Sam spoke well, in that eloquent and Twainian quote, for the allegorical wisdom and literary value of the bible. That's not what is in dispute here. But he then also, as his punch line, said clearly that it was full of lies. Why try to quibble about that last, telling point? He said "lies," and he wasn't lying about that. I think our discussion should be about what Twain meant by that, not whether anyone on this list agrees with it or not. Or my name isn't God