Since when is it acceptable to change what the Bible says to suit oneself?

Question

I have noticed so many who say they are christian... but beleive in evolution and also that it is appropriate to dabble in the balck arts ..just to name a few of the things the Bible speaks so clearly about that we should not partake of.....now evolution....I dont see how one can even say they are a christian and believe against the very Word of God....to me either the Word of God is truth or it is a waste of my time...it is like some are picking and choosing out of it what they like and leaving out what they dont like....and it doesnt work that way......you are either for him or against him....
no disrespect intended but I am seriously wanting to know why a christian would falter between the two.....

John 1
The Deity of Jesus Christ
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2He was in the beginning with God.

3All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

4In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

AdamRay
well said!!!!!!....

Answer 1

Making a "god" to suit oneself is called idolatry, as stated by the 2nd commandment. Anytime God's word is bent to suit oneself, this law is being violated. God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness. By no means is it acceptable to change or miscommunicate the intentions of the Author.

Hypocrites may show up at a church building every Sunday, but there are no hypocrites in the Church (Christ’s body). Hypocrite comes from the Greek word for "actor," or pretender. Hypocrisy is "the practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold."

The Church is made up of true believers; hypocrites are "pretenders" who sit among God’s people. God knows those who love Him, and the Bible warns that He will sort out the true converts from the false on the Day of Judgment. All hypocrites will end up in hell (Matthew 24:51).

Answer 2

I guess after something has been revised as much as the bible, it's probably tempting for some NOT to "revise" it again. (Does each church really need their own bible?) What's one more time? I don't mean any disrespect either. I'm just saying that I don't see anything wrong with having an interest in other forms of spirituality. Or, an interest in science for that matter. It's tempting not to look into something more factual, like science. I believe the book of Genesis would suggest we were eating the "forbidden fruit." Knowledge is not a sin in my mind.

How can you read Genesis and not question it's origin? It simply has to be a metaphor, so how do you know it is true? I'm sure you know the bible much better than I remember it. I was Catholic for many years. Mass on Saturdays, bible studies Wednesday evenings, but that all changed by the time I was 13. I'm almost 29 and I no longer feel hatred towards Christians, although many feel it towards me. Ironic. I accept anyone who is decent and I forgive very easily. I answered your question because you seemed to actually want a real answer, which is more than I can say for most of your cohorts. Peace.

Answer 3

Ok, I'm not a christian but I have read the story of creation in the bible and have read about evolution. The stories are not mutually exclusive. No where in the bible does it talk about evolution. It does not mention that evolution occurred, neither does it say it did not. The bible does not say you should not "partake of" evolution.

I had the story of creation explained to me by a preacher once. I had some serious questions about how many people there really were when Adam and Eve walked the earth. The passage I had issue with was after Cain killed Abel he was banished. Based on what I had read, if you were literal in the reading of the story there would only be 3 people, Adam, Eve and Cain. He stated that he would be recognized by the "others".

He explained that Adam was not specifically a name for a specific person, it meant Man in general. Eve meant woman. He explained that there was a population of people, however they were unaware of God and with out souls. When God created man in his likeness, he gave mankind a soul. He initially gave it only to the men and then to the woman.

Once we look at the story that way, who is to say how God decided to get man to that point physically?

Answer 4

Well I agree that it is unexceptable to change the Bible to suit yourself. You should either take it or leave it.

In terms of evolution it depends what you are talking about? If you are saying that we evolved from monkeys and that the earth exists because of some chance of science, then no that isn't biblical or very likely to believe any way. But I do believe that some of the science behind it is true and doesn't contradict the Bible. I believe God created the earth so marvalously that it, and some creatures may change and adapt in order to survive. I think this is a testament to God and not to science.

The thing is that you do have to think about what the Bible is actually saying. I don't think God was out to confuse us but he does expect us to use the brains he gave us when reading His word. Don't be afraid to challenge your beliefs a little. So far He hasn't let me down.

