The Pageless Book

Photo by Andrew Kuchling.

On Wednesday, The Pageless Book had its one hundredth entry. If you deduct the two guest articles I have had, today’s entry would be the one hundredth. Regardless of how you choose to look at it, the blog has reached a milestone. It is is time to take a good look around and ask myself if this blog is progressing as it should.

Do I have the readership I have hoped for? Is the writing quality consistent? Can I say that this blog is efficiently organized? Am I happy with this blog over all? Almost every question I can think of, I would have to answer negatively. I see a lot of room for improvement, both in my own performance and in the quality of my blog.

However, there is also a lot of which I am proud. I love writing and being apart of this community. After six months of blogging, I still enjoy doing this. I’m hoping to expand on this blog and continue to grow. I’m not going to be giving up on The Pageless Book any time soon, despite what my recent actions might indicate.

Over the next few weeks, I will be making several improvements to The Pageless Book, the first of which is to make sure that new material is available Monday through Friday every week. You can also look forward to the continuation of the Friday Vibes and Site In Focus series. I’ve realized the value that they add to this blog, and need to re-institute them. I also need to go through my older entries, rewrite and resubmit them on the weekends. Finally, this site needs to be reorganized so that each post fits into one or two categories, rather than the four or five categories that each post currently falls into.

My hope is that these changes will invigorate this website and bring in new readers. Whether I am successful or not depends entirely on me and my ability to be consistent. I hope to deliver on the promise that this blog represents.

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: Blogging, Growth, Information, Readers

The following is a guest post by Evan Hadkins from WellbeingandHealth.net, a friend and frequent visitor to this blog. The genesis of this post was a comment he left in response to my article on The Nature of Reality that I posted a few weeks ago. I was so impressed by his comment, that I asked him to expand his thoughts here as a guest poster.

Above Photo by Laura. Photo Below by Lian Xiaoxiao. Final Photo by Alexandre Dulaunoy.

In the modern west, reality is split into with-in-my-skin and beyond-my-skin. I find this a useful distinction - building a house of bricks is very different to the building of a philosophy. The problem, as I see it, has been assigning priority to within-the-skin or beyond-the-skin. One of these is taken to be “the really real” and the other to be its effect. Both these views are prevalent.

Some people (usually advocating science and objectivity) think that it is the beyond-the-skin that is the important reality. They advocate psychology as the study of behaviour. Or see behaviour as the outcome of brain chemicals. There are those who believe that the within the skin is most real. They will assert that “it is with our thoughts that we make the world” and say that the difference between success and failure is motivation or attitude. Perhaps the most famous advocate of this approach is Louise Hay who believes that physical diseases are the manifestation of (and can be fixed by) our thoughts or “affirmations”.

Both of these approaches have their strengths and weaknesses. My point is that both are partial. I do not wish to advocate for either side of this dilemma. My approach is that reality is the experience of the meeting between me and this other stuff. Reality is a human experience.

In the west there has been the attempt to ‘filter out’ the subjective element; to somehow stand outside ourselves. This project is doomed. If I stand outside myself it is still the “I” doing the observing. Objectivity in this sense is not possible. Subjectivity in the sense of “what is can be whatever I make it” is just silly. However, seeing that my experience and action is affected by my past experience, my current thoughts, beliefs and feelings is entirely verifiable.

The search for the nature of reality is one part of reality investigating another. Thus my teeth, tongue and taste buds investigate a piece of food. My enjoyment doesn’t mean that the food isn’t objectively real. Neither does the objectively real atomic structure of the food invalidate my enjoyment. Reality is this: meeting of the me and not-me. Reality is the meeting, not one part of the story.

