If history and science have taught us anything, it is that passion and desire are not the same as truth.

Last week, I was talking with a co-worker and mentioned that I believed there was life after death.  He responded that he thought all religions were just stories.  As I started talking about the facts as I saw it, he said that it just depends upon the interpretation.   And his final comment on the subject was, "don't you know there is a story about a donkey talking in the Bible?"

All of his comments are valid to a point, but let's look at each of these critically.  

Science is rather boring.  History facts are even worse.  Stories bring context and create emotional connection.  A story can carry tremendous detail in a form that is both understandable and memorable.  There is a reason why religions are stories.

But not all stories are alike.  Both the Bible and Koran are filled with stories that have many facts which are historically reliable.  These might be stories, but there are factual basis for the story.  This is fundamentally different than the Greek myth of Atlas holding up the earth or the Hindu and Native American belief's of the world on the back of a turtle.  

Would a correct view of the world, known throughout thousands of years, primarily be based upon stories?  Of course it would!  In fact, the context of stories actually retain the truths of the events over time better than a simple factual timeline.

Are some religious stories completely false?  If there is one true religion, then most religious stories are probably made up!  

Should we just discount every story because it is religious?  Religion is part history, part community.  To not even explore the stories is to ignore a great source of information.  

In the end, I would tell you to explore the stories, but do it with a critical mind.  

In the page about community input, false teachers were highlighted.   False teachers make bad interpretations.  There is a reality that interpretation is key.  Stories are great because they can carry multiple meanings, yet, unintentional additional meaning is added on by man.  

You must think critically.  Truth has no reason to hide.  The reason people don't admit to seeing it is because Truth exposes shameful actions and thoughts.

Too often people will accept one interpretation because they like something about the interpreter.  Sometimes they don't want to consider alternative understandings or just don't care enough to explore the truth.  But it is your life.

  You should think critically.......so let's look at the talking donkey.  

The story is found in Numbers 22.  It is rather amusing and the only talking animal in the Bible.   Take the time to read the story.  Now let's consider this critically.

First of all, what is actually more incredible, that the donkey talked or that the angel of the Lord is standing in the road ready to kill Balaam.  

The angel opens up a can of worms.  If you believe Jesus rose from the dead, then spiritual beings are pretty much part of that picture, but if you think Jesus never rose from the dead, then the angel thing is really quite a shocker. 

If you accept that an angel could have been there,  then critically, do you think God would have changed the mind of the donkey to perceive the events and form the words, and would He have changed the vocal column so that the donkey could speak human words?  God could have, but probably not.  Isn't it reasonable to assume that the angel made it appear that way either physically or in Balaam's mind?  After all, part of the story is the donkey sees the angel first and then Balaam sees him after the angel wants him to see him.  

Critically, it seems reasonable that the Donkey spoke without actually physically speaking.  .  And it that was the case, don't you think the story could have been passed down over the years as the donkey spoke?  

My interpretation of the donkey speaking would not be accepted by many of my Christian friends.  Some Bible Teachers who I have listened to would directly counter everything I said.  These individuals have great hearts, but their interpretation is more literal than mine.  This is a subject which can be expounded in more detail in a later post.   

Honestly, I believe multiple interpretations of Bible stories works better for man throughout history.   After all, when Jesus speaks to the crowds, He always speaks in parables.  But again, that a subject for another day.

The main point here is if you really care about your death, you need to investigate critically.  In general, our lives are rushed, chaotic, and full of noise.  We readily accept other people's direction, teaching, etc. without investigation.   There is a great beauty, a great fullness, in exploring God and truth.