“..There is no need to stressed over nailing down the correct view, as another view synthesizes them all together — a view affectionately called pan-millennialism, which teaches that it will all pan out in the end…!”
Dear Dr. Caston; what a wonderful statement. I truly enjoyed your Work and look forward to following more of your writing. I occasionally show appreciation to authors here on Medium, but none of my ‘responses’ need ever be viewed as ‘arguments’ nor justifications for nor against anything an author shares.
I am an old man now. One who was baptized early on in a Protestant church. I spent seven years of my childhood studying in a Missionary environment. [In those long ongoing services we read the “K.J. v H.B.” from Genesis to Revelations. I have since read and reread this biblical literature, oftentimes for the simple joy of experiencing it’s literature quotient. My bible study and Sunday school group was [Moody associated]. We challenged each other as to whom could memorize the most passages which led to acceptance at Bible camp each year. Oftentimes ‘gifts’ such as pocket-sized New Testaments, and wee chalk or papier mache figurines were the objects we vied for. We were children and did what was expected of us. We did what we were told to do by parent and community alike.
Since then I have have become more objective with my time and readings. As a result I opened my eyes and my mind at my own growing pace. I read all that is eye-opening and enjoy discussing such volumes with others. They are most often topics on anthropology, faiths and archaeology. I am comforted in the understanding that all such Faith, Belief — and yes Religion developed over a period of the past 6000 years or so. Details to back up this theory come to us initially from hundreds of thousands of collected Cuneiform tablets.
The majestic experiences we all recall come directly from the minds of “Black Head” Sumerians who are the designers and authors of the first civilization c.6000–4000BCE. They wrote extensively about the “[g]ods” who walked among them. *Beings who did wonderful things! But never “(G)ods”, and not in a religious context. Never Peoples to whom they found the need to pray. Instead Beings not so very different from themselves, except in their miraculous instruments and implements which gave them the power to literally level mountain tops. People who did such marvelous things that our forebears the Sumerians were compelled to follow and obey their every wish, will and directive. Sometimes to the Sumerians’ benefit, occasionally to their destruction.
In conclusion three and one-half decades of my life has been directly dedicated to the study of these Sumerian beginnings. (Often to the contrary of my well-meant early bible studies.) The contents of these well chosen volumes allows me to offer the above trifle as a mere observation — not ever a ‘fight’ about religion. This ‘old man’ has put away all those wonderful academic college “arguments”. Have closed the book on the spontaneous if rapt contemporary colleague debates. All for simple and quiet discussions; perhaps facts which might lead to the ‘Truth of the matter’.
