A recent letter to the editor with a closing statement saying, "the Bible was written by men -- not God," is by someone who is totally misinformed. Let me attempt to clarify a very basic teaching of Christianity.
Yes, the Bible was written by men. but to say "not by God" tells me this person has never read the Bible from cover to cover.
The Bible was written by men who were inspired by God. Have you never heard the Bible referred to as "God's word"? Perhaps that is why the Bible is known as the "Holy Bible."
You cannot pick and choose what you will believe about the Bible. Accept it as God's word, because, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."
I do not fear God nor shall I ever. With so much violence in the Old Testament I was wondering if God is benevolent or a war promoter.
Sondra Gillespie has written a good letter. All Scripture has been inspired by God (that is, has been God-breathed) (2 Timothy 3:16). "... Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21).
Still, let's not forget that the Ten Commandments themselves were originally written by God on stone tablets. "...The tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables" (Exodus 32:16).
The word beginning is important where we read that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7) and "the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10). This word also means "main part," which tells us that knowledge and wisdom without Godly fear is missing that main part, which we need.
If you have to fear God, then there might as well be no God. Why should anyone have to fear a God? I think maybe Stephen Hawking has it all right after all.
But the Bible has several missing chapters that have been lost throughout the ages. When the Bible was being copied and transferred to different languages in the Dark Ages, those copiers threw out lots of "God written words" because they were either too controversial for the time or didn't fit with what those followers believed at the time.
Sondra Gillespie writes that "The Bible was written by men who were inspired by God." Not that I would ever believe that, but I would add (in case she has forgotten) that it was "selectively edited" by the Catholic Church.
GGpap
chasboy, you may not fear Him, but I assure you there will come a day when you will bow before Him. (Romans 14:11) Hopefully, that day will come this side of eternity for you.
The naysayers will believe all the false rumors they hear, although they can't be proven.
God said not one word is to be added or taken away from His Book and believe Him - it is His Word.
The book of revelation says that no words are to be added or taken away. Just that book and that book alone. Since the Bible is made up of many books Revelation is the only book that can't be added to or taken away from. PERIOD!
Chasboy, go back and read again. The Revelation is not the only place that God says He would preserve His Word.
It seems a pretty small God to be able to get His Word written, but then not be able to preserve it.
But it is up to you to decide if you want to believe it or not. It sure will not hurt God's feelings one way or the other.
Are people in this area don't have other things to write about, or is it the the ac only want to print this type of letters...this country have serious problem that need to be debate, but the ac constantly waste space on meaningless letters. Maybe is they want to keep the masses uneducated!
NewHere, if you find this discussion so boring, may I suggest you move on to another opinion letter. This one evidently doesn't interest you. Double Trouble, I totally agree with your 2:39am post and Major Paul, you are correct. People have the choice to believe or not believe.
Chasboy, good to see you posting again. My offer still stands as it did a few weeks ago. Maybe have a discussion about the Old Testament and hopefully have a different take on it, reasons why it seems so violital and the beauty of how God took care of His people.
"Chasboy, good to see you posting again. My offer still stands as it did a few weeks ago. Maybe have a discussion about the Old Testament and hopefully have a different take on it, reasons why it seems so violital and the beauty of how God took care of His people" (InChristLove).
Great suggestion. Psalm 136 is a good place to look. Every other verse tells us that God's mercy or lovingkindness endures forever, even while His judgment falls on people who reject Him and His love.
NewHere- "Are people in this area don't have other things to write about, or is it the the ac only want to print this type of letters"
Yes and yes.
Only God could have foretold thousands of years in advance the
frustration of all the world, every recent president, and now the soon to
be vexed Obama and Hillary over the burden of Jerusalem:
"And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people, all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the world be gathered together againest it."
(Zechariah 12:3)
Not only predicting the world's vexation with the insurmountable task
that is Jerusalem, but actually giving an accurate description of the
number of nations aligned againest it- vs- in support of it.
So amazingly accurate is the Word of God that among the thousands of
other religious texts in the world NOT ONE even makes an attempt to
give such predictions.
NOT ONE.
And you can't quote one.
Man the Bible confuses me more than any other mystery I have ever read.
I'd love to have a discussion on the Old Testament ICL. Maybe you could help me unravel all these questions floating around my empty head. hehe
How could the Bible have been Penned by anyone? They didn't have Pens back then. It should say scribed by men.
