The ONE book?

[Hawkins]

As someone considering Buddhism as an active faith and apologies in advance if it sounds like I'm insulting you, but i've noticed many pieces of incoherent nonsense throughout the Bible that serve as an odd mix of fiction and spirituality.

Examples: The slaying of Goliath where David slays a giant causing the collapse of a tower prompting God to make the world speak different languages. In exodus when Moses parted the Red Sea freeing the Israelites from the Egyptians. In revelations when Jesus (the lamb?) unleashes the appocolypse with seven plagues before his father (God) reset everything as well as a new Jerusalem with eight gates made with gemstones.

Iv'e sifted through various forums and resources on Christian theology and looked at contradictory interperation of biblical events (The war in heaven that caused the fall of Lucifer that wasn't really a war because angels are spirits) (The discrepancy between god being a trinity, god and Jesus being separate entities & the idea of a Holy Spirit even being separate at all). The use of one book for the whole faith I've notices seems to be unique to Christianity and Islam, Judaism for instance uses the Tannakh in addition to the OT to extend upon practices and how it connects them to g-d.

With all this I have to ask several things: Why is this one book the backbone of your faith if it causes so many discrepancies within your faith? Are there better resources on the relation between god and his creations besides this one book? What is the innate holiness of the Bible that gives it the name "the holy bible"?

It may be complicated to explain. The first thing is you need to know how humans get to a truth by using an exclusive way. Take science as an example, among 100% humans who know for a fact that black holes exists, 99% of them don't have the evidence. All they have is basically -----> faith.

99% of humans believe with faith that the existence of black holes is a truth before any evidence is presented to them. That's the fundamental/exclusive way of how humans get to a truth of any kind, including scientific truths which are only one of the many kinds of truths.

How do we put our faith? We put faith in scientists as the direct eyewitnesses for the existence of black holes. We put faith in them because we deem them as trust worthy eyewitnesses.

It boils down to the credibility of the info source for us to determine to put faith in believing a truth. Daily news is another kind of truths other than science. We put faith in our media composed of reporters and journalists as direct eyewitnesses. We don't examine evidence behind each piece of news. We put faith in them to believe what is broadcast as we deem as trust worthy. We don't swallow news from North Korea media because we don't deem them as credible and trust worthy. We don't (and can't) examine each news from North Korean either. That is, we don't employ any other way to approach such a kind of truth. We rely on our faith to decide to believe or to disbelieve.

The process of approaching a truth has 2 basic elements. 1) how info is broadcast, 2) how humans receive it. The existence of black holes as a fact must be broadcast first such that humans in majority know that "something called black hole" exists. And second they need to believe it. If they refuse to believe it then humans will not reach the consensus that "black holes exists" as a fact.

Similarly, if a religion is a truth. The god must first broadcast it. Christianity urges that the gospel (as good news, comparable to your daily news) must be preached to each and every nation. Other religions don't broadcast. Did allah or buddha urged you to spread the contents of the holy book to each and every nation on earth? If not, either the info itself is not important or he doesn't care, or he doesn't know of such a fundamental way of conveying a truth. If so he's not god, or his info is not important or he doesn't care.

Similarly, urging for believing is how a truth can reach humans. Did buddha asked you to believe what is said? Only Abrahamic religions seriously invited faith to believe.

If the info is fatal to humans, the god needs to do another thing. That is to keep the fatal info consistent. He can't just speak one thing to humans 2000 years ago and says something different to today's humans. Thus this god must have a device or mechanism in keeping his info consistent across the history of humanity.

Canonization of the Christianity Bible was done serious with God's earthly church serving as its guardian to put effort in avoiding the adding and subtracting of contents into the holy book.

Other than canonization, the contents of OT and NT are reconcilable. It means that humans can reconcile today's contents against whatever earliest versions one can dig up. We thus have a whole library of Dead Sea Scrolls for us to confirm that the OT we read today is the same OT humans read 2000 years ago, theologically speaking (not necessarily contextually).

Similarly we have 2 independent sources of NT with an identical theology of salvation. Thus the salvation message flowing 2000 years ago remains the same message of salvation following today (again, not necessarily contextually but theologically, up to a chapter by chapter and verse by verse level of accuracy).

If other gods can't be that serious. Then he's either not god, or his info is not that important, or he doesn't care.

 

[Faithofchristian]

To understand the Bible one must be a Christian.

