The gospel truth

I treasure old things.

Old furniture, old relics, old stories, old books, all these things can evoke feelings of venerability.

But . . just because something is old does not mean it is more of anything than something that is newer -- except older.

In the end these things were created by people and while I believe people have learned many things over time and probably extraordinary things given enough time; I don't believe the fundamental nature of humans has probably changed much.

I suspect man has always been driven by similar feelings and needs and wants.

People want power and control. It makes us feel safer. If I have the power to feed my children what they need to thrive I am a happy mother. And some people, having tasted power, want more of it. They will believe, or say, or do whatever it takes to get what they want, or what they believe is in the best interests of whoever they love.

Just because something is very old, or was written by a learned man does not make it the truth.

In order to judge the "truth" in something we need to know about the culture of the time and the place this writer had in that culture. Otherwise we are just picking and choosing those things that appeal to us and calling them truth.

That is folklore on a grand scale. Fascinating, but not necessarily gospel. But that being said, if I believe in something, it becomes my truth.