As you can see I haven't had enough coffee today.
Christians "pick and choose" what they wish to follow all the time...God is a myth. Grow up.
TrukinRanger, I'm sure you're not so ignorant that you believe there is only one definition for the word Holy and grouse Christians don't pick and choose. If you choose to believe God is a myth, that's really sad, but it is your choice none the less. Maybe when you grow up, you'll realize that.
GGpapSunday, Sep. 5 12:15 Gillespie writes that "The Bible was written by men who were inspired by God." Not that I would ever believe that, but I would add (in case she has forgotten) that it was "selectively edited" by the Catholic Church.
You have demonstrated your abject ingorance better than any of your critics. Catholic writers wrote the New Testament as inspired by God, and the Catholic Church gave the world the canon of scripture in the 4th Century, and its "editing" started with a PROTESTant named Martin Luther who decided that certain words had to be changed and certain books had to be redmoved in order to conform to his opinion. You are mistaken about both religious and secular history, thus your pathetic distance from reality. But, hey, don't let facts get in the way of your liberal opinions.
Well, now that it's established that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant WORD of god, every word being true and righteous, I'm ready to go select my slaves, beat up a few animals --human and otherwise -- , and, best of all, put those pesky women back in their place. That whole woman's suffrage thing has been such a pain. The Bible told me, and in fact encourages, all of this -- straight from the horse's, err Sky Daddy's, mouth. ---- "My own view on religion is that of Lucretius. I regard it as a disease born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race." (Bertrand Russell)
InChristLove: Don't pick and choose? There are three ten commandments in the Bible and the one we used isn't the one actually called commandments. Then there are those pesky abominations in Leviticus that are no longer valid unless they apply to gay people.
"And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people, all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the world be gathered together againest it."
(Zechariah 12:3)
I'm pretty sure that all the people of the world aren't gathered against Jerusalem- as in Christians, of which there are millions. It's part of the Holy Land.
As in, Zechariah was Old Testament- before Christianity.
However, freeradical, if that's what you want to believe, that's entirely up to you.
I don't think that Hilary and Obama are anticipating being cut into pieces, but you never know.
And I don't know any Christian that considers Jerusalem a "burden", but I'm sure you do.
corqimom,
That your "pretty sure " does not surprise me.
Name one pro-Israel nation in the entire world?
Just one?
And before desperation causes you to resort to naming america, the
historically solitary pro-Israel nation, let me point out that under the
current administration even that is now a dicey proposition at best.
The entire fate of the world now hinges on the brand new nuclear
capabilities of the nations harboring the most hate for Israel and
most dedication to Israel's destruction.
That you are completely unaware of this world burden the final
outcome of which will affect all the nations of the world, america
being chief among the affected does not surprise me either.
"Behold I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all people round about when they shall be in siege both againest Judah and againest Jerusalem."
(Zechariah 12:2)
The believer see everything in it. The skeptic sees nothing in it. Faith has been described as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. But we'll all come to the truth in turn.
Blaise Pascal 1623 - 1662 contributed greatly to scientific knowledge in his short life. He had a religious conversion in the 1650s and devoted himself to religion instead of science. He's famous for the philosophical theorem known as Pascal's Wager. He spent his last years helping the poor.
Pascal’s Wager about God - Pascal offers a pragmatic reason for believing in God: even under the assumption that God’s existence is unlikely, the potential benefits of believing are so vast as to make betting on theism rational.
springwater,
Believing that God exists is not the hard part.
It only takes a modicum of intelligence to figure out that a universe which
operates with such percision that we base our every minute on it did
not create itself, and that nothing + nobody = everything, is not a very
plausible explanation .
The hard part is believing what God says about us.
A key component that Pascal seemed to have glossed over if not
factored at all.
Although I'm sure his heart was in the right place I have always
felt his "wager" flawed in the fact that it never addresses the real difficulty
the human heart has with Jesus what he said about our natural state.
freeradical - Good point but I think you have to accept God's existence first and the rest of the story begins with Genesis. In fact, believing in a God is the first foundation block of any religion.
Springwater,
Right you are.
And as I said that is a relatively small obstacle when you consider the
alternative , nothing + nobody = everything.
I did not said that it was boring, what I said was that we got more important issues to discuss than what those letter is all about.
If there really is a devil, then religion has to be his most brilliant deception.
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