The Bible

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aspen

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I have to second what Nomad says here in that if we discount the Bible as the inspired Word of God, exactly what do we know from God?

I see your dilemma. If you believe that the church is not apostolic or capable of passing down information about Christ; any attempt to view the Bible in a different light would be perceived as an attack on the truth.

Do we then jump to some of the mystical experiences?

I do read mystical accounts of God and I do believe that we can experience God directly. I tend to believe that mystical accounts of God are valuable as long as you do not make them into what they are not - doctrine, authoritative.

How does one know it is God?

Luke 11:10-12
[sup]
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[sup]10[/sup] For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

[sup]11[/sup] “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[sup][a][/sup] a fish, will give him a snake instead? [sup]12[/sup] Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?


Why would God lead us into danger when we are honestly seeking truth? I refuse to believe that demons are hiding behind every bush, ready to mislead us into Hell.

What about inspired words spoken by man? Again, how do we know its from God? There are a lot of opinions out there even with a Bible and so many more if you discount the Word. What then makes Christianity any better than another religion?

The only thing that makes Christianity 'better' than only religions is Christ and His work on the Cross and His work in our hearts. All truth is God's truth - if it is true it is from God.

I don't buy into the relativist argument of the Bible because then we can begin to argue about relative truths and the idea that we can truly copy and paste what the Bible says to our own form of religion.

I agree that people who strip the Bible of divine inspiration are often guilty of mixing up the message and using it to their own devices. However,people who take the Bible literally often miss the forest for the trees - the underlying message of scripture is missed because people are too busy proof-texting the nuances. JWs are the perfect example of a group of people that are so detached from the underlying message of scripture that they rely solely on proof-texting to prove their frightening, paranoid world view based on a ultra-literal / disconnected understanding of scripture.

I'm reminded of Matthew 12:

Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

I think Jesus was talking about love, not intellectual understanding of doctrine. Love is what brings people together - arguing doctrine is divisive.

While books and other cannons about the Bible come and go (or they might get changed by a committee) the Bible has continued to withstand any assault thrown at it. I apply the above to it in that it endures all as the Word of God and not just as an assemblage of some holy men. I hear talk of a God that is not compassionate in the Old Testament, but the same promised fate for idolaters exists and is arguably magnified. (Compare the threat of earthly death to the promise final damnation.) All of this clearly is underscored by the extremely amazing offer of grace from our Father, but that does not change the reality of the message.

Well, the problem I see with focusing on salvation over our earthly existence (comparing the threat of earthly death to the promise of damnation) is than it tends to devalue human life and it missing the focus of Jesus' ministry. Jesus did not pass out tracts of the four spiritual laws - He ministered to people - to their humanity. He was clear about meeting people where they were at and offering real comfort and servanthood. He was interested in preaching love - He let people know that the Kingdom of God was in their hearts - which was their sanctification that needed to be practiced and exercised by loving God and neighbor. Christ also offered a third way - He cut right through the literal doctrines of the Pharisees - calling it what is - man's traditions. The third way was filtering the law through the lens of love. When the Pharisees tried to trap Him into either/or situations, Jesus responded authoritatively with a love / compassionate response.

I don't like death and people dying, but I cannot write that out and yet a very loving and compassionate God allows it to happen. So why are we so intent on writing out the Scriptures!?

The scriptures are authoritative - but just like Jesus filtered the Pharisees traditions through the filter of love (the pharisees were not doctrinally wrong - they lack love and compassion) we need to filter the scriptures through love / compassion or we risk repeating the Pharisees mistake. Death and dieing are real concerns for God - human life matters - despite the fact that the OT writers seem to discount it - I believe they were responding in a much more compassionate way than there contemporaries - these guys were desert warriors - death meant nothing to them - just the fact that they mentioned it was an act of compassion in their world. Also, believing that Job / creation account / ester / ruth / jonah are inspired stories does not take anything away from their impact on our spirituality. Dwelling on whether something really happened is to miss the point in a specifically post-enlightenment way


