How to know?

Question

i need some help with a burden thats been bothering me. I have been a christian all my life and i think that the bible may of been changed during the years of the inquinsition to make people be feared into believing in god. In my personal opinion i think the main message is true but i think our merciful god wouldnt force us into anything and would have nothing but forgiveness for anyone that believed differently than what the truth is. btw how do we know what to believe since theres so many religions and so many different beliefs? These idea's are tuff to answer but i just need someone's opinion or answer.

Thanks for helping me with this i think what you believe in is personal and no one of can know for sure what the right faith is thats why its called faith right or wrong i just needed to add that pls continue with any answers you can they are helping me.

Answer 1

you sound very logical and open minded .. which i am sure god would be smiling at :o)
keep searching .. take what makes sense to you .. throw away all else
but most of all be compassionate and loving and i don't feel you can go wrong

Answer 2

The Bible was changed, but not because of the 'inquisition.' The Protestants edited the original Bible leaving seven Books out of the Old Testament.

Do yourself a favor and define 'religion' before you accept the 'truth' of 'so many religions.'

You should also know that the Catholic Church gave birth to the Bible, not the other way around. The Bible is the Word of God because the Catholic Church declared in 400 A.D. that the Holy Bible (all 73 Books) was "The Written Word of God."

Your question also seems to imply that the 'inquisition' was world spread? Actually, you are probably talking about the "Spanish Inquisition" confined to Spain and finally squashed not by amy Bible-thumping Evangelist, but by the Catholic Church herself.

H

Answer 3

You are right when you say that the main message is true.
What you are looking at here is actually the sacred lore or knowledge that exists and has existed ( outside of time).
This first written record of this knowledge appears in the East
and is known as the Veda or Vedic Hymns. These date back to atleast 10,000 years ago.
Of the great body of work that comprises the Veda, the Dhyantic and Buddhistic written knowledge or tradition, very little has actually arrived here in the Western World.
There is apparently something like 150,000 volumes! This gives you some idea of the difficulty just in translation alone.
Studying the history of religion on this planet gives you an interesting perspective.
Here is a brief outline for you based on some very exact research.
The Dhyana followed the Veda first appearing in India. Dharma was a legendary Hindu sage.
Dhyana again means Knowing and Looking. The Veda, the Tao, the Dharma, all mean Knowing. They are all religious works. These are actually the religions of about two thirds of the population of earth.
We erroneously know about it as, and call it Buddhism in the Western World. The Dhyana is what the Buddhists talk about and is their background.
There were many Bohdis, or Buddhas.The greatest was Gautama Sakyamuni. A man the son of an influential king in Northern India.
He was looked upon as the founder of the Dhyana, but it existed quite a long time before he came along.
Guatama Buddha was a great teacher, and scientific philosopher.
He wrote in Dharma-Parda:
"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. It is founded upon our thoughts. It is made up of our thoughts."
Buddhism was spread by Guatama Buddha and his followers through India and into China and created a civilization where before there was none. Just a barbarism.
This is the same theme of Knowing and religious philosophy then appears in Asia Minor(Middle East) 500 years later at the beginning of our own date, 2000 years ago. When Jesus appeared on the scene.
Traditionally Christ is supposed to have studied in India. He isn't heard of until he is 30 years old, and he was a carpenter etc. There are many things said about the man. But there is this persistent legend that he studied in India. Two thirds of the worlds population had been civilised by this time in the East. Europe was still a barbarism.
Here in the Middle East this religious philosophy appears.
The principles known as Buddhism included those of, love thy neighbor, abstain from the use of force.
I personally think that Jesus was very real and was a man who brought this message to the Middle East at that time. Because he was influential and an opinion leader he was able to get himself heard.
But these concepts travelled on other routes aswell.
The parables which are discovered today in the New Testament are discovered earlier, the same ones, elsewhere in many places.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, which predates the NT considerably, for example. This is ," love thy neighbor", in effect "be civilzed", "abandon the use of force.".
Moses is also saying this in the OT.
The Hebrew definition of Messiah is One who brings wisdom- a teacher.
Messiah is from "messenger". Moses was one, and then Christ became such a one. He was a bringer of information. He never announced his sources. He spoke of them as coming from God.
But they might just as well have come from the Hymn of the Dawn Child from the Veda. The God the Christians worshipped is definitely not the same as the Hebrew God. He looks much more like that one talked about in the Vedic Hymns.
Anyway, there is much room for speculation as to the where's, what's who's exactly. But if you look from the veiwpoint of the known written works and the history or time line of this religious and spiritual thought, wisdom or knowlege, on this planet , you get a more exterior perspective.
Hope this is of some help to you.

