I am oft reminded of a line in a movie titled "A Knight's Tale".  When the Prince knighted Sir William he stated.  And MY word is beyond contestation.

Now to the KING JAMES version of the Bible.  Even in the day the king's word was not something anyone dared to contest.   Meaning that no one dared to opposed, question or contest the word of the king.  KING JAMES.   This was also valid during the reign of the Roman Emperor  Constantine when he declared that Christianity would become the new religion of state (state sponsored religion)...to go against the emperor meant beheading.  It was also during this time that MAGICALLY December 25th became Jesus birthday which is an outright lie.  IT was actually a pagan holiday celebrating the winter solstice and the worship of the sun god.  Now we honor the God above all others by creating a lie and pandering to the vanity factors and ignoring that one of His primary commandments was DON'T LIE?

Further it is absolutely idiotic for fallible (sin filled error filled vanity driven humans) to  once again magically declare that their editing of a hand full of letters becomes the infallible and unerring word of God.  This, especially when not all letters or writings had even been unearthed or found at that time.  This when the KING was embracing it and this when those who hid away to do this magical editing had little or no real understanding of the universe or its workings much less the verbal skills to adequately define that which they read or saw.   To simply declare something as infallible especially when those who do so are themselves fallible is an act of utter insanity and doesn't make it so.  Neither does choosing to ignore the pine trees in the forest  make them go away.

Hence the Bible while perhaps a valid compilation of letters written decades and sometimes centuries after the fact, handed down by word of mouth and deliberately edited to align with the "tradition" of the day and to appease the KING is a work of art and has valuable guidance, it CAN NOT be the end all be all do all of spiritual guidance.  Many scholars if they are to be honest will tell you that there is still debate going on as to who actually wrote some of  those letters and missives.

And finally when one considers the deliberate mis-interpretation and manipulation of languages it becomes readily apparent that it is more a book designed for those who wish to "lean on their own understanding"...Hence we have had centuries where one Religious Leader after another has dared to stand in front of his/her flock and tell the poor ignorant flock exactly what certain generic passages mean.  The emperical intonation is that no one but them and their kind can understand, translate or become enlightened.  After all, they are the experts, just ask them. 

That isn't enough?  Watch them wave their certifications in the air?  Certified by whom?  Oh, other like minded individuals.  Hummmm.   No where did I see, read or hear where in order to be deemed a person of God one must first go through seminary, college or any other such man made nonsense.  That is as insane as picturing Noah telling God, that he must wait until he attends and finishes ship building school.

Religion and it's writings are more political in nature than anything else hence the first declaration of Christianity as the "religion of state" government ordered....under Constantine at around 300 a.d.   Hence the Roman Catholic Church setting itself up as the go-between for humanity and God, and the list can go on and on adinfinitim....The problem is that even in the literature as it is written it specifically indicates that each individual can open themselves up to this power and no one has to be the go-between and no on has to lecture.  

The dead give away about religion is that the studies are always of an external nature studying what others have done as if knowing about all this somehow makes a difference.  And the lecturers will always act as the teacher or the "professor " (sayer) providing the hand out (basket is passed to further their cause)

Religion and other charities give themselves away when they claim tax exempt status, and declare themselves non-profit yet MOST if not all the donations are consumed in "administrative overhead" which not so co-incidentally include mega salaries for a handful of people - those very people who extoll the masses to donate donate donate.  Then further examination reveals that very little if anything is actually given back to the needy, no cures are ever found and the charade continues.  But all are pressured to participate lest they be deemed uncharitable or fry in hell or not very well liked.

Spiritual connectedness to God only requires a few simple things.  That is the realization that one is flawed and often wrong, that we all tend to let our egos' (VAIN happens to be the root of the word vanity which happens to be another word for ego which also means self ) drive our behavior.   So self centeredness then means the same as "the sin nature" of mankind.  Thus we must be willing to die to self, and get our ego's out of the way to make room for that Grace of God to enter us.  It requires asking for help and guidance and the willingness to do that on a day to day basis.  

Modern religion has missed that completely and substituted feel good junkism and emotionalism for spirituality and has been leading the flock completely astray for centuries.  And each religion while perhaps building its dogma and doctrine around a piece of the truth has failed miserably.  It was Jesus who stated that it was the doctrine of man that does more to turn people away from the true nature of God than anything else.  He also stated that there would be many who would come in his name and bear false witness.  Who does that?

Pray, meditate, and ask for strength and guidance.   

Reading, studying, memorizing and showing up to demonstrate to the flock how astute one is,  is more like a modern version of what the pharisees of His day were doing.