 

Selene

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The Bible is indeed the written word of God, but I do not worship the Bible. Nothing should come FIRST before God. God should always be first in everything, and the written scripture is not equal to God. In other words, written scripture should not be worshipped as God in any way. The second person in the Holy Trinity is a person, not the Bible. This second person in the Holy Trinity is not written scripture. He is indeed a person...a living person. His name is Jesus Christ, the "spoken" and "living" Word of God that existed with God and is God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are God. Three persons in one God. The Bible (written scripture) is not a person and is not one of the Holy Trinity. We worship God, and we venerate the Bible.
 

Nomad

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The Bible existed in the fourth century.
The written word of God existed long before the fourth century AD and was recognized as such in its various stages. For example, Peter refers to Paul's writings as Scripture in the first century. Nevertheless, this is all irrelevant to the topic at hand.
Abraham did not have the Bible, and He knew God not from the Bible. He knew God through faith.
No, Abraham and the others you mention did not know God through faith. They knew God through special personal revelation. People like this were few and far between and they were expected to pass on this revelation to others through preaching and teaching. In other words, this kind of special personal revelation was not normative. Everyone did not know God in this way. Those who received this kind of revelation were ambassadors or representatives who stood between God and man.

God eventually inspired his representatives to write down his revelations and communications. These writings are objective and normative. All Scripture is God-breathed and they are the standard by which all matters of faith and practice are measured. If you object, then I challenge you once again, show me an objective inspired source of extra-Biblical revelation. Where is it, what form does it take, and how can I have access to it? What is this extra-Biblical source of revelation going to tell me that's not already found in the pages of Holy Writ?



That is what faith is all about.

No, that is not what faith is 'all about.' Faith is 'all about' holding all that God reveals as true and acting accordingly.
 

Selene

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No, Abraham and the others you mention did not know God through faith. They knew God through special personal revelation. People like this were few and far between and they were expected to pass on this revelation to others through preaching and teaching. In other words, this kind of special personal revelation was not normative. Everyone did not know God in this way. Those who received this kind of revelation were ambassadors or representatives who stood between God and man.

No, that is not what faith is 'all about.' Faith is 'all about' holding all that God reveals as true and acting accordingly.


Hebrews 11:1-2 Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested.

Hebrews 11:8-10 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he ws to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise for he was looking forawrd to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age - and Sarah herself was sterile - for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.

My brother, it was faith. That is what faith is all about. Written scripture (Bible) is NOT God and should never be equaled to God nor worshipped as God

In Christ,
Selene
 

Nomad

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Hebrews 11:1-2 Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested.

Hebrews 11:8-10 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he ws to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise for he was looking forawrd to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age - and Sarah herself was sterile - for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.

My brother, it was faith. That is what faith is all about. Written scripture (Bible) is NOT God and should never be equaled to God nor worshipped as God

In Christ,
Selene

Your Scripture quotations affirm what I said rather than contradict it. I said, "Faith is 'all about' holding all that God reveals as true and acting accordingly". Hebrews 11:1-2 affirms that faith is trust in God's promises and Hebrews 11:8-10 affirms that the believers actions are based on that trust. You seem to misunderstand your own proof-texts.

That was a nice attempt at a red herring though. I eagerly await your response to my challenge. I'll refresh your memory on exactly what it entails. This will be my 3rd request.

"I challenge you once again, show me an objective inspired source of extra-Biblical revelation. Where is it, what form does it take, and how can I have access to it? What is this extra-Biblical source of revelation going to tell me that's not already found in the pages of Holy Writ? "
 

WhiteKnuckle

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The Bible.......

Written with the hands of man, Inspired by God.

The way I see it from an artists point of view is that the word of God is art. Let's take music for example.

