159:4.1 And then went Jesus over to Abila,
where Nathaniel and his associates labored. Nathaniel was much bothered by some
of Jesus' pronouncements which seemed to detract from the authority of the
recognized Hebrew scriptures. Accordingly, on this night, after the usual period
of questions and answers, Nathaniel took Jesus away from the others and asked:
"Master, could you trust me to know the truth about the Scriptures? I
observe that you teach us only a portion of the sacred writings -- the best as I
view it -- and I infer that you reject the teachings of the rabbis to the effect
that the words of the law are the very words of God, having been with God in
heaven even before the times of Abraham and Moses. What is the truth about the
Scriptures?" When Jesus heard the question of his bewildered apostle, he
answered:
159:4.2 "Nathaniel, you have rightly
judged; I do not regard the Scriptures as do the rabbis. I will talk with you
about this matter on condition that you do not relate these things to your
brethren, who are not all prepared to receive this teaching. The words of the
law of Moses and the teachings of the Scriptures were not in existence before
Abraham. Only in recent times have the Scriptures been gathered together as we
now have them. While they contain the best of the higher thoughts and longings
of the Jewish people, they also contain much that is far from being
representative of the character and teachings of the Father in heaven; wherefore
must I choose from among the better teachings those truths which are to be
gleaned for the gospel of the kingdom.
159:4.3 "These
writings are the work of men, some of them holy men, others not so holy. The
teachings of these books represent the views and extent of enlightenment of the
times in which they had their origin. As a revelation of truth, the last are
more dependable than the first. The Scriptures are faulty and altogether human
in origin, but mistake not, they do constitute the best collection of religious
wisdom and spiritual truth to be found in all the world at this time.
159:4.4 "Many of these books were not
written by the persons whose names they bear, but that in no way detracts from
the value of the truths which they contain. If the story of Jonah should not be
a fact, even if Jonah had never lived, still would the profound truth of this
narrative, the love of God for Nineveh and the so-called heathen, be none the
less precious in the eyes of all those who love their fellow men. The Scriptures
are sacred because they present the thoughts and acts of men who were searching
for God, and who in these writings left on record their highest concepts of
righteousness, truth, and holiness. The Scriptures contain much that is true,
very much, but in the light of your present teaching, you know that these
writings also contain much that is misrepresentative of the Father in heaven,
the loving God I have come to reveal to all the worlds.
159:4.5 "Nathaniel, never permit yourself
for one moment to believe the Scripture records which tell you that the God of
love directed your forefathers to go forth in battle to slay all their enemies
-- men, women, and children. Such records are the words of men, not very holy
men, and they are not the word of God. The Scriptures always have, and always
will, reflect the intellectual, moral, and spiritual status of those who create
them. Have you not noted that the concepts of Yahweh grow in beauty and glory as
the prophets make their records from Samuel to Isaiah? And you should remember
that the Scriptures are intended for religious instruction and spiritual
guidance. They are not the works of either historians or philosophers.
159:4.6 "The thing most deplorable is not
merely this erroneous idea of the absolute perfection of the Scripture record
and the infallibility of its teachings, but rather the confusing
misinterpretation of these sacred writings by the tradition-enslaved scribes and
Pharisees at Jerusalem. And now will they employ both the doctrine of the
inspiration of the Scriptures and their misinterpretations thereof in their
determined effort to withstand these newer teachings of the gospel of the
kingdom. Nathaniel, never forget, the Father does not limit the revelation of
truth to any one generation or to any one people. Many earnest seekers after the
truth have been, and will continue to be, confused and disheartened by these
doctrines of the perfection of the Scriptures.
159:4.7 "The authority of truth is the
very spirit that indwells its living manifestations, and not the dead words of
the less illuminated and supposedly inspired men of another generation. And even
if these holy men of old lived inspired and spirit-filled lives, that does not
mean that their words were similarly spiritually inspired. Today we make
no record of the teachings of this gospel of the kingdom lest, when I have gone,
you speedily become divided up into sundry groups of truth contenders as a
result of the diversity of your interpretation of my teachings. For this
generation it is best that we live these truths while we shun the making
of records.
159:4.8 "Mark you well my words,
Nathaniel, nothing which human nature has touched can be regarded as infallible.
Through the mind of man divine truth may indeed shine forth, but always of
relative purity and partial divinity. The creature may crave infallibility, but
only the Creators possess it.
159:4.9 "But the greatest error of the
teaching about the Scriptures is the doctrine of their being sealed books of
mystery and wisdom which only the wise minds of the nation dare to interpret.
The revelations of divine truth are not sealed except by human ignorance,
bigotry, and narrow-minded intolerance. The light of the Scriptures is only
dimmed by prejudice and darkened by superstition. A false fear of sacredness has
prevented religion from being safeguarded by common sense. The fear of the
authority of the sacred writings of the past effectively prevents the honest
souls of today from accepting the new light of the gospel, the light which these
very God-knowing men of another generation so intensely longed to see.
159:4.10 "But the saddest feature of all
is the fact that some of the teachers of the sanctity of this traditionalism
know this very truth. They more or less fully understand these limitations of
Scripture, but they are moral cowards, intellectually dishonest. They know the
truth regarding the sacred writings, but they prefer to withhold such disturbing
facts from the people. And thus do they pervert and distort the Scriptures,
making them the guide to slavish details of the daily life and an authority in
things nonspiritual instead of appealing to the sacred writings as the
repository of the moral wisdom, religious inspiration, and the spiritual
teaching of the God-knowing men of other generations." 159:4.11 Nathaniel was enlightened, and
shocked, by the Master's pronouncement. He long pondered this talk in the depths
of his soul, but he told no man concerning this conference until after Jesus'
ascension; and even then he feared to impart the full story of the Master's
instruction.
The Urantia Book, Paper 159