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Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Bible Theology - Thread for Believers

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

I personally am comfortable with the traditional books of the Bible. Are there more out there, like the Gospel of Thomas, etc? Yes, but I really am not sure they would add anything. They might be OK to study for more historical context.

Personally, i have no problem accepting Genesis as a literal account. As a 7 day period. But, who knows? Not sure that matters. But, if God can simply speak the Heavens and Earth into existence, creating the Earth is child's play for Him.

chef · Guru

Do you believe the Bible is the Word of God? yes

Do you believe it is inerrant? yes

Do you believe it is literal or that parts are literal and parts are not literal? I believe some parts are literal and some parts aren't. Jesus used parables to teach.

Do you believe that there are still missing books of the Bible and/or do you accept some books that are not part of the traditional Bible? The Bible doesn't contradict itself so other books are irrelevant though they might be interesting to read.

WYSIWYG · Guru

Do you believe the Bible is the Word of God?
Yes and no. I believe that it's the best that human beings could produce to represent the word of God. The Bible is like the ultimate game of "telephone". The intent is there, and I believe that it began as the Word of God, but as it traveled down the path things were added and subtracted that make it not the same as it was at it's point of origin.

Do you believe it is inerrant?
No. It was written by men and then edited and translated by more men. There's no way for there to not be errors there. Men are not perfect.

Do you believe it is literal or that parts are literal and parts are not literal?
I believe it has much intent, but no it's not 100% literal.

Do you believe that there are still missing books of the Bible?
I don't personally believe it, but I also don't personally have any belief against it. I believe that there's no way to know the unknown until it's known.

Do you accept some books that are not part of the traditional Bible?
I don't know enough about any books that were excluded to pass judgement on them. However I do know of at least a few that exist and that very existence reinforces my answers to questions #1 and #2.

Tinydancer · Guru

Yes I believe the Bible is the word of God so therefor it is inerrant. Parts of it are literal while other parts are stories and examples. I also believe the Bible is complete as it is written but that doesn't mean that other books can't hold similar knowledge. Just because a book isn't part of the Bible doesn't mean it's invalid or not worth studying.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

I do believe the Bible is true, factual in historic events, inspiring, prophetic, instrucual. Parts of it are the very Words of God. Parts of it are what we would call eye witness accounts.

I believe that any part of the Bible can be proven with other parts of the Bible. The whole Bible is a compilation of books written by different people, in different places. These were not a group of men sitting in a room with donuts and coffee creating a narrative.

I do believe there are other books, and they will and do support the ones in the King James. But I believe anything needs to be scrutinized with the most caution to make sure it falls in line with the Bible.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

The Bible itself is a miracle. It was written over thousands of years by 40 different authors and all fits together. It is full of eyewitness accounts.

What amazes me is that people will accept unknown, unseen theory as fact, and ignore the historical eyewitness accounts of the Bible.

FNW · Guru

I find it the most fascinating source of history that exists. I believe that parts were the word of God, and parts were man's interpretation. What I struggle with is the years that followed. I would like a sequel.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

What is it you want to know after Revelation?

FNW · Guru

I guess I want to know the miracles, sightings, etc., that have occurred since Jesus rose from the dead, after spending time with the Apostles.

Growing up Catholic, we spent more time on the Eucharist than scripture. That's changing now, and I'm learning more, mostly from the boys. So I'll be the first to admit I'm not well versed in the old or new Testament.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Well, i could suggest a couple of great books on theology if you are interested? If so, i will post them later, i am heading out to work. But, they are excellent books that are easy to read and really explain doctrine.

FNW · Guru

That would be great! Thank you!

Cheerios4606 · Guru

I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God. That he used many men and women over the ages to put down in writing what he wants us to know about him. The foundation of him. The foundation of how he feels about us.

It is a book of stories, failures, hiccups, ups and downs. Successes and failures of kings, leaders and judges. It is a history book of the many countries and cities that have existed over the thousands of years. That said, it is a history book written by laymen FOR laymen. (Thank God it was not written by scientists as it would be too dry to read beyond the first paragraph!)

