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To some of you this may seem a dumb question, but I am serious. Is it bad to not be sure? I mean I know that God exists and I am sure that he loves me, but how do I know that man's account of events was accurate? How would I be sure? I was just wondering because wasn't the bible scribed years after Jesus' resurrection and crucifixion?
The New Testement was written during that 50 years after his death, by those that new him first hand They were written by different people, writing to different type of groups.
If you believe in God, and believe in Jesus and believe he died for your sins, that is what is important, but why if you believe in God would you doubt his ability to give his word to man.
The New Testament was penned within a very few years after the event, but even more importantly, there are a massive number of prophecies in the Old Testament of the events, and the timing of the events which are so specific that they could not be coincidental, nor could events have been manipulated to try to fake fulfillment.Quote:
Originally Posted by godsbabygirl267
I read that the first book was probably written about 760b.c. (760years before the year zero); and the dead sea scrolls written about 100b.c. the dead sea scrolls were found in 1947-56, and are a copies of what we were reading up to that point. So some of these books write of events that happened well before they were written, maybe even up to the beginning of creation. If we were created, then it would be reasonable to believe our creator wanted to leave a history of his interaction with us. As we developed, we could be reminded over the centuries, especially of his prophesies that were written to occur hundreds of years after.
Thank you to everyone that answered. And I am not saying that God couldn't have put his word through man I was just confused on how it worked. My church that I attend occasionally still confuses me.
Through the holy spirit inside of men. Basically like speaking or showing on the inside.
The Bible as we call it today had its writing to begin during the 16th century B.C and end at the end of the 1st century A.D. Just as your confidence is that God loves you, you should have confidence that God directed the writing and has preserved its purity. God is almighty, by the way. His word will last forever despite what puny humans say or do.
16th century B.C.?Quote:
Originally Posted by Patriarch
Religion is faith. It is called faith.
You decide what you want to believe...
No, it's not a dumb question at all. The answer is, you can't be sure. Fortunately, it isn't necessary.Quote:
Originally Posted by godsbabygirl267
It's not a dumb question and you are asking a question that I believe most Christians want to ask at some point in their life but are usually too afraid to. I have sat and wondered the same thing before, but at the end of the day I still believe. There's nothing wrong with questioning things because if something is true and you seek the truth in earnest you will find it. ("Seek and Ye shall find") I believe that God's promises and God's word is solid enough that you can question its validity and still come out in the end believing that it is the Word of God!!
I have thought about this issue as well, and it isn't stupid at all. One of the most affirming and insightful books I have ever read is Desire of the Everlasting Hills, written by, I believe, Thomas Cahill (author of How the Irish Saved Civilization and other books). From that book, I found that the story of St. Paul resounded as a sort of "proof" of Christ's life and the truth of Christianity. A gentleman I had met on a plane explained his way of resolving his very human doubts and intellectual meanderings. He discussed how each of the Apostles ran as far away from Jesus as they could get when he was arrested. Peter denied knowing him. Each of them knew the dangers associated with Jesus' teachings about a Kingdom, they had each likely believed that the Messiah would lead them (the Jews) to reconquer a kingdom of this world and were, at His arrest, degradation, and very common/human death, likely feeling like they had been living nonsense or that they were let down. Not a single one of them had anything other than fear and a desire to retain anonymity/distance and escape w/ their lives and their families to a life of relative calm. They did, however, somehow change their minds. Peter and his fellow apostles willingly accepted their own deaths as a consequence of spreading Jesus' words and teachings, and something -- as in Resurrection -- had to have happened to get these frightened folks to believe with this intensity. I liked the plane guys reasons as well.
smartiepants08, I reread that last part of your post after I commented. I liked your answer. After reading that I'm thinking that was not the plane guys answer? Anyway. I liked your answer:)
I'm glad! Yes, it was the plane guy's answer. You may enjoy the book Desire of the Everlasting Hills -- it's a very readable account of the times directly preceding and following Christ's life.
Added to the other answers you have already received is the "experiencial" part. Having learned the promises which God has for you, as an individua,. and walking according to those promises of God, you will see more and more of those promises coming about in your life.
"Faith" in God is always the center. But what can you have "faith" in unless you know that He is the author of what is written about Him in the Bible?
How can expect to have answers to your prayers unless you know the character of God.. as it has been described to you in the Bible? It is the Bible which tells you how to pray, what to pray for, what the possilbe answers to your prayers God may give you. It tells you why God says "no" sometimes. Why He says "later" sometimes.
You can ask the experts here or read books of other Christians about these things, but you also ought to study for yourself how God has acted with other of His children in the past.
That's a good point about why the apostles changed their behavior. They stopped living for themselves. They were definitely transformed. I think it was the work of the holy spirit in them. They started to mirror the will of god, just like jesus, when he allowed his flesh to be crucified. There is a walk that we need to learn about.
Moses was the first person to be guided by God to write His thoughts down, when he came out of Egypt. Moses was used to write the first five books of the Bible. During his time until after christ's resurrection the Bible was not yet complete. Thus before its completion God's Word was referred to, among other terms, as the holy writings or scriptures. The name Bible was given it some time after its completion.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wondergirl
Thanks everyone who helped me clear up my confusion. I trust that GOD would not make folley of all humanity and that because he loves me and all of us, that he would want us to know the truth and that His will was done. Thanks again for those of you who gave insightful comments or suggestions!
I'm not good at history, and I'm not even *this* close to being a bible scholar but what I do know is that not all parts of the bible are meant to be taken literally.Quote:
Originally Posted by godsbabygirl267
You can use any religion's bible, they'll all be referring to the same God with a million different stories. I believe God is pretty much everything: Jesus, Buddha, Allah, The Inner Voice, Energy, etc, so whatever history says doesn't even matter.
2Timothy 3:16 says, all scripture is inspired by God...
Maggie 3
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