Is the human mind a higher authority then the Bible?

[Jeremiah]

Simple enough question and for some I am sure they will utter a, "Of course" and in my mind also the human mind is clearly a higher authority then the Bible.

But for someone who sees the Bible as, at least in part, the word of "God" then the question of precedence becomes something of a dilemma. And not just the Bible, the question could be asked of any holy scripture. Does the authority rest with these transcendental messages or with the innate abilities of the common lowly human?

I would like to point out, that when not taken as a whole truth it would seem to mean that the individual has already asserted that the human mind is the higher authority and should have the final say. For it is with their own mind that they determine which parts are good and which to ignore.

Could it be that "God" already bestowed us with everything we would ever need and all these books and whatnot are not really that important?

 

[Kerr]

I would say that the mind of a man is always the higher authority, because no matter what we do or what script, God or moral values we follow we must first decide to follow it. Even an extemist who believes in the Bible must first make the choice to follow the Bible. At last that is how I look at it, it would be interesting to hear other perspectives .

 

[Bloomdido]

The bible was written by desert dwellers over a thousand years ago in an attempt to explain their existance. It is not the word of a god.

 

[Man of Faith]

If we consider that the Bible is the inspired, infallable, inerrant word of God then that is the ultimate authority. If we consider that one day all will be judged by the God of the Bible and everyone will kneel before Jesus and declare he is Lord then I don't know of any greater authority.

 

[ThereIsNoSpoon]

Theists:
Ultimately it is the human mind for it is the human mind that gives the bible its authority over other things. Later on it is the same mind that values the bible higher than other ideas that the very same human mind has.
Practically speaking of course apart of "positioning" the bible at the head of authority and making the one way decision to let all decisions flow through the bible filter the human mind is below the bible.

 

[Smoke]

If we consider that the Bible is the inspired, infallable, inerrant word of God then that is the ultimate authority.

I really can't understand how anybody in his right mind could possibly believe that.

Even if I believed that the Bible were a perfect anthology and absolutely inerrant -- which is an incomprehensible belief to me, like believing that Santa Claus is the one true Easter Bunny -- it would stand to reason that whatever body or process compiled it would axiomatically have greater authority than the Bible itself. That is, if the Bible were authoritative, it would stand to reason that the Church is also authoritative, and necessarily even more authoritative than the Bible itself.

 

[Caladan]

Simple enough question and for some I am sure they will utter a, "Of course" and in my mind also the human mind is clearly a higher authority then the Bible.

But for someone who sees the Bible as, at least in part, the word of "God" then the question of precedence becomes something of a dilemma. And not just the Bible, the question could be asked of any holy scripture. Does the authority rest with these transcendental messages or with the innate abilities of the common lowly human?

I would like to point out, that when not taken as a whole truth it would seem to mean that the individual has already asserted that the human mind is the higher authority and should have the final say. For it is with their own mind that they determine which parts are good and which to ignore.

Could it be that "God" already bestowed us with everything we would ever need and all these books and whatnot are not really that important?

The Bible as other sacred texts is the product of crafty human beings, cultural richness and experience, it is loaded with reflections of the social and political landscape of the periods in which the different books were written.
I believe it is a wrong quest to create the dilemma of supreme authority, as beyond an infallible authority lays the quality left by human authors who left a fingerprint of wisdom and culture on ancient scrolls, to us as human beings, this should be much more relevant and interesting than the idea of finding absolute authorities.
I believe these books are highly relevant and important, not because of supreme authority, but because they are humanity's testament of its cognitive world its development, and of culture and society.
whether by declaring them the highest authority or rendering them 'not really important' we are dismissing our own heritage, and a wonderful textual work.

 

[Riverwolf]

First of all, what kind of human mind are we talking about, as there are variations. Are we talking about the mind of an intellectual, or the mind of a leader?

Second, authority on what? History? Spirituality? Philosophy? All three of these things are encompassed in the books of the Bible, and while in some areas they are good authorities on their subjects, in other areas they are not.

 

[Jeremiah]

If we consider that the Bible is the inspired, infallable, inerrant word of God then that is the ultimate authority. If we consider that one day all will be judged by the God of the Bible and everyone will kneel before Jesus and declare he is Lord then I don't know of any greater authority.

"If we consider"

Of course, you are right, the mind is the higher authority. I don't know what I was thinking, the mind must always be the higher authority.

 

[slave2six]

But for someone who sees the Bible as, at least in part, the word of "God" then the question of precedence becomes something of a dilemma.

If God had actually written the Bible himself without using humans the perhaps such people would be right but since it was written by humans (and we all know what scalawags they are) then it's probably no more authoritative than any other historical document.

 

[Man of Faith]

The human mind can imagine an infinite number of realities, how would that have more authority than the true reality of death and eternity in the afterlife that the Bible talks about?

 

[ThereIsNoSpoon]

The human mind can imagine an infinite number of realities, how would that have more authority than the true reality of death and eternity in the afterlife that the Bible talks about?

In order to say that the bible is the true reality you would have had to assess it first. Having done so you used the very same mind that according to you can imagine an infinite number of realities.

So your own statement shows the higher authority of your own mind.

 

[Man of Faith]

In order to say that the bible is the true reality you would have had to assess it first. Having done so you used the very same mind that according to you can imagine an infinite number of realities.

So your own statement shows the higher authority of your own mind.

Humans are capable to submit to a higher authority. When you were in school did you submit to their authority, or because you were able to understand what they were saying you were the authority?

 

[Bware]

Could it be that "God" already bestowed us with everything we would ever need and all these books and whatnot are not really that important?

That is it in a nutshell. We have everything that we need, all these scriptures are just a guide, IMO for how to be a good person, what not to do, don't kill people, show love to those around you, etc. Most importantly we have the ability to think for ourselves and analyze the world around us. How boring would life be if we didn't?

 

[tumbleweed41]

As Galileo once said....
“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”

 

[ThereIsNoSpoon]

Humans are capable to submit to a higher authority. When you were in school did you submit to their authority, or because you were able to understand what they were saying you were the authority?

Even submitting to some higher authority requires you to make a decision which of course requires (at least some) thinking.

Apart of that i of course didn't submit. I learned what they taught. That doesn't mean i accepted it straight away just because they had a position named teacher.