The good book.

During Ocular Disease on Thursday, Dr. Jones referred to the Kanski as our Bible for the course, for the second time. Last term, we had a "Perception Bible", a set of notes that a former student had written to explain all of Dr. Hovis' notes, and complex (and not-so-complex) perceptual concepts. I had always noticed that people like to refer to books very colloquially as Bibles - something in which to search for important information and answers, something that we should study diligently, something valuable and precious.
The Kanski costs $275 for pages of ocular disease information and pictures, but it's a necessity for doing the home study required for the course and for our profession. The Perception Bible was passed around like chicken pox last term, with everyone making sure to get their hands on a copy or photocopy someone else's. Without it, chances of passing the course seemed slim.
We recently finished a series on the Bible, called The Book, at church. In one small group session, Ken Taylor prepared a DVD about the history of the Bible, and how the church tried to prevent its publication and keep it from the public. Over time though, it was translated to English and printed, but it had to be secretly distributed because the monarchy was trying to get its hands on all these illegal copies and burn them. We were reminded of how much persecution people faced in sharing the Bible with the world, but did it anyway. We were faced with our own indifference towards the Bible, and our lack of appreciation for it. For $20 you can easily get your hands on a Bible. You can pick the size and colour and translation you want. There are study Bibles, pocket Bibles, one-year Bibles. But after you bring it home, where does it sit? On the corner of the desk? A drawer? The floor?
Anyway, I just found it interesting that people very comfortably allude to the authority of the Bible (as in "The Perception Bible"), but when it comes to actually facing the Holy Bible, they question its validity. Historians will try to prove that books of the Bible are falsified or inaccurate. People will rationalize that its contents are merely metaphor or allegory. Why is it that, when it's time to answer the important questions in life, people won't go to the Bible for answers?