When you first learn to play the guitar you first learn the names of the strings. Then you learn that for each string you get different notes. Then you can combine the different notes to make chords. All this time you are learning th basics of strumming with your free hand, or using your fingers to pluck. Each method is a way of combining the groups of notes in order to make a rythm or melody.

When you first learn a chord you feel it necessary to play every single note in that chord. When you first learn to strum, you feel it necessary to strum every part of the chord.

Later on you see that you don't have to use the whole chord and that infact the chord is a suggestion for a certain sound and gives you deeper insight to the many other things you can do. Even then after you master the basic chords you learn there's more and more chords and progressions and many more notes that you can use and combine. Even more still, you notice that just the literal basic chords aren't enough for what you're wanting to play. Suddenly you feel very limited. As you notice your limitations you have 2 decisions to make. Learn more or quit.

The musician learns more, and realizes there's more potential. The musician realizes the depth and potential of every chord and note and progression and can see the roots of each chord and can build and build and one day write a masterpiece.

The word of God is much the same. Every moral, every story has different roots and different meanings.

When you first read the Bible most of the things you read you take quite literal. As an example, how many of us as new believers seriously contempated plucking out an eye because we couldn't stop looking at beautiful women? Then later on we learn the roots of the meaning. Those of us who are Christians continue learning in the same way as a muscian. We keep moving forward with our understandings and we can see just how deep the word of God goes.


Where at one time, we took a meaning literal, at another time we found yet another meaning, and even later still, we find yet a deeper meaning.

The Bible is the Word of God and it is Spirit just as Jesus said. It's building of structure upon structure and understanding upon understanding. What we once thought was a bunch of notes that don't sound very good, becomes a colletion of brilliance that takes time and patience to understand. We can later see past what we first thought was literal and see the true meanings. Those who can't are still learning or don't believe at all. This becomes a mystery. Just like musical istruments are a mystery to those who can't play.

So, written by man yes. Inspired by God yes. God's word is still perfect even if man is imperfect. It's hard enough for a man to describe his own feelings and ideas, how much harder for man to describe the actions and thoughts of a God he can never understand?
 

aspen

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The Bible.......

Written with the hands of man, Inspired by God.

The way I see it from an artists point of view is that the word of God is art. Let's take music for example.

When you first learn to play the guitar you first learn the names of the strings. Then you learn that for each string you get different notes. Then you can combine the different notes to make chords. All this time you are learning th basics of strumming with your free hand, or using your fingers to pluck. Each method is a way of combining the groups of notes in order to make a rythm or melody.

When you first learn a chord you feel it necessary to play every single note in that chord. When you first learn to strum, you feel it necessary to strum every part of the chord.

Later on you see that you don't have to use the whole chord and that infact the chord is a suggestion for a certain sound and gives you deeper insight to the many other things you can do. Even then after you master the basic chords you learn there's more and more chords and progressions and many more notes that you can use and combine. Even more still, you notice that just the literal basic chords aren't enough for what you're wanting to play. Suddenly you feel very limited. As you notice your limitations you have 2 decisions to make. Learn more or quit.

The musician learns more, and realizes there's more potential. The musician realizes the depth and potential of every chord and note and progression and can see the roots of each chord and can build and build and one day write a masterpiece.

The word of God is much the same. Every moral, every story has different roots and different meanings.

When you first read the Bible most of the things you read you take quite literal. As an example, how many of us as new believers seriously contempated plucking out an eye because we couldn't stop looking at beautiful women? Then later on we learn the roots of the meaning. Those of us who are Christians continue learning in the same way as a muscian. We keep moving forward with our understandings and we can see just how deep the word of God goes.


Where at one time, we took a meaning literal, at another time we found yet another meaning, and even later still, we find yet a deeper meaning.

The Bible is the Word of God and it is Spirit just as Jesus said. It's building of structure upon structure and understanding upon understanding. What we once thought was a bunch of notes that don't sound very good, becomes a colletion of brilliance that takes time and patience to understand. We can later see past what we first thought was literal and see the true meanings. Those who can't are still learning or don't believe at all. This becomes a mystery. Just like musical istruments are a mystery to those who can't play.