When it comes to discussion of god the split between the within-the-skin and the beyond-the-skin parties is very much in evidence. There is a rash at the moment of books by militant atheists of the Chris Hitchens’ school saying that science and objectivity tell us what is so and that belief in god is ’subjective’ or ‘mythical’ and so forth. In contrast, there are also those who assert that their own thoughts and feelings mean that god (objectively) exists. This is hardly helpful. Those who attack the claim for god’s reality are often attacking the wrong ‘god’. In Christian theology, the field I know best, the “objectively real god” who sits somewhere outside physical reality, has not been taken seriously for decades. The serious theologians see that god is in the process, not outside “it”.

My suggestion is that we take seriously the experience of those who speak of god. “God” is a human experience - just as are the equations describing the behaviour of sub-atomic particles. This means that the attack on ‘belief in God’ is beside the point. It is not belief that is at issue but experience.

This makes it essential for those who are ‘believers’ to be able to say what their experience of God is. A central question is the what counts as evidence. Does what occurs in the lab judge the rest of our lives? Much of what we find personally convincing is unlikely to be duplicated in a lab. A personal anecdote to make the point: A friend of mine would greet whoever picked up the phone by name before they had spoken. (This was before the days of caller ID.) He would do this consistently and reliably. This I find personally convincing. Could it be replicated in a lab, perhaps. Could it be replicated by others randomly chosen? Almost certainly not. But this doesn’t make it less convincing to me.

To have a fruitful discussion of the nature of reality and of the existence of god we need to move beyond the objective (beyond-the-skin-is-real) and subjective (within-the-skin-is-real) dispute. We need to begin speaking to each other about our experience. We need to be able to say what our experience of ‘god’ is or why we see the ’scientific’ account as more convincing. When we can start talking about what our words describe I think this discussion will be able to move forward in a fruitful way.

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: God, Information, Philosophy, Reality, Science

Image above by “reedbiotch”. Photo below by “gutter”.

In case you haven’t heard about the current internet war against Scientology, let me bring you up to speed. Since the days of the usernet in the 1980’s, The Church of Scientology has actively attempted to quiet all criticism of its actives by citing copyright laws, harassing website owners, and allegedly abusing any means possible to silence detractors. Individuals have had their computers confiscated, been sued, and slandered in opposition of Scientology. On January 16th, a four year old video of Tom Cruise ranting about Scientology surfaced on YouTube and went viral. This brought negative media attention to the Church of Scientology, which prompted them to contact YouTube and demand that they take the video down or face legal proceedings.

I guess this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. On the 21st of the month, several groups of hackers joined together and, calling themselves “Anonymous,” declared war against Scientology in a YouTube video. You can see the original video here, as well as a second video addressing the followers of Scientology in particular here, and a video listing the alleged crimes of Scientology here. So far, the war has resulted in numerous denial of server attacks against the Chuch’s websites, the various videos I link to above, and most likely several acts that I am not yet privy.

So why is this important to me? It brings up an important question about religious tolerance, or the lack there of. Is this just bigotry practiced on a large scale by the hackers of the internet or is Scientology truly a sinister organization as Anonymous would have us believe? Where do I stand as a blogger, a citizen of the internet, and a champion of religious tolerance? What should I do, if anything? These are not easy questions for me to answer, but if I am to be honest with myself, they need to be asked.

Let’s assume for a moment that the accusations of illegal activities made against Scientology are all false and consider only the verifiable facts of how this organization has conducted itself in the past. The organization is heavily reliant on litigation as its means of defending itself and is not interested in open dialogue. They charge an incredible amount of money for access to their teachings and openly prevents the sharing of those teachings by others. Scientology rejects the importance of psychological and psychiatric medicine and offer their own scientifically unproved methods as means of overcoming mental illness… Even without mentioning the rumored illegal activities, I have to question the motives of this organization.

