I have a serious question for Christians?

whoa...you're a bossy little.....

i don't view the bible as a history book, although there are historic aspects about it that are interesting. what i find compelling is that over 2000 years, the most important thing in our lives are our relationships...and that is what the bible is about...how we interact with each other. Jesus was the greatest psychologist that the world has ever known, with his ability to talk to and related to just about everyone even the ones who hated him...

i believe the bible to be a literal statement from God, as He spoke through many different people at many different times. but i do feel that the bible is not complete, that there are parts that are missing or are being misinterpreted...but i don't let that stop me from embracing the bible as a whole...

i believe that the bible is a lifestyle (meant to be lived, not just read) and an attitude, not a rulebook to control people's thoughts and actions...God isn't looking for cookie-cutter Christians...He's looking for us to discover our gifts and to use them to build strong, loving relationships with each other. in this way, we can go a long way to eliminate loneliness, anger, and fear...replacing them with unconditional love...

Well, it seems to me that Christians have varying opinions on this. Fundies would definitely say it's the literal word of god and it could be used as a history book, law book, everything.

The biggest issue is the difference between the Old and the New Testament. The OT is where you find most of the wacky stuff about talking donkeys and how God smites people and allows you to keep slaves. The New Testament marked a shift in Jewish philosophy at the time that God shouldn't be portrayed as a merciless authoritarian and that there was a need for a gentler, kinder religion.

Some Christians consider the OT to be simple 'reference material' for understanding the times that Jesus was living in. Others talk about a 'new covenant' - ie, the coming of Jesus meant that we are no longer bound by the laws of the OT. (But why have such ridiculous laws in the first place.) So if the Bible was used as a historical document, Christians themselves would be divided as to how literal or relevant it is. Then, was the New Testament written by 'witnesses'? Has it been changed over the years? What about the books that were removed?

The final piece of the puzzle is the rise of secularism, often promoted by religious people themselves (so they wouldn't be persecuted by other religious groups). Secularism has worked very well in countries that have adopted it, almost without exception. So practically speaking, people don't want to return to a time when religion was in the public sector.

I view it as both. Many passages are about the knowledge/history of God. Many other passages are God speaking through someone. Unfortunately, I believe the bible is incomplete. I grew up Catholic. I abandoned my beliefs until I was in my late 20's. I do not attend church. I don't claim to be a Christian(or Catholic) But, when I read certain parts of the bible, something inside tells me it's more than just a "story". Some parts of the bible also just don't feel right. I think that is a history book, but one that we are supposed to use for insight on our current lives. This does NOT mean trying to force others to live the way you think they should. That goes completely against what Christ preached. Sorry if I was rambling a little., it's late.

Ziosuna Said:

don't quote from the bible !

Peace Said:

My opinion is not what anyone should put much stock in I am a man and men can lie!

The Bible is trustworthy ... I have proven it so for 36 years to my satisfaction !

Ziosuna Said:

Christians view the bible as the word of god ?

Yes ....!

Christians are individuals and are judged by God as individuals ...

We are encouraged to read the Bible for ourselves using our born again Spirit to guide us.

(2 Timothy 2:15 KJV) Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Ziosuna Said:

If Christians do view it as such then why do so many act as if it is a history book or a literal statement of god?

Longsuffering Said:

Because ....

The books in the Bible Fall into GROUPS.

Jesus Christ being the main theme of all the Groups.

There are FIVE divisions in the Scriptures, and these may be conveniently fixed in the memory by five key-words, Christ being the one theme .

Group 1 Preparation The Old Testament.

Preparation For the Coming of Jesus Christ as the Messiah.

How God dealt with Israel (History)!

What to look for to recognize the Messiah ... Prophecy i.e. history in advance. Isaiah 53

Group 2 Manifestation The Gospels. He is manifested to the world. (made clear)

Group 3 Propagation The Acts

Group 4 Explanation The Epistles

Group 5 Consumation The Revelation

Nothing in the bible will make sense to you until you ask Jesus to open your spiritual Eyes.