So, written by man yes. Inspired by God yes. God's word is still perfect even if man is imperfect. It's hard enough for a man to describe his own feelings and ideas, how much harder for man to describe the actions and thoughts of a God he can never understand?

Wow - that is a great analogy - I wish you would go post it on my blog!
 

Selene

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Your Scripture quotations affirm what I said rather than contradict it. I said, Faith is 'all about' holding all that God reveals as true and acting accordingly".</I> Hebrews 11:1-2 affirms that faith is trust in God's promises and Hebrews 11:8-10 affirms that the believers actions are based on that trust. You seem to misunderstand your own proof-texts. That was a nice attempt at a red herring though. I eagerly await your response to my challenge. I'll refresh your memory on exactly what it entails.

This will be my 3rd request. "I challenge you once again, show me an objective inspired source of extra-Biblical revelation. Where is it, what form does it take, and how can I have access to it? What is this extra-Biblical source of revelation going to tell me that's not already found in the pages of Holy Writ? "


Nomad, you stated that Abraham did not know God through faith. That is the truth. Below is what you stated:

From Nomad: No, Abraham and the others you mention did not know God through faith.

Therefore, you are incorrect when you state that Abraham and the others did not know God through faith. You want to know how to know God without the written Scripture? The answer has always been through "faith." It is the same way that Abraham knew God, and Abraham did not have any written scriptures to guide him.

You are mistaken if you think that I do not believe the Bible is the "word of God." I do believe the Bible is the "word of God." I believe that all the books in the Bible are written by men inspired by the Holy Spirit. BUT, I certainly do not worship the Bible as God. I believe that God is three persons in one God. These three persons are the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. It is only these three that I worship....and nothing else. The Father is God, Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. The Bible (written scripture) is not included in that list. The Bible is not to be worshipped. Only God and God alone is to be worshipped.

In Christ,
Selene
 

Nomad

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No Selene, Abraham did not come to the knowledge of God through faith. Faith is the act of believing or trusting and that belief or trust requires an object. When it comes to faith in God that object is God's self-revelation. Faith in and of itself does not reveal God to anyone. God reveals himself and faith embraces that revelation.

Now, one last piece of business. Once again I wrote:

"I challenge you once again, show me an objective inspired source of extra-Biblical revelation. Where is it, what form does it take, and how can I have access to it? What is this extra-Biblical source of revelation going to tell me that's not already found in the pages of Holy Writ? "

Well Selene, as far as I'm concerned, 3 strikes means your out. I presented my challenge to you 3 times and 3 times you have evaded the issue. It's obvious that you're not prepared to provide an answer.
 

Selene

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No Selene, Abraham did not come to the knowledge of God through faith. Faith is the act of believing or trusting and requires an object. When it comes to faith in God that object is God's self-revelation. Faith in and of itself does not reveal God to anyone. God reveals himself and faith embraces that revelation.

Now, one last piece of business. Once again I wrote:

"I challenge you once again, show me an objective inspired source of extra-Biblical revelation. Where is it, what form does it take, and how can I have access to it? What is this extra-Biblical source of revelation going to tell me that's not already found in the pages of Holy Writ? "

Well Selene, as far as I'm concerned, 3 strikes means your out. I presented my challenge to you 3 times and 3 times you have evaded the issue. It's obvious that you're not prepared to provide an answer.

So, you are saying that the Bible is wrong? This is what the Bible says about Abraham:

Hebrews 11:8-20 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he ws to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise for he was looking forawrd to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age - and Sarah herself was sterile - for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.

I did answer your question. You just don't like my answer. I've already pointed out to you that Abraham did not have any written scriptures to guide him. He did not have any written scriptures to tell him who the one true God is. So, when the one true God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, Abraham did not question it, and there was no written scriptures to tell Abraham that the one true God would tell people to kill their children.

