The literal & infallible word of God

[kadzbiz]

I keep reading in posts that the Bible, by some peoples' thinking, is the literal and infallible word of God. How can this possibly be if the different books were written by men telling of stories that had allegedly happened? There isn't one single book in the Bible that is God's telling of a story, only books of men that tell of stories of God's actions and comments. God is simply a character in the Bible used to influence the actions of other characters. I'm sure if God could create the 10 commandments on stone tablets, twice, then He could easily compile at least a little pamphlet about Himself.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

I keep reading in posts that the Bible, by some peoples' thinking, is the literal and infallible word of God.

It's an evangelical fundamentalist wet dream.

 

[ChristineES]

I believe that the Bible is God inspired. I also believe that men wrote the Bible.
As for the Bible being literal, I have hard time believing that. That is one of the things that keeps me from being 100% Baptist.
There is some evidence that at least some of the stories in the Bible are true but not literal. While on Earth, Jesus spoke in Parables to everyone except the 12 Apostles. Since Jesus spoke in parables, wouldn't have the Prophets, too? After all, they were inspired by God.

Of course there are always problems. When they were choosing the Books for the Bible, how did they know which were truly inspired by God and which weren't? How do we know which stories are literal and which are just parables?

 

[GreenKepi]

The original Scriptures were inspired and "God-breathed"; however, we do not have the originals...we do not even have copies of the originals. That's why all the translations are somewhat different. That's where faith comes into play. Do you not believe God to be wise enough to have filtered down to us enough of what we need to be saved by Him and inherit eternal life? God is not the author of confusion...man does that (and Satan)...both have done a great job of doing that....

 

[4Pillars]

It's simple to know if one's interpretation is correct. If it agrees with God's Holy Word, true Science, and History, it's as close to the One Truth as is Humanly possible. The fault is Not with God's Truth, but with man's ability to understand it, for His thoughts are far above man's thoughts.

God Bless

 

[kadzbiz]

Wet dreams, parables, God's breath and His truth. Only one of these make me feel good, but it's still messy. To me, the Bible is simply a historical manuscript documenting the non-sensical ramblings of men with psychological and egotistical problems .....

 

[Darkness]

The fault is Not with God's Truth, but with man's ability to understand it, for His thoughts are far above man's thoughts.

How do you know the Word of God is actually from God? The authors, save Paul, never claim inspiration.

 

[Aasimar]

It's simple to know if one's interpretation is correct. If it agrees with God's Holy Word, true Science, and History, it's as close to the One Truth as is Humanly possible. The fault is Not with God's Truth, but with man's ability to understand it, for His thoughts are far above man's thoughts.

God Bless

So, what's God's holy word? and may I have a copy.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

Wet dreams, parables, God's breath and His truth. Only one of these make me feel good, but it's still messy. To me, the Bible is simply a historical manuscript documenting the non-sensical ramblings of men with psychological and egotistical problems .....

Art is only nonsense to the artless.

 

[kadzbiz]

Art is only nonsense to the artless.

That's a very strange thing to say AE. If one was to know art, would that mean one could never feel a piece is nonsense or not artistic? See, this is a problem. Art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder IMO. Are you saying that the Bible is art or are you saying that because I'm not religious I can't see ........ well I don't know what you mean to be honest.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

To me, the Bible is simply a historical manuscript documenting the non-sensical ramblings of men with psychological and egotistical problems .....

That may well say more about your understanding than about scripture.

 

[BUDDY]

Wet dreams, parables, God's breath and His truth. Only one of these make me feel good, but it's still messy. To me, the Bible is simply a historical manuscript documenting the non-sensical ramblings of men with psychological and egotistical problems .....

Wow, I come back for the first time in several months and read a post like this, then immediately remember why it has been several months. Yet another example of someone wishing to attack Biblical believers by at first asking for clarification of a belief, then immediately following that up with a post that clearly shows your opinion of those who hold that belief. Let me ask, do you really want to know why people believe that the Bible is God's word, or are you simply looking to put down those who believe it is God's word. I can handle it either way, but I would appreciate honesty from the beginning. If it is the latter, then just go ahead and ramble about how dumb we are who believe it, and those who wish to read it may do so...then we can ignore you for the rest of the time while you pitch your little fit. If it is the latter, say so and ask a reasoned and logical question, and I will happily attenpt to give you an answer.

 

[astarath]

Wow, I come back for the first time in several months and read a post like this, then immediately remember why it has been several months. Yet another example of someone wishing to attack Biblical believers by at first asking for clarification of a belief, then immediately following that up with a post that clearly shows your opinion of those who hold that belief. Let me ask, do you really want to know why people believe that the Bible is God's word, or are you simply looking to put down those who believe it is God's word. I can handle it either way, but I would appreciate honesty from the beginning. If it is the latter, then just go ahead and ramble about how dumb we are who believe it, and those who wish to read it may do so...then we can ignore you for the rest of the time while you pitch your little fit. If it is the latter, say so and ask a reasoned and logical question, and I will happily attenpt to give you an answer.

