The Pageless Book

Photo Above by Justin Henry. Photo Below by Wendy.

“Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in your reading have been like the blast of triumph out of Shakespeare, Seneca, Moses, John and Paul.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803 - 1882.

What exactly makes a text holy? Some would tell you it is the inherent truth of the text, the authority endowed upon the book’s author by a divine source, and the traditions surrounding the text. That is basically that person’s way of telling you which books he or she believes you should accept as holy. Seeing as each person’s interpretation of the truth, acceptance of authority, and version of tradition is a matter of opinion and personal taste, we cannot use these as objective means of deciding which writings are holy. Or can we?

Consider the possibility that holiness is not endowed upon the text by the writer, but instead by the reader. What if that which makes a book sacred is the divinity within the person who reads it? How would that change religion and spirituality? We would become more tolerant and open minded towards other religions and traditions. As individuals, our relationship with the text would be much different; we would be more willing to question our own point of view and accept another’s point of view as equally valid. Would we be so bold as to become prophets ourselves and write our own holy texts? Well, as you’ve probably already surmised, I am quite comfortable with the idea that we each could be prophets if we choose.

I can understand if the idea of prophecy rubs some of my readers the wrong way. It is, after all, the prophets that declare their own writings as the final true word of God. No one wants to be seen as being a raving zealot or, worse yet, dangerously insane. Let me see if I can ease your concerns. Prayer is a commonly accepted practice, used to purposely communicate your thoughts and feelings to the Divine Source. Meditation is a commonly accepted practice of silencing the mind, the result of which opens the heart and mind to listen for answers from that same Divine Source. Billions of people, all over the world and from all religions, use both means of communing with the Divine every day. The difference between them and so-called prophets is that the prophets have the sense to write down what they hear and then become famous for teaching the wisdom of the text - or rather, the wisdom inherent in the reader.

There is a down side to all this, though; you would be forced to think for yourself. Not everyone is reassured by their own judgment in what is true for them. These people would rather be told what to think rather then think for themselves. Doubt, for some, is a downward spiral rather then a purifier of faith. They see it as such, because doubt forces them to question the pillars which they believe their faith is dependent on. Like a child who believes that the trees hold up the sky, every question of doubt in one of these false pillars of faith seem to threaten to bring eternal night. This is truly sad, because you cannot have free will without doubt, and without free will, faith within holy writings is meaningless.

To write your own Bible is to reclaim that free will and reclaim your right to commune with the divine as you see fit. Religion was never meant to be a static list of beliefs and creeds, but rather an on-going conversation between man and the Divine. I look forward to reading some of your own conversations with the Divine and continuing to share my conversations with you.
Originally Posted October 5th, 2007.