The Bible is the "Why" while science is the "How". So for me, the two are not exclusive or independent from each other. The Bible was not written to document all history, it was written to tell of the time and place and people and the God that we worship. Yet we are still to this day finding more and more evidence that history supports the Bible.

What I find exciting, is the idea that the Bible is actually more of a "Dick and Jane" first edition instructional book to understanding God. Our minds are too small and too primitive to fully take in the all encompassing omnipresent Creator. But I look forward to the day I can sit at his feet and he can teach me.

Cheerios4606 · Guru

"Do you believe that there are still missing books of the Bible and/or do you accept some books that are not part of the traditional Bible?"

I know for a fact that there are many writings out there that did not make it into the book. I don't doubt that many of these writings are authentic and were truly written by those purported to have written them.

I also believe a lot of writings out there are false doctrine and were generic hoaxes of the day, specifically written to try to squash the new found religion of the day... the dreaded "Christianity".

Many think that as a result of valid (and what I believe to be invalid) writings being excluded from the Good Book, is a reason to entirely discount the Bible. I say to that, perhaps there was a very good reason it was not included. Perhaps the direction of the writings would have distracted the reader to the point it would have lead a believer to a path that would not serve learning of God. Example... the writings of Jesus' childhood. What exactly does it serve to give me a study of his playing with supernatural abilities as a kid? Would it lead me to an understanding of God better if I were to read he liked to play pranks on his brothers? Assuming the writings were authentic and true, how exactly would it help me as a believer?

In the end, it is THIS compilation that spread the globe like wildfire. It is THIS compilation that happened and became the first book to ever be put to print by a press, it is this book that continues to be the best seller year after year, it is THIS compilation that has inspired billions of people over the centuries to strive to know their creator.

Surely that is not an accident.

Cheerios4606 · Guru

"Do you believe it is literal or that parts are literal and parts are not literal? "

There is a lot in the Bible that is literal, and a lot that you need to keep in mind the intent of the writings. Is it a learning lesson or is it an outline of something all of us should be following. Are we reading of the times and cultures, or are we reading laws that we are continuously messing up on? We also have to take into account the writing style of the writer. How do I mean?

Well, if I said "The broncos are going to murder the bears this season" what would you think I meant? That the football team is going to go out and get uzzi's and go on a killing rampage of all the bears players? I am pretty sure you would automatically assume that I feel the broncos are going to beat the bears.. no wait.. beat is still the wrong word eh? That the broncos football team is going to succeed in winning the game against the bears football team. With a single sentence, I laid out a general opinion of a sport. But 5 thousand years from now, how will humans view this comment? Will they take it out of context?

As I said in my previous post, I also believe the Bible is only a foundation of what we are to still learn about our creator. Time and again it is stated that God is outside our thinking. That he is outside our understanding. So it stands to reason there are big portions of how he works, is not going to be included in the "God and man: 101" book called the Bible.

That said, I also think God works outside of time. That because we have narrow minds, we would never be able to comprehend how he could make everything in 6 "days". 6 days to you and me has a finite construct. There is a beginning and end and it goes thus way, and thus far. 6 Days to you and me does not mean the same thing to God.

So when I see the 6 day creation story, I refuse to box it into what *I* understand as "6" or "days". I am not going to insist our earth is 5,000 years old... I believe it is millions of years old. I leave the details to God as to what was meant when he told Moses he made the universe in 6 days.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

I agree, Cheerios. The Bible includes verses related to our version of time vs. God's. A day is a thousand years and a thousand years is a day. Ten thousand years is but a blink of the eye to God. The problem is that people live in a box, and we cannot comprehend the great vastness of God's world or what time means to him.

The Bible is also full of poetry and parables - moral lessons for God's people.

chef · Guru

I did a Bible study this past Spring that really helped with my overall comprehension of the Bible. It was called Seamless.

Cheerios4606 · Guru

Would they happen to have any of the curriculum or notes online?

chef · Guru

Cheerios4606 wrote:
Would they happen to have any of the curriculum or notes online?

http://www.lifeway.com/n/Product-Family/Seamless

Not sure what all is accessible online but that's the website.