If you did not have the Bible at all, and you heard a voice from Heaven telling you to kill your child, would you do it? How would you know that this voice was from the one true God and not from Satan? Apparantly, Abraham knew that it was God telling him to kill his child and not Satan. But YOU...how would YOU know....when you don't have the kind of faith that Abraham had.

This is what faith is all about. I rest my case.
 

TexUs

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Selene, there's a difference that you can't seem to grasp between God's revelation and Abraham's justification.
 

Selene

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Selene, there's a difference that you can't seem to grasp between God's revelation and Abraham's justification.


TexUs, I was not referring to God's revelation or to Abraham's justification. I was saying that the Bible is the written word of God, but the Bible is NOT God and therefore, should not be worshipped as God. That is what the discussion is about.

God is three persons in one. The Father is God. Jesus is God. And the Holy Spirit is God. God is the only one we should worship and nothing else beyond the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
 

amadeus

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Again, show me the proof. None of you can. You wonder why people dont listen when you preach the bible ,its because you dont know Christ, you disregard the better things for that which is written, you engraved it in stone and become unteachable. You see none of you have any proof, God only ever spoke of the spoken word, " the words that I speak",

1Jn 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

And who is this word " Jesus, the word come in the flesh"

Have we ever denied Christ, no

Have we ever denied God or the Holy Spirit, no.

But the gospel we speak, is not of man we live by the spirirt not the flesh, if you cannot understand these worldly thinbgs then how can you understand spiritual things.

God is Spirirt, His wpords are Sprirt, it is the Spirirt that brings life, the flesh proffeth nothing.

In His Love

I do not have a problem with alchohol either but there are a lot of very foolish people who drimk it to excess.

The problem is my friend that none of us here can show you the kind of proof you seek, even though we may have it or a part of it in our hearts. Even Jesus was unable to show the Truth to those who were unable to see. You are apparently a student of the Bible, so then, in spite of your misgivings, so consider these verses:

"If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? " John 14:7-9

Philip's problem was not that he was unable to see, but it did not know what it was that he was looking for so as to be able recognise it. It is not seen with the natrual eyes for some who are naturally blind are able to see Jesus.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." Proverbs 29:18

So where is your vision? Consider Paul's vision and ours, if we have one...

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.I Cor 13:12

Consider also these words to the church of the Laodiceans:

"Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see ." Rev 3:17-18
 

sniper762

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The majority of Christians believe the Bible is an inspired document, however, many disagree on which perspective the Bible is written from. So is the Bible written from God's perspective or Human perspective? When you read the Bible is it human's commentary on God or the other way around? I strongly believe the Bible is inspired, but written by human hand and therefore limited by human perspective. Every word in the Bible is supposed to be there, however the meaning can only be captured in broad strokes because it is filtered through human culture and understanding of God's revelation.

Agree or disagree.

spot on, aspen
but dont expect fundamentalist nor atheists to agree
 

Rach1370

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Hey Aspen. I can't help but notice people being a it snarky on this thread. I have to admit, I don't agree with you, but I promise I won't be rude about it!!

Now that is truly sad. Eternity with a vengeful, wrathful god doesn't sound much better than Hell to me. In fact, I want no part of eternity with a god that commands his sinful creation to turn the other cheek, while he takes his wrath out on his enemies. My God is characterized as merciful and just.

I know many people have difficulty reconciling a loving God with some of the things He does, especially in the OT. But as you have pointed out, the difference between God and man is so vast that we cannot possibly hope to even understand the distance, let alone His motivations!
The Bible tells us that God is good. That He is loving and that He is a just God. These things you believe from scripture, but when the Flood happens, when Sodom & Gomorrah happens, it is beyond human understanding...it is inconceivable to human hearts and minds how this can be love, how it can be justice. And the point is this: is cannot be understood by humans. It comes down to trust and faith. I refuse, despite my soul crying out at some things, to take it into my human understanding and try to dismiss parts of the Bible that don't make sense to me.
If you so badly need to step back from God's justice in the Bible, then that puts the rest of the bible in trouble of having the same done. If you try and explain away something that is completely from heaven, then by continuation you need to really doubt where it says He is loving, good and just.