I have come to the conclusion that if even a quarter of what Anonymous has said is true, than Scientology is a detriment to society. The thing is, we don’t have to rely on the word of Anonymous to come to this decision; Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Luxembourg, Mexico, and the United Kingdom refuse to recognize Scientology as a religion. Germany has even considered a ban on Scientology, and the government of Belgium is currently in the process of prosecuting the Church. You could even read the opinions of the judges who have ruled against the Church in the past, including this ruling from the California Supreme Court in the case of Wollersheim v. Church of Scientology:

“Substantial evidence supports the conclusion Scientology leaders made the deliberate decision to ruin Wollersheim economically and possible psychologically….We do not mean to suggest Scientology’s retributive program… represented a full scale modern day ‘inquisition.’ Nevertheless there are some parallels in purpose and effect. ‘Fair game,’ like the ‘inquisition,’ targeted heretics.

“Other testimony established Scientology is a hierarchal organization which exhibits near paranoid attitudes toward certain institutions and individuals — in particular the government, mental health professionals, disaffected members, and others who criticize the organization or its leadership… During trial, Wollersheim’s experts testified Scientology’s ‘auditing’ and ‘disconnect’ practices constituted ‘brainwashing’ and ‘thought reform’ akin to what the Chinese and North Koreans practiced on American prisoners of war…

“Using its position as religious leader, the church and its agents coerced Wollersheim into continuing auditing even though his sanity was repeatedly threatened by this practice… Thus there is adequate proof the religious practice in this instance caused real harm to the individual and the appellant’s outrageous conduct caused that harm… Church practices conducted in a coercive environment are not qualified to be voluntary religious practices entitled to first amendment religious freedom guarantees…

“We hold that the state has a compelling interest in allowing its citizens to recover for serious emotional injuries they suffer through religious practices they are coerced into accepting. Such conduct is too outrageous to be protected under the constitution and too unworthy to be privileged under the law of torts.”

-California appellate court, 2nd district, 7th division, Wollersheim v. Church of Scientology of California, Civ. No. B023193 Cal. Super. (1986)

So are the actions of Anonymous religious intolerance? Regardless of whether I believe the Church of Scientology to be a religion or not, no person or organization should be allowed to abuse the rights of others. No, Anonymous acts not out of religious intolerance, but instead of outrage at injustice. They seek only to work against a corrupt organization, not against the beliefs of others. Despite the fact that I do not agree with their methods, I have a great deal of respect for their purpose and will support them in the one way I can - by adding my voice to their choir.

ARTICLE 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
~The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, in Paris.

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: Individuality, Information, Mental Health, Religious Tolerance, Scientology, Websites

Above photo by Bruno Girin. Photo below of Tara Hunt.

Have I been Digging you? Oh yeah, baby, I’ve been Digging you. All of you, in fact. I’ve found that submitting posts to Digg can be somewhat of a chore, though, as there are so many steps in submitting content. The good thing, however, is that I’ve found out Digg allows you to submit your own content if you want. Hrm. Looks like I have a new project on my hands.

In terms of support in promoting Liberal Religion Blogs, I’ve got two more allies. Shelby, whom I’ve mentioned several times before, took the initiative and wrote an entry about the four reasons why Unitarian Universalists should use social media. I highly suggest reading this inspirational piece of literature! Er, well, uhm, perhaps calling it ‘inspirational’ and ‘literature’ is a bit much - after all it is still just a blog post… Read it anyway! After all, we know the fifth reason to use social media is because John Pageless said so!

Actually, the fifth reason to use social media is to make friends. Nneka from Balanced Life Center, stumbled one of my articles in response to me stumbling one of her articles. I received a traffic spike of about two hundred and some-odd visitors as a result of her stumble. Am I thankful? Oh, heck yes. I only knew of Nneka peripherally before she had stumbled me, and now I’m even more interested in getting to know her and continue to read her blog. That’s how social media is supposed to work - it’s social.

I’m going to continue to Stumble and Digg for another week before introducing any new social media services to my networking regiment. If you have been stumbled or dugg this past week and had good results due to social media, I’d love to hear from you. Or, if you are a reader who has been trying new social media websites with me and have some suggestions or comments to make, by all means drop me a line.

