“Searching for Atlantis” contemporary figurative painting

Searching for Atlantis

The most profound comment on religion that I have ever heard was uttered by an unschooled Baptist preacher from the hills of Mississippi. I was just a boy then, so it is hard to remember his exact words, but here is the gist of it:

“Most people claim to have absolute faith in the Bible, but what they really have faith in is their theories about the Bible. I’m not talking about commandments such as “Thou shalt not kill” or “Love thy neighbor.” What I’m talking about is about the need to find hidden meanings in history or politics.

“People love to find passages in the Bible and apply it to whatever big event is in the news. If you read old diaries and books, you will see that this is what people have always done all through history. They did back in the 1700’s in the time of George Washington and even in the year 1000 AD, when half the population of Europe was convinced the world would end New Year’s Eve simply because of the date.

“That year, every little drought or eclipse was straight out of the Book of Revelations. These people had no doubt. Of course, they looked a little silly on January 1, 1001 when the world hadn’t ended, but that didn’t keep them from acting just as foolishly the next time some major change rolled around.

“Maybe it’s because this Apocalypse stuff is more exciting than “Love thy neighbor,” I’m not sure.

“Is life just a contest to see who can find the hidden meanings in scripture? Is that what Christ emphasized in Hs life and ministry? Is that what He is looking for in His Disciples? Is that good country common sense?

“The question you have to ask yourself is what will be important to you when you stand before Him and he shows you the nail prints in His hands and the wound in His side. I think you may find that your theories about The Book of Revelations are as irrelevant as whatever ideas you might have about Atlantis or the Bermuda Triangle.”