1 post tagged “bible”

How many times have you heard that or something similar? "The Bible says...," "Jesus said..., " "God says in Revelation..."  Our way of life based somehow on the bible being fact (at least the Presidents thinks it is). Millions and millions of people have gone before us secure in the knowledge the bible is the Word of God.
Is the bible fact? Even if it is really good fiction does it have anything to do with God? How do we know? Here's a sample of the kind of conversation I have about it every day between me and me.

    The bible is fact. 100% happened that way. Period. NQA.
    How is that possible? Taken literally the bible comes up with strange things: Where did Cain get a wife? Sons of God laying with the daughters of men? Did Ezekiel really see those bizarre creatures?  If the Gospels tell the same story, why are they different?  I'm just scratching the surface here...
    OK... so don't take it literally, take it symbolically. It's literature and history mixed in with a healthy dose of myth and legend.
    So if it's just a compilation of stories how can I tell which parts are true and which parts are... um... not?
    There are no "untrue" sections in the bible. Everything can be taken as God's truth.
    But what about the weird stories? John saying Jesus was crucified on a different night than everyone else?
    Each story has its audience.
    So one group gets one truth and one group gets another truth? How can there be more than one truth?
    That's something only God understands and who are we to question His judgment?
    I agree with that one but... how do we know God had a hand in the bible anyway?
    God wouldn't lead us astray.
    Nice thought, but how do we know that?
    We have Faith in God and God keeps his Word.
    So Faith is the answer?
    Yup, Faith.
    Do we have anything other than Faith?
    Well... there are some digs near the holy land where some folks found a city that had its walls torn down. That proves the story of Jericho.
    Digs are neat but do they prove or suggest?
    Well we can't be 100% sure...
    So they suggest.
    Yes. Very strongly suggest.
    And the magic spackle to fill in between "prove" and "suggest" is...?
    Faith.
    Here we are at Faith again.
    You can't know God without it.
    So here's my problem. God gave me intellect and Faith.
    He is generous.
    What do I do when my Faith tells me one thing and my intellect tells me another?
    That would never happen.
    Hypothetically
    The you must follow your heart. Faith wins.
    Why would God put me in such a position?
    He didn't, hypothetical, remember?
    But I am in such a position. I'm coming to the realization that what we call the Bible and everything within it that we've build our lives on... is fiction.
    Careful... that's blasphemy.
    I'm being honest here. God know my heart and He knows I'm not rejecting Him, I just want to prove him. I don't believe the Bible is a reliable source to get to know Him and it's unfair to build me to rely on logic and proof and then ask me to throw it all out the window and make this big leap of Faith.
    Then you'd better pray for guidance.
    I guess so. Now if  I only knew who I was praying to.