[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……

Feel free to replace "Christian" with just about any modern popular religion. Buddhist, Hindu… Scientology…

Religion can help one figure out what their morals are, but I don't think it's a necessity. For years I was an atheist simply because I couldn't think of a decent reason to believe in God. Then one day, I decided I want to, so I did.

*grins* I do that on Passover too; well, minues the ham.

And I politely disagree. When you have a physical document in your possession that's accurately dated, you have historical evidence. This is not reading back into history, this is examining historical physical evidence. And if you have a copy from a later date with additioonal verses added, it's a fairly safe bet parts were added.

As to who added what or removed what and why is subjective. The existing physical evidence are facts.

The first book I suggested in another reply to your posts covers that part of the Bible's history very well. The earliest versions of the Gospel were essentially letters that were transcribed and circulated between various early Christian sects. They were copied by non professional, volunteers, who in many cases may not have even understood the language they were written in, and were simply copying symbols. Some groups may have had oral histories that weren't included in the documents they received, so they simply added them.

Other changes are more closely aligned with stamping out specific heresies, such as removing "He is now my Son" and replacing it with "He is my Son" to deal with sects who insisted Jesus was born mortal, and chosen by God.

This is one of the things that I find fascinating. In Church every Sunday I recite "The Word of the Lord." Got me wondering, who decided what was and there by what was not the word of the Lord? I'm funny like that.

This one describes the historical archeology of the Bible from the viewpoint of the academic discipline "textual criticism." It also has fascinating historical perspective. The author gets a lot of crap for interjecting his own religion into his work, but I found it to be minimal.

http://www.amazon.com/Misquoting-Jesus-Story-Behi...

This one is one of my favorites, and what a unique idea, an atheist sci-fi writers examines the Bible compared to the known historical record.

http://www.amazon.com/Asimovs-Guide-Bible-Histori...

And here's a few shorter ones that deal with specific aspects of the growth and formation on the Bible, the early Church and Christianity in general. While those parts are very interesting, there's still a lot of historical information

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_0_9?url=search-...

I agree with your assessment about religious wars, its humans fighting each other, dressing up their claims in religious terminology. And I think that's exactly what we're seeing throughout Islam today. They're still doing it.

I do agree for a long time the Latin Rite was lost, but I think between Pope Paul VI's address to the UN, Vatican II and Pope John Paul II did a great job of steering the Vatican back towards it's correct path. My opinion.

And every ethnic group had their own Catholic Parish, and their own ethnic festival, usually their Church's patron saint's feast day. And every one of them had red, white & blue every where.

We were all immensely proud of where we came from, but as equally proud of where we were.

I agree.

Always, always the caveat.

It's depressing that we think we always have to reassure and placate the enemy.