I was waiting for an Arabic friend to pick me up so we could go out to eat at a
Vietnamese restaurant. (The restaurant has a large BUDDA in the entry-way) when there was a knock at my door. Out there stood 3 female 7th Day Adventists church members wanting to talk with me. I told them to wait a minute and went to get my jacket. I got my coat and heard some male voices on my porch. Thinking it was my Arabic friend, I opened the door to 2 Male Mormon Missionaries on bikes arguing with the 3 ladies from the 7th Day Adventists. About then my Moslem friend arrived.
I excused myself from the 5 people now yelling back and forth on my porch about their respective religions and philosophies, and got into the car. He asked me what in the heck was that all about. I told him they were arguing back and forth over who was right and who was wrong. "Ya' all are crazy, you know? You Christians argue over which of the Bible "Good Books" is the right one and which isn't!" he said. "We have the Koran. One book, one philosophy. Go to the book store and ask for the Koran, and you get the Koran. Go and ask for the Bible and the cashier says "Which One? Which version and for which church?"
I thought about it and he was right. If literally the very 'word of God', how come King James tossed a lot out? How can any man decide what does and doesn’t belong? And didn’t the Council of Nicea many, many years ago, argue and fight and eventually toss a lot out? And before the birth of Christ, there were 3 versions of the Bible. It was decided by a group of around 70 learned representatives that out of the 3 versions, the world would go by the Babylonian version. The Philistine version was close to that, but the Egyptian version was very long and kept a lot in that the others had not. So today, basically we follow the Babylonian version.
I just laughed and said to him, "Youre right I guess. We have a lot of different editions, versions and interpretations to choose from." "And just HOW can that be?" he asked with a smile. "I don't know" I replied. "I guess we all have to read a bunch of different ones." "I told ya' all Christians are crazy didn’t I? You mean well and do a lot good things…but you need to get your act together!" And he was right on the money…and coming from a Muslim no less. Im never too old to learn, and belief in God is good, you know?
Only in America can a Catholic go out to eat with a Muslim in a Nissan, in a restaurant with a Budda in the doorway while 2 Mormons are arguing with 3 Adventists on the porch. The only thing missing was a Rabbi, a Shaman and a Monk. Geez! I'd a had a really good joke there….
Until next time my friends, Love, Peace and Light always. For thine is the Kingdom…….HDT
