"I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together" ~ John Lennon, I am the Walrus-It has often been noted on here that my position changes, subtly at times, more dramatically at others, and sometimes even to concepts that seem contradictory or at least at odds with each other. Matt and DHW are quite fond of pointing these out. -While a part of that is me playing devils advocate at times, a more significant part is that as I learn, my beliefs deepen and grow. That growth has been happening at an exponential rate over the last few years. One of the misconceptions that has come up is that I am a Christian, in the lay sense of the word. While not totally inaccurate, this is misleading. Yes, I believe that there was a historical figure named Jesus that was given the title Christ and that he quite likely performed miraculous signs. That he was the physical embodiment of the spiritual first born of God with a capital G, and that he died as redemption for the sin of man.. well.. I don't know. I am still making up my mind on that one. While I was raised in a culture that considered it heretical to go against this doctrinal belief, I do not think the scriptures mean what they think they mean, and so I study to refine my understanding. -Recently, my studies led me to the website of Jeff Benner and the Ancient Hebrew Research Center . Jeff Benner is part of a team working on a mechanical translation of the Bible. While I will leave it to you to read his work and methodology, one of the strong points in favor of his research is that it removes interpreter bias in a way that no previous translation has. The results are quite fascinating. -First, the mechanical translation brings to light a world view that is much more in line with traditional Eastern philosophies such as Zen and Taoism. In his book, Genesis, Zen, and Quantum Physics, Benner, working from a mechanical translation of Genesis and the Ancient Hebrew uncovers a wealth of information that bears a striking resemblance to modern quantum physics and, as implied in the title, Zen. Above all, he discusses how translation into the Westernized languages with their dualistic world view have corrupted the original meaning. -
I will try to post some commentary and notes up as I go along to support this, but I am still in the early part of the book and my time is split between work, school, and some much needed sleep. I would highly recommend you grab either the .pdf or .epub and read for yourself though. It is fascinating reading, and bears none of the hallmarks of the childish fantasies and anthropomorphism of most theologies.

--
What is the purpose of living? How about, 'to reduce needless suffering. It seems to me to be a worthy purpose.