechanically following the religious rules. True faith can’t be measured by deeds, but is inside, an honest approach to Bible and God.
But how can a believer be honest if he or she doesn’t know the origin of the “rulebook” – Bible?
My impression is that majority of Christian communities rarely mention if ever an event which answers critical questions for a believer.
Especially critical for an honest believer, trying to achieve an understanding and faith beyond any doubt.
Questions such as:
- Why are Old and New Testament so different in spirit, Old Testament’s God seemingly more violent and vengeful than in the New Testament?
- Why is there exactly 27 books in New Testament? Were there other candidates to enter the Bible?
- Who decided what the canon is by choosing what letters, books belong to New Testament and what not?
- Were there alternative canonization processes?
- Why canon was not created outright in the 1st century? What historical processes caused its origin?
All of these questions lead to the First Council of Nicaea in Constantinople in 325 AD.
The fact that this Council is almost excluded even from Christian discourse is very strange and suspicious. Usually after opening a book a reader finds a short introduction explaining who wrote the book for what purposes and for whom.
With this logic the Bible’s first pages should describe of the Council of Nicaea with names of over 300 church hierarchs of church of that time.
Hierarchs who in 325 AD compiled the Bible which the reader is about to read. Religious authorities who defined once and for all the nature of Christ and Holy Trinity.
Without such introduction the reader is left to wander in the dark as to the origin of the Bible. Some may even assume that Jesus or his direct 12 Apostles wrote the canonical Bible.
In any case, it seems impossible to study the contents of Bible without considering historical circumstances of its origin.
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