>I stay as far away from most fundamentalists as I can, but I would think >just the opposite. Close textual analysis may indicate contradictions and >inconsistencies, and the idea that there would be contradictions and >inconsistencies is anathema to people who believe that God dictated the >Bible and that its every word is law. At the risk of touching off a flamewar, my experience with fundamentalists would suggest that they do, indeed, read all of the passages most closely in order that they might then explain all the inconsistencies away. Of course, one only has to observe fans of Star Trek, Dr. Who, or any major comic book publication to know that sufficient effort can explain *any* inconsistency, no matter how damning. _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail