American culture has always known success, not suffering, so we've never known what to do with this part of the Bible. The more we succeed, the more we're seduced into thinking we can control everything. We dissect Revelation to get a sense of control over the future.
Historical investigation and literary criticism have taken the magic out of the Bible and have made it a composite human book, written by many hands in different ages.
According to scriptures at least I know the Bible states not to make any permanent marks on your body.
