Thomas Didymus,
Hi Thomas, welcome to the "i want the UB to be a fetish but it can't be" club. Now that we realize that the book itself was not intended to be the "thing" to worship, we are free to worship the God that inspired it.
I have had the same experience as you and those seasons of doubt have made me stronger.
The revelators or author of the book make it clear, we have something to tell you at this time, we are going to use things that man had already known/discovered throughout history to present a picture to you that you can recognize. Our picture can only be a calage, it can't be a final product. The concepts that we have to present to you are so over your head that we have to warp them just to be able to explain them to you.
It's ironic that you chose Thomas as your moniker (for obvious reasons). Even the apostles, both in the Bible and the UB, saw the most extraordinary things, yet, they lost their faith at the drop of a hat. This is proof that it doesn't matter how spectacular revelation is, we "loose the opportunity while looking for a four leaf clover".
And what about science, it gets the rug pulled out from under it as well, the universe view of just a short time ago has changed, and that one was a departure from the cherished beliefs of earlier science.
In the case of Michael, they gave him preincarnate instructions to the effect of, don't mess with anything while your there, but reveal something new to them......which subsiquently changed the world. Yet some would argue that 12 Jewish fisherman made up the story, left their sacred religion, gave all their material wealth to the poor, flouted the sacred law, cast themselves as anti-heroes, falling short in understanding their God-man, one would become a betrayer, another would deny his master, all for the crowning insult of becoming outcast among there own people. All this only to be eclipsed by the fact that it was women who first believed in the resurrection while the boys were off hiding.
Maybe you need to read the book less, not more. Over analyzing can lead to missing the forest due to the imperfection of some of it's trees. This is like the Pharisees who would witness something miraculous but then reply, "hey look, he doesn't wash his hands before he eats".
"But who say you that I am?" "You are the Deliverer, the Son of the living God." And the eleven sitting apostles arose to their feet with one accord, thereby indicating that Peter had spoken for all of them.
"This has been revealed to you by my Father. The hour has come when you should know the truth about me. But for the time being I charge you that you tell this to no man. Let us go hence."
thanks
Colter
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