I believe all of those things happened, but humanity attributed it to God and assigned wrathful intentions. To believe that God treated His enemies (even to imagine that God was petty enough to call His broken creation enemies) so poorly is inconsistent with His character.

In fact, it would be immoral to worship a god with such inconsistent and vengeful morality. I would not ask my kids to hold to a higher moral standard than I was willing to live by - and God is much greater than a human father, child relationship.

Again...you speak of human perception. I think the real trouble is that we try and put human restrictions on God. You are viewing Him through what you deem right and just and proper. He is God! He is eternal, all knowing and what we know of Him, He was good enough to tell us through the Bible. But the Bible also says that we only know in part. How can we expect to know all His plans? How can we expect to be cognizant to all His thoughts, attributes and wishes? We cannot! And to strive to be so, to expect to be so, is to want to be our own gods....which was the very first original sin! It all comes down to trust! He is the God of the universe, our maker, the very One who was loving enough to send His own Son to die, just so we wouldn't all be damned to hell. If we cannot trust Him enough to see to the big details, like damnation and judgment, why on earth do we claim to trust Him with the small, day to day life details? Why claim to love and trust Him at all?

I can't remember who said it, but I think it appropriate. "If you're not upset or uneasy reading the Bible, you're reading it wrong." The Bible is NOT there to give us the warm fuzzies. It's there to tell us that we're sinners. Every. Single. One. The question is not 'how can a loving God send people to hell?' the real question is 'how can a completely just God not send all of us to hell?'.
That's the real beauty of Jesus. And that's how we can completely put our trust in Him. Any God that would come and DIE for us, is one I doubt for not a second....even when it doesn't make sense to my human mind.

Hope this helps, and at the very least you didn't feel like you were being attacked! :)
 

sniper762

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ASPEN SAYS; The majority of Christians believe the Bible is an inspired document, however, many disagree on which perspective the Bible is written from. So is the Bible written from God's perspective or Human perspective? When you read the Bible is it human's commentary on God or the other way around? I strongly believe the Bible is inspired, but written by human hand and therefore limited by human perspective. Every word in the Bible is supposed to be there, however the meaning can only be captured in broad strokes because it is filtered through human culture and understanding of God's revelation.

Agree or disagree.

BY SPOT ON, I MEAN THAT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT ASPEN HAS THE CLEAREST PERSPECTIVE OF THE BIBLE.
 

TexUs

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And the point is this: is cannot be understood by humans. It comes down to trust and faith. I refuse, despite my soul crying out at some things, to take it into my human understanding and try to dismiss parts of the Bible that don't make sense to me.
And this is key and a huge pet peeve of mine which many people simply don't seem to understand.
We need to STOP trying to put God on a human timeline, stop putting him in a BOX that we humans can understand.
The Bible says he's good and does no sin. So therefore, Sodom, the Flood, these things were good: and not sin. If he does it- it's good. Just because it doesn't fit our puny, limited, and flawed scope of what we consider good and bad to be (don't you think man has already screwed that up??) doesn't mean we apply that to God.

Edit- Does this mean "I don't know" should become a more acceptable answer in regards to God? Yes. How does existing eternally work? I don't know. How was wiping all life from earth good? I don't know. How can Hitler be part of his good plan? I don't know.
I do know who knows though, and I'm OK with that.

The question is not 'how can a loving God send people to hell?' the real question is 'how can a completely just God not send all of us to hell?'.
Amen, brother, amen. How undeserving we are that somehow, defying logic, he still loved us enough!