You have just proved the accuracy of I Cor 2:14 - But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually apraised,

Thanks.

If I may say, there are alot Christians who don't know the bible themselves.
Do you fully understand what is ment by that of 1 Cor 2:14 "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are Spiritually discerned"

Note that in the scriptures there are many things that take Spiritual discernment, by the Spirit of God.

Take that of Mark 13, note that Christ has given what the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is and by who can commit it and when it takes place.

This is where Spiritual discernment by the Spirit of God comes into play, can you figure out what Christ Jesus is saying in Mark 13 ?

 

[Faithofchristian]

No one, not even the most intelligent theologian understands all of the Bible completely. No one has perfect theology.

That's all because those theologians looks thru the eyes of the natural man's.

This is one of many reasons why
1 Cor 2:14 was written and that of
1 Peter 1:23 was written.

To understand the Written word of God one must have Spiritual discernment and being born again by the word of God.

Without these two factors it will be useless to understand anything that is Written in the scriptures,bible, word of God.

But as it is, many people will say, they are born again, but yet have no clue as to what the scriptures actual say nor what the scriptures confirm's.

Take that of Mark 13 Christ Jesus has given what the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is and who can commit it and when it takes place ?

 

[Faithofchristian]

If Jesus came in front of me and told me he was Jesus, would I believe him or the bible?

Of course I would believe the bible.

Why you may ask, all because God has given in the bible in the book of Revelation the last and final Prophecy to happen.

Jesus will not come until this last and final Prophecy happens. So if someone comes saying, I am Christ believe him not
For many shall come saying I am Christ and shall deceive many.

 

[Twilight Hue]

To understand the Bible one must be a Christian.

You have just proved the accuracy of I Cor 2:14 - But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually apraised,

Thanks.

There's a reason why they put that verse in.
They have no choice but to word it that way.

It's called apologetics. I figured it works no better at that time, than it does today.

 

[Twilight Hue]

If Jesus came in front of me and told me he was Jesus, would I believe him or the bible?

Of course I would believe the bible.

Why you may ask, all because God has given in the bible in the book of Revelation the last and final Prophecy to happen.

Jesus will not come until this last and final Prophecy happens. So if someone comes saying, I am Christ believe him not
For many shall come saying I am Christ and shall deceive many.

I haven't seen any proclaimed modern-day Christ's deceiving anybody. Well, maybe a couple people here and there.

 

[Faithofchristian]

I haven't seen any proclaimed modern-day Christ's deceiving anybody. Well, maybe a couple people here and there.

What ever do you mean, that you haven't seen any proclaimed modern-day Christ's deceiving anybody.

They are all over the place deceving and being deceving.

 

[Phantasman]

As someone considering Buddhism as an active faith and apologies in advance if it sounds like I'm insulting you, but i've noticed many pieces of incoherent nonsense throughout the Bible that serve as an odd mix of fiction and spirituality.

Examples: The slaying of Goliath where David slays a giant causing the collapse of a tower prompting God to make the world speak different languages. In exodus when Moses parted the Red Sea freeing the Israelites from the Egyptians. In revelations when Jesus (the lamb?) unleashes the appocolypse with seven plagues before his father (God) reset everything as well as a new Jerusalem with eight gates made with gemstones.

Iv'e sifted through various forums and resources on Christian theology and looked at contradictory interperation of biblical events (The war in heaven that caused the fall of Lucifer that wasn't really a war because angels are spirits) (The discrepancy between god being a trinity, god and Jesus being separate entities & the idea of a Holy Spirit even being separate at all). The use of one book for the whole faith I've notices seems to be unique to Christianity and Islam, Judaism for instance uses the Tannakh in addition to the OT to extend upon practices and how it connects them to g-d.

With all this I have to ask several things: Why is this one book the backbone of your faith if it causes so many discrepancies within your faith? Are there better resources on the relation between god and his creations besides this one book? What is the innate holiness of the Bible that gives it the name "the holy bible"?

I find Buddhism a fascinating path. It teaches a lot of the same spiritual teachings of gnosis (Christian Gnosticism). The words used are different, but many of the same principals apply. It teaches of spiritual attainment through spiritual knowledge. There are some teachings that leave Christian gnosis as well, as to diets and reincarnation. Meditation and communion are the same thing in Christian gnosis. While orthodoxy see's it in the physical as wafers and wine. To eat the knowledge and drink the spirit, it sates us spiritually. There is no power in physical bread and wine.