Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: ta00est@unccvax.uncc.edu (elizabeth s tallant) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Bible: What is the Truth? Message-ID: Date: 15 Jun 91 06:13:04 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of NC at Charlotte Lines: 113 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu > In article 6600wood@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu (Joseph Wood) writes: > > >For many years I have been a person who has wanted to find God > >but has been unable to reconcile the differences and difficulties > >in the various Christian denominations. > >... > >I have always been of a sort of logical bent. I am one of those > >people that goes to movies and immediately notices what is wrong > >or foolish in them. This unfortunately is my problem. > HI Joseph, Welcome to the crowd! This brings to mind something my grandfather once told me. I was fussing about the new pastor and just was not sure if the guy was really on the level. My grandfather said, "You should go to church. When you go, listen to what the preacher says. If seems right to you, take it with you. If not, leave it there." I think that you will find few people who wholeheartedly agree with everything that their denomination teaches. For some, the disagreement is more intense than for others. So, why all this disagreement? WE are imperfect people trying to make imperfect attempts to reach God. Our denomination may be wrong, or we may be wrong, or both. Obviously, much is wrong because God does not want His body of believers to be divided. So, why does God tolerate all of this? Paul covers this question. He says that some believe in eating meat, others don't believe in eating meat, some feel special reverence for the Sabbath, and to others it is just like any other day. Yet, for all of these people, we are still acceptible to God because God has given us salvation through Jesus Christ. God has MADE US acceptible to Him. Whether or not we are wrong about things, as long as we don't get mixed up about salvation, we are all still Christians and members of the same Church in the Body of Christ. As for myself, I do attend church, but I don't agree with everything that it does/teaches. So, for me, the important part of my experience with God is through prayer and Bible reading in my own home. It is there where I develop most of beliefs. Using these beliefs, I have tried to find a denomination that I could best "tolerate." > Ask yourself why God would create such a conflicting, ambiguous, > murky Bible if your very salvation depended upon it. Answer: > God did not create it, it was the work of humans just like all of the > other thousands of religious texts that have claimed adherents over > the centuries. The Bible is the work of God. It even says that all scripture is God breathed. Further, God protects His works, and I certainly believe that He has protected the Bible for us. For those who don't believe in the Bible, it is because they don't want to listen to God. Their hearts are hard and they refuse to beleive. Those people are wearing spiritual blinders which blind them from truth. Until these spiritual blinders are removed, such people will not understand the secrets of God. > > >Everyone interprets the > >bible differently. I would appreciate someone telling me why > >there are so many sects, so many bibles, and so many people thinking > >that they are right and everyone else is wrong. Well, not everyone interprets the Bible differently. I was very surprised to find that Christians from literally half-way around the world interpret the Bible in the same way that I do. This helped me to realize that the bond between Christians is even stronger that I originally thought. As far as different Bibles, there is only one Bible, yet there are many translations. The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Since few people read those languages, the Bible must be interpreted to other languages. In the 1600's, King James decreed that the Bible be interpreted from the most ancient texts avaible. That version, the King James Version, is really great. Yet, over a period of 400 years, the English language changed dramatically, and most folks today cannot understand all of the language that the King James Version uses. Thus, people set out to intrepret into more current English. The result was translations such as the New International Version (my personal favorite) the Revised Standard, the American Standard, and the Living Bible Paraphrase. Now, why do some people think that they are right and everyone else is wrong? Well, first, two people who contradict each other cannot both be right. God does not have a "right" for someone and "another right" for someone else. Yet, many people have hard hearts and they are spiritually blind. They may deliberately interpret the Bible to suit their own personal desires, irregardless of what God wants. Still, others may be just badly mistaken. Yet, amongst all this, someone there is truth - a right. To understand the Bible, we must first ask God to give us the understanding. This' invovles prayer. Then, we must read the Bible - not just a line here or there, but a comprehensive overview. Also, we must try our best to live in a way that please God, so that we do not create out own spiritual blinders. And if we mess up, we should ask for forgiveness and repent. Good luck Josheph. I hope that you find a church which fosters your spiritual growth. Please feel free to write for further private discussion Elizabeth ta00est@unccvax.uncc.edu