Answer 4

First of all. Belief in the one true living God is not a religion. It's a lifestyle. Adam and Eve talked to God. He was their Lord then. He is obviously the first "religion", if that's what you want to call it. Christianity, in the way that it is most often used, is a religion. But to me... it's also a lifestyle. To be Christ-Like. To strive to be like Christ in all things that we do. That, to me, is not a religion.

As far as the Bible being changed. Bull. There is no way that it could have been changed enough to hold a different message. The Bible is the living word of God. It has lasted 2000 years. Neither Science, nor artifacts found, have ever been able to prove it anything but true.

Watch these videos
http://www.leestrobel.com/videos/davinci/strobelT1084.htm

http://www.leestrobel.com/videos/Christ/strobelT1041.htm

Answer 5

Guess what? The Bible was not written in English. What you're reading is a translation (read= opinion) of the original text, which again is a compilation of various stories and writings from different cultures.

If you want to know what to believe, you need to study all religions and see if there is one that meets your needs. If not, guess what else? It's OK not to know all the answers. You can live a decent life simply by treating others with courtesy & respect, whether or not any religion is involved.

Answer 6

Well pal, Bible don't change. No, the theme don't.

Merciful God will not force, yes I agreed. But he is also a just and righteous one. When evilness reached up to him, he willstill punished. (Gen 15 16,. sin of Cannan).

There is only one God, one mediator, Christ Jesus. What about other religion?

Only Faith can justify us, as Abraham justifed by faith. Habakkuk also mentioned that in 2:4, the Just shall live by faith.

Same in new testament, if there's is no faith, there is no salavation. Faith in Jesus who had died on the Cross for us.

Please do not let the idea that God is mercy and good, so he will not punish.

We love our children and have mercy on them too, but if ther continue to do wrong, don't we as earthly father discipline them too? I will.

Answer 7

Excuse me.............

[Edit]
In my personal opinion i think the main message is true but i think our merciful god wouldnt force us into anything and would have nothing but forgiveness for anyone that believed differently than what the truth is. ? [Edit]

You are or were a Christian? and you ask this?

Sweetheart, You have a very severe spiritual problem. Now, You believe whatever you choose to.

.

Answer 8

As some of you may know I'm a Muslim, but I say that you should go with what feels right. I feel right with Islam, and if you feel right with Christianity then you should go with Christ. Heck, if you don't think there is a God then you can be an atheist. The choice is yours, and yours alone. About the bible editing thing...that is totally up to you. I have no idea what it's about anyway.

Answer 9

As for what God expects? He expects us to follow the Bible as a whole and not its parts. He expects not to use mythology to teach something, like saying the Ark was a boat. He would also expect us to obey, as he expected Adam and Eve not to eat the Apple. But, they did and sin enter the world, the one piece of knowledge they didn't have up until then. He also expected Moses to follow instructions, but he didn't and thus was not allowed to enter the Promise Land. Of course, his sin might not have been what he did, but thinking that such a small thing wouldn't be important to God. He presumed to know what God thought about something, which no human can. Your choice comes down to obeying God or not obeying him, there's no gray area. If you choose not to, completely, and you feel that 80 or so years is enough of a life for you, than stand by that choice. That is your God given right. But, if 80 or so years is not enough, and you want to live for a thousand, a million, or more years, than 80 or so years is a drop in the bucket to live by God's rules.

Answer 10

You can rest assured that the King James Version of the Bible is authentic. God is in control. There have been many attempt at forgeries of the Bible over the centuries, but those forgeries have not withstood good scholarship or the test of time. There are many forgeries being published today, which is why you need to stick with the KJV. God is going to keep his word pure for us.

Answer 11

Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? As an adult you may want to be baptized, recommit to God and get filled with the Holy Spirit. After that find a Hermenutics class, it will teach you to study deep into the Bible so you can also track its history and hopefully have a clear concept of what you believe and who you are following.