To gumby:
: The big problem is this, (for me that is), if you are correct.......How does God view the millions who view Jesus as God?
I have no idea. I will say, though, that if God is of a mind to kill millions of people whose only 'crime' is to believe what their parents taught them, then he's not worth a damn. But there are enough things in the Bible to make one really be afraid that God will you just for not believing the right things that make me not believe that this God exists. Maybe another one, maybe a Creator of some sort, maybe none at all -- but certainly not a monster who would kill people over something not their fault.
I think that your thinking here is still rather too much influenced by the JWs and/or some other equally judgmental religion. JWs claim that God will kill trinitarians because of their belief, and trinitarians often claim the opposite. The Bible is just unclear enough on this matter that no one can say with absolute certainty that either position, or even a compromise position, is true. And if God expects people to make life and death decisions based on ambiguous information, then what kind of person is God? Assuming he exists at all, either he has to be forgiving enough that this issue is irrelevant, or he's a monster. You decide.
: This may bring some back to the conclusion..."there must be a group who teaches the truth on these matters"
It might, but that's just going back to that old judgmental JW stuff again.
: As for your comments on HOW the NT writings BECAME as part of the bible cannon is good news for me.
I have never yet had an explanation as to WHO decided WHO'S writings/letters, were to be part of the bible.
I was also amazed when I found out that the Bible really is a Catholic/Jewish book. Given that, it's not surprising that the Society doesn't talk about this, right?
: It would seem one would have had to be appointed by God himself, or to by someone who God had talked to, telling that person the writers letters were approved.
Well, God talks to the Pope and the Governing Body, right? So they ought to know.
: Taking all things said by Jesus and his followers at face value, will get you in a brain rat nest.
Yep.
: No...I'm not losing my religion....just having the guts to be open to.... "WHAT IS TRUTH"?
A fine start. I have no idea what your background or present circumstances are, but I can say that if you can swing it, an excellent thing would be to start taking some challenging college courses in whatever interests you. If you've not gone to college, you may be amazed at how much your mind opens up when you're challenged by new ideas from intelligent people. One of the paradoxes of getting a better education is that the more you learn, the more you see how ignorant you are. I guess it's because you learn how much there is "out there" that you were entirely unaware of.
AlanF