Gospel of Judas

[WV Cowboy]

While the parables in the New Testament are clearly identified and laid out, it's not so clear in the Old Testament.

It's entirely possible that some of the Old Testament stories are simply allegories or parables that were handed down from generation to generation to convey truths.

Remember, just because something may or may not be based in hard historical fact does NOT mean that it can't convey truth... truth that was passed down to man by God himself.

In my humble opinion, true faith does not necessarily mean you take every point in the Bible literally... true faith means that you take the truths presented in the Bible as the inspired Word of God, whether or not every word actually transpired in history.

If your faith is dependant on everything in the Bible being proveably true... then what happens if something were to be proven false? Would that shake your faith? And if your faith hinged on the actual existence of a man named Jonah who was swallowed by a whale, Daniel surviving in the lion's den, or Moses parting the Red Sea (rather than on the truths conveyed in these stories) then how deep is that faith?

I'm not trying to convince anyone that these stories AREN'T true. I really don't know if they are or not. But my faith in God and in his Word is not dependant on whether or not they happen to be true. I believe in God, his message, and his salvation regardless of the literalness of the Bible. My faith wouldn't be strengthened one bit if I was shown conclusive proof of Noah's flood or Moses' plagues... and it wouldn't be shaken one bit if those events were proven to be literary inventions.

Faith goes beyond the stories to the truth that is behind them.

I have to believe that the Bible is literal and true or what am I basing my faith on ?

I don't think we can pick and choose only what we want to believe or are comfortable with in the Bible and not believe the rest.

Some would believe some things and others would believe something else.

Did Jesus raise himself from the dead ? .. Is that believable, no, that's ridiculous, nobody can do that.

Who decides what to believe?

The Bible is a collection of 66 books written by about 40 authors, in three different languages, on three different continents, over approximately 1600 years, and yet it weaves together like a beautiful wicker basket. How does that happen? The Bible claims to be inspired and inerrant. This means that the Bible claims to be from God and that it is without error in everything it addresses.

The Bible contains many different styles of writing such as poetry, narration, fiction, history, law, and prophecy and must be interpreted in context of those styles. It is the source of the Christian religion in that the Bible contains the words of God and how the Christian is to apply the words of God to his life.

Some say that the Bible is nothing more than fairy tales. But this cannot be for it contains great wisdom and truth and it has been verified throughout history as being accurate. Its historical accounts are flawlessly accurate. In fact, archaeology routinely demonstrates the accuracy of the biblical records concerning locations and events recorded in the Bible.

The Bible is God's message to us, .. it is how he communicates with us, how he teaches us, ... I can't pick and choose what is acceptable and what is not.

God bless !

 

[Yeagermeister]

As someone mentioned in an earlier thread this is not the right board for this so this thread is offically closed.

For future reference this type of thread belongs on http://thepoliticalzone.com