Ask your Questions regarding Christianity.

[fallingblood]

Faith vs works, which do you believe in, and which view really represents mainstream Christianity?

I personally believe in both.

As for mainstream Christianity, there is somewhat of a split. Various groups will say that it is faith that saves us. They focus primarily on faith while ignoring the idea of works. Others accept both as well. However, most will still do what they consider works. It is just not part of salvation.

Also, I read somewhere that Jesus when young, killed a boy by pushing him off a cliff or something, is this correct? If so, how do you reconcile this with his divinity?

There were later stories written about Jesus when he was a little boy. As we see in the canonical Gospels, there is little about the early life of Jesus. Early Christians also noticed this, and developed various stories for the boy Jesus.

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas speaks of Jesus as a boy and having killed a number of individuals (and also resurrecting those who he killed). However, this is a later work, and really shows no sign of credibility. There is no early tradition of these ideas, no early records, and it really isn't attested to in any independent sources.

More so, it is highly unlikely that anyone would have recorded the early life of Jesus. In that culture, it really just wasn't done. People weren't really written about until they made an impact.

Finally, regarding the Bible, how long after Jesus do you believe was the Bible written and by who?

Most of the NT documents were written by 100 C.E. Paul was writing in the 50's and 60's. The first Gospel, Mark, was written in 70 C.E. So the NT was written between 20-70 years after the death of Jesus. However, it isn't until 367 C.E. that we see the 27 books of the NT being placed together. And then the canon of the NT was still debated for centuries after that. Even Martin Luther questioned a few of the books of the NT.

As for by who. The only one we can really pin down is Paul. Other than that, we can't know for sure. Most simply left their works anonymous. It wasn't until later that names were placed on them in order to make them more authoritative.

In a related question, how do you perceive texts like these while maintaining that the Bible today is authentic?

I don't see the Bible in a literal sense. I take it more metaphorically, at least in many cases. I look at it more as a historical work, in which has to be set in that historical context to be read correctly.

The questions aren't to debate, but I do wonder sometimes about the position of Christians on this, is it simply accepting "blind faith"?

Many do act on blind faith. There is a movement (and has been one for a long time) that is beginning to see the Bible in a new light. Instead of taking it literally, they see it as it is, a variety of historical documents written in different genres. Instead of taking it literally, they continue to take it seriously, but rely on modern scholarship to read it in a better context.

Speaking of which (sorry for the many questions), do you generally believe in/accept blind faith?

The only thing I have blind faith in is God. Other than that, I do like being able to support my ideas, or at least having something to back them up with.

Sorry for the many questions.

No problem. I thought you had some excellent questions.