Religion as Alchemy

The thesis of this book is that in the Middle Ages humans tried to turn one kind of matter into another. With knowledge of a Philosopher's Stone one could possible turn lead into gold. In Biblical literature we are told that God translated Elijah's life from earth to heaven without experiencing death. Jesus turns water into wine, and the catholic church turns wine into blood. In spite of the fact that most Christians see Christianity in an invariable line. The fact is that the Bible is full of contested ideas and facts. Jesus often said, "You have heard it said of old time, but I say unto you." Jesus spoke in parables according to the gospels. The book will show that while Jesus argues that we should love and forgive enemies, the gospel writers, nevertheless present Jesus in several places as not forgiving his own enemies. We should welcome the idea that our faith is not founded on accepting everything as fact, equal, and of common value. Our faith is based on the ideas of neither-nor: both-and broad and wide. Good religion is inclusive not exclusive and we need to know the difference. One should not point to a biblical text and say that this is God's word, but one might approach religious wisdom as like trying to solve a paradox.