I'm a Christian and I think that the Bible is written by man depicting God's work and messages. It also shows their interpretation of God's message and how they act on it. The Bible did not come from God nor was it written by God Himself. Man wrote the Bible and you can be sure that there would be some errors in it.

The Bible also serves as a history book because it depicts the Creation, history of Israel, history of Egypt, just to name a few. Through many years of translation and interpretation, some words or elements have changed. There are many versions of the Bible. The Bible is not an instruction manual, it is a guideline on how to live your life and how to fulfill your ultimate purpose.

Just my two cents. :)

The bottom line is that you can't make any broad generalizations about Christians. It's inaccurate to say "Christians all believe this," because there are simply too many Christians to make any statement that could possibly apply to every one of them except maybe "Christians believe in Jesus."

As a non-churchgoing semi-Christian, I am incapable of taking the bible as 100% truth. There are just to many contaminating factors going on there... bad translation, creative "embellishments" over the centuries, and a lot of omissions. That's why you'll never see a bible quote in any of my posts. I believe that certain parts of the bible were divinely inspired, but most of it is just historically valuable. I mean, the bible says I'm worth 30 shekels of silver, and my husband can't into heaven if his testicles are injured. We're both going straight to hell for our love of shellfish, too. I'm sorry, but I just can't respect a God that would be so incredibly petty as to judge me based on what kind of sea critters I have eaten during my life. There are certain basic truths in the bible, most of which are things we learn as children: don't hurt people, don't steal things, don't lie, help each other, work together, and share. The rest of the rules tend to be a bit ridiculous.

Christ takes that even further in the New Testament by telling Christians that hate is pointless, and love is all that matters. If you do a good thing out of love, then you're doing it for God, even if you don't believe in God. That's why I don't care what people believe, as long as they're good people. I believe that Jesus Christ was a very important philosopher who might have actually been the son of God like the bible says, or he might have been a son of God in the sense that we're all sons and daughters of God. The bible is useless in this respect because Jesus didn't write any of it. It really doesn't matter. What matters is that Christ taught love and mutual respect for all human beings. Even if there isn't a single true word in the bible, the message is there, and that's what's important.

The Bible is a book that the original manuscripts of were inspired by God. The Holy Spirit moved men to write what God wanted us to read. Today we have sufficient translated copies of the original texts to understand what God wanted us to know.

The Bible has a lot of historical accounts in it. The history in the Bible stands apart from secular historical accounts because the Bible details all of the flaws of revered human heroes and it always says that when bad things happened to God's people it was because of their sins.

The Bible contains several different types of writing. There are historical accounts, poetry in the Psalms, proverbs, and prophecy. Proverbs are truisms. Statements of general truth and not promises from God. Poetic books may contain literal truths but allowances have to be made for poetic license. When reading historical accounts the usual allowances have to be made for cultural context, hyperbole and metaphors, and local idioms.

The vast majority of Christians do not look on the Bible as a history book, a science book nor a sociology book. It is the "Inspired Word of God", not the "inspired wordS of God"... its truth is in its message. Both John the Baptist and Christ attacked the literalists of their day calling them a "brood of vipers" for putting the letter of the law before its meaning.

The Bible was written by different people over an approximately 2000 year period of time. It speaks of their knowledge of God within the society in which they lived. It starts with fear and trepidation, but with more knowledge and learning later grows to love and understanding.

There are many varieties of Christianity, and each one views the Bible in a different way. In addition, individuals in the same sect will have different opinions of what the Bible is and how closely its teachings should be followed.

I was raised Catholic but have since decided upon non-denomination mysticism as my path toward faith. I personally believe that the Bible contains much wisdom, but it also contains much that can easily be misconstrued and often is. Additionally, most people who regard the Bible as the literal Word of God know little of the history of its creation. If they did know, I think they would regard it more rationally.

Why do people continuously want to engage the bible but demand that it not be used in supporting arguments? Good grief! The answer to your inquiry is that the bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God. This isn't limited to spiritual matters. It includes all things in science, genealogy, history, and so forth. You don't think that the person who created time might have a pretty good comprehension of it?