It's the depth of it all that gets me. Premeditated anger and hate. You may consider me lost but I will pray for you as you either do not see anything wrong with that anger or hate or you see the error but cant fix it.

 

[BUDDY]

It's the depth of it all that gets me. Premeditated anger and hate. You may consider me lost but I will pray for you as you either do not see anything wrong with that anger or hate or you see the error but cant fix it.

I stay away from considerations of anyone as "lost" or "saved". I am more apt to call someone ignorant, uninformed or in many cases (espicially on this wesite) dishonest in there motives.

 

[astarath]

I did not state lost or saved..that is decided on his end. My action towards it is my concern and since a hug is not possible a prayer will do.

 

[GreenKepi]

Kadzbiz...how could it be only "ramblings" when so much of it is something that "man" could not have know at the time it was written? Things like: the earth being round, stars emitting sounds, gravity, fresh water springs in the ocean, mountains in the ocean, water's cycle, the black hole, paths of the seas, things about the human body...on and on It goes...years before they were "so-called" discovered. Added all up...doesn't quite seem to me as ramblings of a bunch of psychologically goofy men...archaeological finds are proving it to be more than a historical manuscript...besides...its not a very good historical document based on itself vs other historical information. What do you think?

 

[kadzbiz]

That may well say more about your understanding than about scripture.

Different people understand differently, otherwise we would have only one religion. I admit that there is a lot I don't understand about the Bible.

......another example of someone wishing to attack Biblical believers by at first asking for clarification of a belief.......then we can ignore you for the rest of the time while you pitch your little fit. ......

I'm not attacking anyone BUDDY. I've said it many times that people can believe whatever they like as long as it doesn't negatively affect anyone else. I just ask questions and put forth my opinions. You wanna ignore me, that's your choice. I won't let it bother me none.

It's the depth of it all that gets me. Premeditated anger and hate. You may consider me lost but I will pray for you as you either do not see anything wrong with that anger or hate or you see the error but cant fix it.

Are you referring to me or BUDDY? I have no premeditated anything.

I stay away from considerations of anyone as "lost" or "saved". I am more apt to call someone ignorant, uninformed or in many cases (espicially on this wesite) dishonest in there motives.

I have no motives BUDDY. I call things as I see them. Sometimes I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong. When I'm wrong, I admit it and ask for forgiveness.

Kadzbiz...how could it be only "ramblings" when so much of it is something that "man" could not have know at the time it was written? Things like: the earth being round, stars emitting sounds, gravity, fresh water springs in the ocean, mountains in the ocean, water's cycle, the black hole, paths of the seas, things about the human body...on and on It goes...years before they were "so-called" discovered. Added all up...doesn't quite seem to me as ramblings of a bunch of psychologically goofy men...archaeological finds are proving it to be more than a historical manuscript...besides...its not a very good historical document based on itself vs other historical information. What do you think?

Okay, I'll backstep a little hear and eat some humble pie. When I talk about "ramblings" I refering to the references to God and His words and plans, etc, etc. And you can't say man didn't know about some things before they were written as history shows that some men were well before their time and had theories about many things that are only being proved to be true nowadays. ie. like Da Vinci's idea of the heart having a type of vortex effect. Are you saying the Bible is a historical document? Many argue it is not. I would probably side with that more so than anything else, but its stories have been exaggerated, embellished or manipulated to suit various purposes of various congregations and faiths.

It's a book. I've read many and this is one of my least favorite.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

Are you saying that the Bible is art or are you saying that because I'm not religious I can't see ........

I am saying that the Bible is like art, not that you think that it's nonsense because you are not religious. One does not have to be religious to appreciate the Bible, and one does not have to be religious to use it nonsensicaly.

 

[kadzbiz]

I am saying that the Bible is like art, not that you think that it's nonsense because you are not religious. One does not have to be religious to appreciate the Bible, and one does not have to be religious to use it nonsensicaly.

I'm not saying the Bible is nonsense, just the things said pertaining to what God said or did. I don't want to start a debate about what is art, but I don't think the Bible is art. And what do you mean by using it nonsensically?

 

[tomspug]

Well, I'll contribute by providing my own experience.

I don't claim to be an expert on Biblical history or anything, but what I do know is that the more I read the Bible the more I like it. I recently finished going through the old Testament for the first time and it took awhile. The general impression I got from it was 'wow, there is a lot of really good stuff in here, but the majority of it is hard to grasp'. I mean, I've known the Genesis stories since I was a kid, but even now in my 20's I'm just starting to understand how deep and surprising the implications of them actually are.

Anyways, as far as authorship goes, all I know is that I have yet to encounter anything where a red flag goes up like 'what's THIS doing here?'. It feels like a complete work rather than a collaberation. That's my opinion, but I think the only proper way to go about it is to just read it yourself and make the call. I'll tell you one thing though, this is a book of never-ending questions. I don't think I'll ever be able to say with 100% certainty that I'm an authority on any of it. It just doesn't seem possible that it was man-made. The content is just too... contradictory to everything else that man has written.