Carl Sagan

From: TJ
To: David

Well I guess for now I will respond here. I'll start where you left off---a quote from Carl Sagan "We wish to pursue truth no matter where it leads. But to find the truth, we need imagination and skepticism both. We will not be afraid to speculate, but we will be careful to distinguish speculation from fact.....The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what's true."

As you said, I don't want to be talking past each other either and if we can both agree with this quote from Carl Sagan then lets grapple with the TRUTH. Lets put aside what we want to believe and see where TRUTH leads.

In my first email I mentioned how Jesus said the whole reason he came to earth was "to testify to the truth". He knew mankind would grapple with this. I know the burden lies with me to prove the reliability of Jesus words and the Bible and this is where I beg your patience. Please allow me to show how the Bible is "unique" and can not be compared to other religious books nor can Jesus be bunched together with other worldly prophets.

I will start with the Bible and just say it is unique in several different ways---Continuity, Circulation, Translation, Teachings, Influence on Literature, Influence on civilization. I would love to expand on any or all of these as you direct. It seems to me if you are searching for the truth you should turn to the book that has drawn more attention than any other in all the world. Theodore Roosevelt observed, "A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education."

TJ