According to Bruce Bultmann (Saturday April 20th 2001, The Forum A17) modern Christianity leads us down the wrong path. As an Atheist and Naturalist, I would certainly agree except, personally, I would leave out the word "modern." Bruce's use of "us", however, apparently is only meant to include Christians. The rest of "us", according to Bruce, probably do not matter much.
But in defense of modern Christianity (something I am not known for), I do not blame Christians for being confused about the true meaning and what is the correct interpretation of the Bible. For example, did God create animals before man (Gen 1:25-26) or after man (Gen 2:18-20)? The fossil record seems to support Gen 2 although it suggests millions of years, not just a few days, pasted between the first known animal and man. And which is correct Bible chapter recorded correctly how many horsemen David took, seven hundred (II Sam 8:4) or seven thousand (I Chron 18:4)? And which record of the same event is the correct one, Ezka 1-70 or Nehemiah 6-73? Contradictions abound in these two accounts of the same event. Of course anyone that has ever read the Bible knows these types of contradictions are common.
Matt 1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Luke 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
.But let's get to more serious contradictions. If you happen to be a Christian, suppose you tell me which Jesus do you believe in? The Jesus from Matthew or the Jesus from Mark? If you compare Matt 1 to Luke 3, you will find two different Jesus' from two completely different ancestries. Luke even lists fifteen additional generations from David to Jesus than does Matthew. Religious apologists try past off this contradiction off as one line is Joseph's and the other is Mary's however scripture never mentions Mary
Matt 1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Luke 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
. . . But Christians always have an out. The Bible states that with God all things are possible (Matt 19:26) and indeed this seems to be the correct, assuming Jesus two ancestries both from Joseph's side, is truly the case. Indeed, this must be a miracle. It would take a god to make this a reality, I'm sure.
And of course, let's not forget Paul, the author of most the New Testament. Writing of Paul's conversion in Acts 9:1-7, the author (Paul himself if I remember correctly) claims those that were with him heard a voice. In Acts 22:7-9, the author however contradicts his previous claim and claims that no other heard any voice. If Paul could not get this simple story correct, how can anyone logically expect Paul to get every other story correct? Or reworded, if Acts 9:1-17 is true, then Acts 22:7-9 is false unless of course we revert to Matt 19:26 again. Christians, I know, do that a lot. But aside from Matt 19:26, if either story is false, it follows that not everything in the Bible is correct. Further if everything in the Bible is not correct, then exactly which part of the Bible is correct and which part is not? I guess that depends on who you ask and probably goes a long ways to understanding why there are so many Christian denominations, each with their own belief.
But enter Bruce Bultmann. Here's a guy, lucky for everyone else, who has been able to figure out exactly what the Bible means and exactly how it should be interpreted. I am truly amazed how some people are just blessed and know everything.
David L Johnson