January 29, 2013
Why are Holy Scriptures so Complicated?
In his Religion Q and A blog for Patheos, Richard Ostling answers a question referred to him from a prison inmate who wonders why so much that is written in the sacred writings of various religions seems obscure and hard for the ordinary person to understand. Ostling provides a quick and helpful overview of basic facts about Scripture, although his reply addresses only the writings of the major monotheistic Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The resources he recommends for further study are all from within Christianity. He requests other suggestions from readers. Ostling writes on religion for the Associated Press and was for many years a religion writer and correspondent for Time magazine.