Answer 5

I believe in a higher power I call God. I also believe in evolution. I also KNOW that the Bible was written by human hands and as much as we may try to stick to the original stories, bias can be found everywhere. Humans are humans. The stories in the bible get passed down from generation to generation before being written down. It's like playing that old elementary school game "Telephone." As for evolution, how do you know God didn't make the animals and they evolved over time. It's possible. One "God Day" could very well equal 100 years human time. **** I bet when God woke up yesterday Bob Hope was a baby and last night when he went to bed, the Persian Gulf war had just started.

Answer 6

It is never acceptable to change what the Bible says. As for why someone would falter I could only speculate. A couple of possible answers:

Pride: You know what it says but you (or I) disregard it anyway

Misunderstanding: Taking what the Bible says out of context and then twist it to mean something it does not. As in evolution, some take the first chapter of Genesis and twist it to mean something called theistic evolution where God just started the whole thing and the rest "evolved" for example (I don't agree with this theory)

The Bible is not something to be toyed with, it is not a buffet where we can take what we like and disregard the rest. We either take it as is or rejected it.

Answer 7

Let's be real here. The Bible is not the "Word of God." It's the "Word about God." Many modern Christians understand this, so it's very easy for them to understand that the creation story in Genesis is Hebrew mythology and still believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Picking and choosing isn't forbidden; rather, it's necessary. The Bible was written by men and compiled by men. It contradicts itself in many places, both directly and implicitly. Searching for the truth about God involves exploring the experiences of others with God found in the Bible and then looking inward for God's revelation. The Bible is not God. God is God.

If the Bible was a direct, clear, simple, and complete revelation of God's will, how can Christians disagree over what books actually belong in the Bible? Catholics and Protestants both believe in Jesus but have different canonical texts. The answer is simple: men wrote the Bible. Don't trust it blindly. Put you faith in God the being, not a book written by men.

Answer 8

The truth is the Bible has been changed over and over and over and over. There is no ONE version of the bible. It has been changed in the name of greed and politics over the years.

Even the immaculate conception, Noah's Ark, walking on water, and many more "great bible stories" already existed in much older pagan religions. Not much in the bible is 100% truth. There are some factual references as far as family bloodlines and a few historical facts. Jesus probably existed. But a recent study of the Jesus' words by 77 biblical scholars led them to believe that Jesus did NOT say 80% of the words attributed to him. Check out this link http://www.midtod.com/bestof/jesus.phtml

I'm not trying to religion bash. I was a Christian for almost two decades before becoming Agnostic. I also minored in World Religions in college. My opinion, honestly, if you're going to be a Christian, I don't believe you can take the Bible at face value since it has been changed countless times over the years by numerous individuals. And don't forget, the Bible was written by man. MANY men. Not by the finger of god.

Answer 9

i don't personally see from the Bible why creation and evolution are incompatible.a day to the Lord could be a million years of human time.if im wrong post some verses and educate me.i do however think that most Christians today pick and choose,as you say.for example,Jesus turning water into wine or Paul telling Timothy to take a little wine for his stomachs sake.most i know of try to say this is just fruit juice.there are millions who ignore the admonition for woman not to be preachers.when it comes to the Bible i think either believe it all or your wasting your time

Answer 10

I'm christian, but I know evolution exists, it doesn't mean we come from apes, that's ridiculous, and its just a theory, not fact. God created all the animals and us, but its fact that many animals evolved over time, and actually, humans have evolved over time too. Every generation gets taller, smarter (maybe after the teen years you can tell???), we started out with dark hair & eyes, and as we moved to the colder regions, the hair & eye color lightened because we didn't need as much pigmentation to protect us from the sun. That's evolution and there's absolutely nothing un-biblical about it.

Also, don't forget poor Esau, poor guy was all hairy, and his brother wasn't. Why was that? Maybe one of them was a bit more evolved than the other, huh? Maybe Issac was a harry old guy, and Rebecca wasn't? Could be one of the reasons Issac liked Esau more, he was more like his daddy.