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: Advertising, Information, Unitarian Universalism, Websites

Photo by j / f

What is, in your opinion, the most pressing issue facing this world today? Is it the possibility of nuclear warfare? Starvation of tens of thousands of people in third-world countries? Perhaps you believe that global climate change to be the biggest threat. Whatever it is you believe to be the biggest problem humanity faces, firmly envision this problem. I want you to try, if you can, to imagine all global issues solved with exception of your particular global issue. Hard to imagine, isn’t it?

Why is it so much harder to imagine an issue reaching critical mass when it is the only global problem? Seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? If I may suggest, perhaps it is because so many of our global issues are interrelated. It doesn’t make sense for humanity to be able to solve the issue of famine and starvation without disarming and finally putting an end to war. We cannot honestly picture bringing global climate change under control without making corporations responsible for the health and well-being of all their employees. Each one of these problems are so interrelated, that it’s hard imagining any one of these existing on their own. These global scale problems must be symptoms of an even greater issue.

According to Global MindShift, the issue is humanity’s perception of its identity and understanding of the world. The paradigm under which we live as a global community is inherently flawed. In order to effectively resolve this issue, humanity must be willing to take a good long look at itself. Such an awakening on a global level doesn’t happen easily, yet that is what Global MindShift seeks to initiate.

The enormous task of changing the world on such a fundamental level is a bit like swimming upstream through gelatin inhabited by a colony of man o’ wars. That it is to say, this venture is difficult. What is it that they are doing to accomplish this task? Their strategy is probably summed up best in four words: People, Conversation, and Memes. Through their website, Global MindShift.org they gather like minded people and encourage them to talk about the issue. From their conversations, ideas are concentrated into memes - a units of cultural information used to inform and reform the paradigm of our global culture. These memes then feed back into the site, drawing in more people with whom the memes resonate, leading to more conversation and new memes.

How is this site different from other “Save The World” type causes? It’s the first organization to attempt treating the root of humanity’s problems rather than to just ease the symptoms. That isn’t to say other organizations aren’t important, but rather the internal motivation for why we need to make support these organizations are as important as the organizations themselves. Global MindShift even has a collection of recommended charities and causes.

Are these memes effective? I can’t make that judgement for you. Take a look at the videos below (each under six minutes) and make up your own mind. Is this an organization and movement you would be proud to be apart of? Do you want to see yourself as apart of the solution?

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: Current Events, Humanity, Information, Inspiration, Reason, Spirituality

Photo by Buck Blues

Two weeks I’ve been attempting to use StumbleUpon to help improve traffic to the liberal religion blogging community and I’ve learned a few things. First thing I have come to realize is that StumbleUpon is extremely addictive in the same way TV channel surfing is addictive. If you don’t grab their attention immediately, stumblers will bounce away from your website without a second thought. Another thing I’ve learned is that the more often you use StumbleUpon, the more authority your particular suggestions will have. This is important because now I know that I can’t really expect consistent positive results in two weeks.

Regardless, I want to hear your stories about how StumbleUpon is working for you and what you’ve learned from the experience. If you’ve been Stumbled, what was the traffic that you received from StumbleUpon like, and would you want to be Stumbled again? I plan on continuing using StumbleUpon to promote my fellow bloggers and hope that you are thinking about doing the same.

Digg It!

Much like StumbleUpon, Digg.com provides you with an up or down vote on news articles that have been submitted to their website. The difference is that, unlike StumbleUpon, your readers will not come upon your page at random, but will have to look for you. This means the visitors you gain from Digg are going to be expressly interested in the content you are providing.

For more information about digg, see the following articles:

• Beginner’s Guide to Digg
• How to Use Digg Like a Pro
• How to Digg Content

I’m going to start using Digg.com this week to promote the websites of fellow UUs and religious liberals, and I encourage everyone else to do the same. Give it a shot and tell me what you think. The more of us on the bandwagon, the stronger we are together. If you own a blog, write an entry to encourage your readers to join us and let me know about it so I mention your article in the next update.

