a man sees something he doesn’t understand. He makes up a story to explain it.
The story is shared among a tribe for generations, occasionally a skilled storyteller improves it
Eventually writing is invented, the story at some point is written down, maybe improved one more time as it’s put to paper
It’s copied over generations, occasionally improved by good writer, it is adjusted and added to a collection of stories about God and his prophets and miracles
Even had the writers wanted to fact check the stories, they couldn’t, they had spent too long in oral transmission.
Even the new testament wasn’t written by the people who were there at the time, it was more like telling the stories that your grandfather heard from his grandfather
People are pretty prone to improving stories they tell, they make them flow better, they make people’s motives clear when really they were hidden
Add to this tons of translations to different languages, not to mention different versions of the book in the same language. So it’s a massive buffet where anybody can pick whatever suits their taste.
A man sees a strange thing via a strange technique. He writes a book about the thing. The book’s intended audience is people who are familiar with the strange technique.
A person with no experience (with the strange technique) reads the book. He thinks he understands but he really doesn’t. He goes on to lecture on the subject at a small community college. He makes 40k a year. He drives a 2012 Honda Civic.
It’s more:
Even had the writers wanted to fact check the stories, they couldn’t, they had spent too long in oral transmission.
Even the new testament wasn’t written by the people who were there at the time, it was more like telling the stories that your grandfather heard from his grandfather
People are pretty prone to improving stories they tell, they make them flow better, they make people’s motives clear when really they were hidden
Add to this tons of translations to different languages, not to mention different versions of the book in the same language. So it’s a massive buffet where anybody can pick whatever suits their taste.
Here’s another.
A man sees a strange thing via a strange technique. He writes a book about the thing. The book’s intended audience is people who are familiar with the strange technique.
A person with no experience (with the strange technique) reads the book. He thinks he understands but he really doesn’t. He goes on to lecture on the subject at a small community college. He makes 40k a year. He drives a 2012 Honda Civic.