The Bible: God's Word or Man's?

by Doug Mason 66 Replies latest watchtower bible

• 

  PSacramento

  Are there any books other than OT and NT that give any details on the WORD or what's on his mind? Or, must we rely on personal revelation, as given by God via the Holy Spirit?

  It's not a case of either/or you know, you're not part of the WT anymore, you can decide for yourself :)

  It is a case of both, while the NT is a collection of writings from the first couple of generations Christians, inclduing the apostles, it is NOT meant to replace or hold more "infulence" than the guiding force of the HS.
• 

  Terry

  It is a case of both, while the NT is a collection of writings from the first couple of generations Christians, inclduing the apostles, it is NOT meant to replace or hold more "infulence" than the guiding force of the HS.

  And if you open your Yellow Pages to Churches......you'll see what a fine job the Holy Spirit has done of uniting believers in Christ ina bond

  of unity!!
• 

  PSacramento

  And if you open your Yellow Pages to Churches......you'll see what a fine job the Holy Spirit has done of uniting believers in Christ ina bond

  of unity!!

  Indeed, it seems that the totalitarian religions must have it right then, not much lack of unity there I guess.

  Makes sense though, considering how many people want God to do the work for them, having a totalitarian group dictating to them is far more "godlike" in their view it seems.
• 

  Terry

  At the end of the exercise, every single student has been able to reproduce the original text--even though no autograph was available, and he/she only had imperfect and error-filled copies.

  HOW DO YOU KNOW every student has been able to reproduce the ORIGINAL TEXT?

  Let me guess.......you STILL HAVE the original to compare it with!!

  Pause (while this sinks in).....

  Uh hem! WE DON'T HAVE ANY OF THE ORIGINALS!

  Get it?
• 

  sir82

  Given the prepodnerance of manuscript evidence

  Excellent!

  Can you point us to such a "preponderance" of 1st century manuscripts of the NT books?

  Er, no? How about some 2nd century manuscripts?

  Still no? How about some early 3rd century complete manuscripts?

  Surely you don't mean that we lack more than a handful of sentences from the NT written during the first 200 years of Christianity, from the period where numerous alternate versions of Christianity were competing for dominance and copies would have been more likely to have been "edited" a bit to support one version or another of "the truth"?

  Sorry, about all the "preponderance" points to is what the manuscripts likely said a good 250-300 years after the originals were written.
• 

  leavingwt

  it is NOT meant to replace or hold more "infulence" than the guiding force of the HS.

  I'm just confused about how you would recognize the WORD, were it not for the OT and NT. I would prefer a Bible with the true parts in Green or something. Or better yet, a SECOND book by God, in which he clears up a few things. It would be a best-seller.
• 

  PSacramento

  I'm just confused about how you would recognize the WORD, were it not for the OT and NT. I would prefer a Bible with the true parts in Green or something. Or better yet, a SECOND book by God, in which he clears up a few things. It would be a best-seller.

  Ah, and you, my dear friend,have indeed brought up THE QUESTION !
  How do we recognise THE WORD?

  Certainly the bible helsp us, but at times, as we know, the OT and NT seem at odds with each other, so what is our final "authority" and how can we trust this "holy spirit"? for all we kow this voice is nothing but a bad acid trip or some overly spicy pad thai we had for lunch !

  How can we know for sure what is THE WORD and what is TRUTH ??
• 

  leavingwt

  How can we know for sure what is THE WORD and what is TRUTH ??

  On Sunday mornings, there are several dudes on TV that have it all figured out, "evidently".
• 

  notverylikely

  I'm just confused about how you would recognize the WORD, were it not for the OT and NT. I would prefer a Bible with the true parts in Green or something. Or better yet, a SECOND book by God, in which he clears up a few things. It would be a best-seller.

  He did. It was written in giant flaming letters on the side of a mountain....it was "Sorry for the inconvenience."
• 

  PSacramento

  On Sunday mornings, there are several dudes on TV that have it all figured out, "evidently".

  Indeed, and what do YOU think of them?