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: Advertising, Blogging, Information, Religion, Review, Websites

Photo by “SordidProphecy”

GodStillLovesUs.org is not your typical website. With it’s cryptic message, foreboding images, and viral-like advertising, most visitors aren’t quite sure what to expect from this website. The motif of a bio-hazard symbol next to the words “God Still Loves Us,” makes for a confusing symbol sparking conversation, controversy, and serious thought as to the nature of humanity.

As it turns out, there is an ulterior motive behind this website. Some of my readers may already know the purpose behind its message. Yet, I know if I divulge this information up front, those who are not “in the know” would be less likely to give deep thought to the meaning of this website and its meme.

The Structure of The Site

The initial page of this site is roughly divided into four areas. At the very top is displayed the original bio-hazard logo with five links - Witness, Testify, Evangelize, Redeem, and Forums. Just below this are four random pictures that has been submitted to the website and a brief YouTube video. You can click on any of the four images to see the complete image; notice that each image has “God Still Loves Us” located somewhere in the image. Beneath the pictures and the video are two columns; the left devoted to tragic news articles found elsewhere on the web, while the right column displays an abbreviated console for the forums.

The first place you should direct yourself to is the “Witness” link. There are eight pages worth of photos, each photo containing the logo shown at the top of the site. If you play the video after viewing all of the images that have been submitted, you’ll notice that the video just a compilation of these image. The “Testify” link allows you to sign up for the forums, while the “Evangelize” link provides a number of the different “God Still Loves Us” logos, as well as access to a Cafepress.com shop.

If you click on the “Redeem” link, you are connected to a page that promises a prize for one person who submits a photo. The official contest rules states that this needs to be a photo of the “God Still Loves Us” logo on a physical object. When I first saw this, I started to question the objectives of this GodStillLovesUs.org. As you delve further into this website, its true intention slowly becomes apparent…

You Will Think

I want to talk about the meaning behind the “God Still Loves Us” logo. To me, the purpose behind this online campaign revolves around this symbol and the discourse it sparks; any other hidden motives are secondary in my opinion. You may disagree, but before I divulge this motive I keep talking about, let me explain why.

This logo is something like a Rorschach Test. The symbol is just ambagious enough that the meaning you ascribe to it is influenced by your personal beliefs, while the subject of the symbol remains intact. Placing the bio-hazard symbol next to the words “God Still Loves Us” can imply several different things - for example:

• Self-destructive nature of humanity.
• The nature of our relationship with the Divine.
• Absence of the Divine.
• Absurdity of existence.
• The nature of suffering.
• Hope despite all odds.

How you respond to this symbol speaks volumes about your outlook on life and religion. I’m inclined to believe that the symbol is speaking about the self-destructive nature of humanity, and the sadness that invokes. It’s a fair indicator of what type of person I am and shows my concern for humanity as a whole. Someone who is more pessimistic might say this symbol is pointing out the absurdity of existence, while an absolute optimist would believe it means hope despite all odds.

This becomes even more interesting when you get a large number of people together to talk about the meaning they find within the logo. While they may ultimately disagree about the meaning behind the symbol, the site itself doesn’t offer anything to contradict or confirm a particular interpretation. The result is lively discussion regarding the state of the world, religion, and human existence. Discussion is what makes this website meaningful and the symbol serves as the subject. Even the photos are apart of the discussion.

I am Alpha and Omega.

GodStillLovesUs.org is a viral marketing site for I Am Legend, a screen adaptation of the book with the same name. When I realized this, my first reaction was disappointment; I was hoping that the truth would be more interesting. If you think about it, though, this site is a stroke of genius when it comes to marketing. The more I think about it, the less disappointed I become.

