It is a grave error to found man's moral life on the say-so of any tribal collection of outdated stories and maxims. A scripture is acceptable not because it is a scripture, but because and to the extent of the truth it contains. Also, not everyone who knows how to read can extract the true meaning from holy scriptures. No scripture, no gospel ever fell from the skies. Somewhere, some man took up a writing instrument and composed the one with which his name is associated. And because he was a man, however divinely inspired, the production was a human act and therefore a fallible one. A book is not a sacred image. It is not something to be revered merely because its typeset pages are printed in black ink on white paper. If we set it up as an authority, we fall into the fallacy of authoritarianism. Medieval debates about angels dancing on needle points or Mosaic cosmogonies are equally unreal today.
-- Notebooks Category 17: The Religious Urge > Chapter 2 : Organization, Content of Religion > # 135
