Do You Still Believe the Bible is God's Word? (page 5)

Quillsky

The bible is a scientifically worthy collection of books. The effect it has had on human social evolvement is interesting. The mere fact that people were writing and reading in that region in those days is interesting. Study it, consider it, don't study it, don't consider it. Your decision.

tec

Marcus, welcome to the board. Great opening introductions :)

cantleave

Thank You Marcus Scriptus - and welcome to the forum.

I found that a great explanation of your personal faith.

Would you say that the bible offers anything that other ""Holy Books" do not?

The Berean

If it truly is, Why did Jesus leave events to interpretation rather than writing books himself?

Heaven

Waiting for Zid's comments !

As for me, No, I don't. I see at least 2 different gods in the Bible... he seems to have DID. At any rate, anything that induces so much fear and violence is not about love. So if God Is Love, how can a lot of what's in the Bible be of him/her/it?

What I see is ancient man's attempt to control and manipulate those they didn't agree with or like. The whole idea that God loves you but will smite you if you cross him is somewhat psychotic, especially since we are all 'imperfect' beings. It just doesn't jive.

Of course, I guess it all boils down to whether you believe in God or not. If you don't then you know the Bible is a work of man. If you do believe, then you have some interesting cognitive dissonance going on justifying the diametrically opposed ideals being presented in this so-called Holy book.

MarcusScriptus

Thanks, Tec & Cantleave…and actually a belated thank you to all of you. I have been far gone from the grips of the Watchtower since just about the time HTML had revolutionized the Internet and the masses finally discovered it. I avoided the Internet until I found this board and read off and on for years with great interest, only to recently tell myself: Hey, I’ve never said thank you or got involved. So here I am. Forgive me if my lingo is so far removed from JWs of today or even yesterday, as a lot of unlearning has separated me now from then.

To answer your question, Cantleave, except for the gospel accounts I can’t say there is much that I am aware of. Though I have studied a lot of ancient religious literature, I can say I’ve given them all the familiarity I have to the Bible. I do know, however, that when a philosophical truth is universal it rings throughout various forms of ideologies. For example, there is a lot in the expressions of the current Dalai Lama that is very much like the higher mysticism of Christianity today.

But I do know from others mainly, and not so much myself, that the gospel accounts are very rare, unique in fact. Though other religions may have tales of gods becoming human or having sons or daughters live on the earth, even sacrificing their lives for us, they have never been composed in a narrative so different that they qualify as their own genre in ancient literary studies.

Most notably it is the behavior of Jesus of Nazareth at his own execution and its implication that makes this form of narrative rare. Logic gets thrown out of the window at the point when Jesus mutters about those nailing him to the cross: “Forgive them, Father, because they don’t really know what they’re doing.”

Excommunicated as a pariah in a physically abhorrent nature in a drama that suggests nothing but utter failure to the onlooker is celebrated as a victory that is supposed to defy any attempt at human reasoning while at the same time tell humanity it no longer needs to even try to be as good as God. That doesn’t occur in any other literature, ancient or modern, and is considered a literary first in that no narrative before has ever drawn its protagonist or hero as such a total humiliated loser while finding such a successful Savior in such imagery at the same time.

And afterwards the event is even raised as applause-worthy for the very fact that it makes no sense and any attempt to do so on one’s own cannot help one to make sense of it. In all other religious literature appeals are always made to logic as if they were trying to prove themselves. In the execution of Jesus of Nazareth the opposite is taught.

But outside of this feature there is actually a lot to be found that is similar in one way or another in a lot of holy books of various religions, eastern and western. And at times, such as in the case of Noah, the writers interpolated their own history into foreign religious folklore to either teach a lesson, or as in the case of the Gilgamesh flood story, mock the religious basis of the tale from which it originated.

But again, I respect the views of all persons. Many of my closest of companions are atheists, and many religious people hate me (some directly because of my years of scholarly study in the discipline of higher criticism). But I have been able to grow independent of the Watchtower despite it saying we never could because of what many of you have written here or have done seemingly unnoticed before I. So thank you all.

cantleave

Very interesting. I certainly don't consider my self Christian, and haven't read any other religious texts, but I do see in the Gospels a man who touched the hearts of many.

I am not yet ready to acknowledge that this man is any more than a construct, but if he really existed and reflected the nature of divinity then that's good..

Terry

How much of what is PRACTICED as Christianity is the interpretation of Jesus' words in harmony with Jesus' own actions?

For Jesus to have a practical impact on humanity there would have to be practical meaning to his words and example.

Otherwise it is airy philosophy opined rather than a good life well lived.

Why have two THOUSAND years passed in hope of his return to DESTROY?

Hundreds and hundreds of christian denominations have a Mister Potato Head approach to Jesus. Make of him what they will.

Has the Bible really helped us to go beyond this?

PSacramento

I do not view the bible as the word of God or innerant, this most people here now.

So what good is it? and why do I read it? why bother?

Perhaps that is a far more pertenint question that Is the Bible the Word of God?

What do I get from the bible?

The views of those that were inspired by God to write what they saw and HOW they saw it, the good, bad and ugly and even at times, wrong.

I get a sense of a peoples desrie to know God and try to make God conform to THEIR view.

I see God really trying to show them the truth without forcing them to see it, to a point where God sends his only begotten Son, a personification of all that God is to tell it how it is and to even suffer and die to show us true love, without conditions that are FORCED on anyone.

I see Jesus choosing a bunch of nobodies with character flaws and giving them the greatest gift of all, to experience living with the Son of God, loving them and teaching them that there is nothing greater than love, forgiveness, compassion and sacrifice and then leading by example and sacrificing himself for ALL, deserving or not, loving or not, forgiving or not.

I see his disciples spreading out with nothing but a message of love, compassion and hope.

In short I see much good in the bible and I also so much of what was wrong and mistaken before and even after Jesus came and I see no attempt to hide it either.

So I see a book of great value for ME, even more so when read with love in my heart and the HS to guide me.

LockedChaos

I Don't Believe in God

Therefor.......................

No Word

Do You Still Believe the Bible is God's Word?

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