I Am Legend, starring Will Smith, is a remake of the movies The Last Man On Earth and The Omega Man - both of which were based upon the same book. The theme of the book has a number of different religious and philosophical overtones, which resonates strongly with the “God Still Loves Us” logo. As I am yet to see the movie, I think it would be better not to comment further on it. I will say that I am looking forward to watching it; the viral marketing campaign as done it’s job.

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: Advertising, God, Humanity, Information, Movies, Religion, Reviews

Photo by Todd Huffman

Did you notice the point at which Wicca became a world religion? There is a definite period when this religion started taking on adherents at a rapid rate. In the early 1990’s, this religion, which seemed destined to be little more than foot note in history, was suddenly exposed to a vast number of spiritual seekers. Wiccans kept their religion quiet in fear of persecution for forty years up to this point; the religion seemed to be waiting for the right time to make itself known.

The Dawn of the Internet

Then, the information age dawned, which changed everything for this small religion. The internet seemed tailor made for Wicca. It gave them anonymity so to avoid persecution, allowed them the freedom to reach spiritual seekers in large numbers, and gave new (and often solitary) practitioners access to a community. This is a religion that doesn’t proselytize - they don’t actively seek out new members. In ten short years, it went from virtually unknown to a growing world religion, all as a result of the internet.

Today, there is a similar surge in Atheism. Again, they are using the internet as a vehicle to get their message out. I read a number of Atheist blogs, mostly because I enjoy debating with them, and have noticed that they have a vibrant growing community. Witnessing this, I have to ask why the liberal religious online community isn’t like that?

Marketing Liberal Religion

Recently, the answer was made clear to me through a fellow Universalist’s blog. Shelby, the webmaster of LookingForFaith.org, wrote an article regarding religious identity and marketing. She points out the trend among evangelicals to use product marketing techniques and asks if religious identity can be synonymous with brand identity. She poses the question as to whether or not liberal religions, such as Unitarian Universalism, should be marketing themselves through clothing, music, television shows, movies and other products. While I would argue against blatant consumerism, we should be marketing ourselves. When it comes to online communities, that means social media.

From what I’ve seen of our blogging community, I don’t think we are using social media services to promote ourselves. Perhaps some in our community do not even know what social media is or how it can it can improve traffic to your blog or to other blogs in our community. Social media is nothing less than another opportunity to share you opinion of what makes a good website with others.

Social Media is - ?

Social media sites essentially give you an up or down vote on content that is generated by other users. In many cases, the user generated content that is being judged are individual web pages. While your single vote may not seem like much, that one vote makes it far more likely that someone else will look at and vote for that web page. The effect is cumulative; the more up-votes a page receives, the more voters likely to read that page who will, if they believe the content is good, give another up-vote.

Now, I will be honest and admit that I don’t use social media as much as I should, either. But at the same time, I want to watch this community grow. So from now on, I will have a regular column on Sundays regarding my usage of different social media sites in my attempt to promote liberal religion blogs, other than my own. Each week, I will concentrate my efforts on one social media site and ask other bloggers to weigh in on it’s usefulness

The Grand Experiment

I encourage everyone to join me in this grand experiment; the more of us using social media, the more power we have as a community to bring in new readers. Why should you care? You have several very good reasons to care. Liberal religion needs to grow in order to survive; we need new petitioners. There are untold numbers of people who are fed-up with the politics of more conservative religions, but do not know that liberal religions such as ours exists. We need money in order to accomplish the good deeds on which we, as a denomination, set our sights. And if none of these reasons are enough to persuade you to participate in social media, than please consider this question: What good is your blog if nobody reads it?

I believe this endeavor is worth the time an effort, and I hope to see you here again next Sunday when I report on my use of StumbleUpon. Until then, I’ve included the following links on how to use StumbleUpon for your reading pleasure:

• How to use StumbleUpon like a Pro
• Building Your Blog with StumbleUpon
• A Comprehensive Guide to StumbleUpon

Namaste.

