(January 29, 2014 at 7:00 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Verses 16 9-20 were tacked on later by some anonymous shlepper who did not like the abrupt ending to gmark.
It is, in other words, a useful falsehood. (Useful in the sense that a number of snake-handling xtian half-wits have gotten themselves killed doing it!)
Yep, later additions to the end of Mark.
The earliest copies of Mark end at verse 8.
John 7.53—8.11 are also later additions.
This is the entire "‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her" story. Not original to Bible texts.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