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: Advertising, Atheism, Blogging, Information, Reason, Religion, Reviews

Photo by Javier Cruz Barranco

In the entire history of the world, there has not been a civilization as successful as Western Civilization - except maybe the Roman Empire, but please let’s over look that. And perhaps the Ottoman Empire… and can we ignore the Chinese Celestial Empire as well? Well, our society may not be unique in terms of successfulness, but there’s no arguing that our civilization is pretty spiffy, in the grand scheme of things, and worth the time and effort to understand.

For better or for worse, the origins of our civilization are rooted deeply into the historical soil of Christianity. By extension the religions that it has came from or have come from Christianity are also important us. Trying to understand the origins of this religion, as well as how this religion has evolved over time, gives us a better understanding of where we have been and where we are going. With this perspective upon our own history, we can better grasp our identity as a civilization, and come to terms with the problems facing us today.

Given this, I present to you a time line of holy texts that have been influential to, or influenced by, Western Civilization. By no means is this a complete list of texts. Although I have tried to include all the major influences on our culture, I may have left a few out. Nor can I claim that all the information is completely accurate. The information I present here is a brief summary and may miss important details. If you find that I have inadvertently excluded something that you believe to be important, feel free to let me know.

• The Zend Avesta - c. 1200 BCE.

This is the Holy Book of Zoroastrianism, the first prophetic and monotheistic religion. This religion became prominent between 560 BCE and 650 CE, and shares many similarities to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Like these religions, Zoroastrianism professes the existence of a heaven and hell, the belief in one God, and in the belief that this holy text is the word of God. You can find the text of The Zend Avesta here.

• The Torah - c. 1200 BCE Authorship, c. 450 BCE Canonized.

Also called the Pentateuch, these five books are considered the word of God as written by Moses in traditional Judaism. The Torah itself has undergone several revisions throughout history. When Israel split from Judah, the two priesthoods began to support slightly different copies of the text. Originally, the Torah was four books, but would later became five books in c. 625 BCE, when the priesthood of Judah claimed to have discovered Deuteronomy. In c. 450 BCE after the exile in Babylon, these two text were combined with other versions of the Torah as well as Deuteronomy and finalized into the book we have today. You can find the text of The Torah here.

• The Tanakh - c. 1000 - 100 BCE Authorship, c. 75 CE Canonized.

Better known to Christian readers as the Old Testament, this holy text includes the Torah along with nineteen other texts which form the core of the Hebrew Religion. It includes the writings of prophets, the poetry of kings, and the histories of the Hebrew people. You can find the text of The Tanakh here.

• New Testament (KJV) - c. 50 - 75 CE Authorship, c. 400 CE Canonized.

Twenty seven books make up this text, and form the corner stone of the Christian faith. Although there are several inconsistencies in the text and mistakes made in the scribing of them, it is believed to be an historically accurate account of Jesus’s life and death. In 1611 CE, the most popular English Translation of the Bible, both New Testament and Old Testament, was published as The King James Bible. You can find the text of the Christian Bible here.

• The Gnostic Gospels - c. 75 - 150 CE.

The core of the Gnostic Gospels are the books found in the Nag Hammadi Library in 1945 CE. Gnosticism is one of the many minor off shoots of early Christianity that were suppressed and became extinct. Gnosticism became the foundation of Hermeticism, which then gave root to Occult practices in Medieval Europe. You can find some of the texts of The Gnostic Gospels here.

• The Kebra Negast - c. 300 CE.

This text was presented at the First Council of Nicaea for possible inclusion into the Christian Bible. It later became the Holy Book of the Rastafari movement, which began c. 1930 CE. The book is an account of the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Ethiopia. You can find the text of The Kebra Negast here.

• The Qur’an - c. 600 CE.

As the sacred book of Islam, the Qur’an is believed by Muslims to be the final revelation to humanity. The book was first written by followers of Muhammad as recited by Muhammad the prophet over the course of 23 years. The text itself is poetic in nature and often alludes to stories of the Tanakh