I mean no offense...?

Question

but how is it that we are to allow Christians to interpret the Bible when they can't as a community even decide what a Christian is? I posted a question about that a while back and recieved several varying answers on the topic. I just looked at another question and came to realize that some people see Christ as a peaceful man while others see him as militant. So I ask you, since the Agnostic view of the Bible tends to be consistent, how is it that we are the ones missing something? I am looking for real answers here.

I would like to take a step back here, I am not trying to make anyone question their faith. I just want everyone to take a moment and reflect on why people are so annoyed with Christianity (note I didn't say Christian's, even though some of us are annoyed with them) I think that Christ's teachings have real value, but what I don't get is all of the arguing about the subtext. I mean people say that Jehovah's Witness' aren't Christians because they don't think Christ is a God, and that Catholics aren't Christian's because they pray through Mary. What difference does it make?

For everyone who is kindly suggesting I read the text. I have, twice in fact. And currently I am working on the third trip through it. My question isn't about the book, it's about the people who follow it.

Answer 1

First, it isn't 'we' who allow Christians to interpret the Bible. That is a God-given right.

Second, again, it is God-ordained that people are all different. We think differently, we act differently, we understand differently, we interpret differently. (If we were all the same, all but one of us would be unnecessary, wouldn't we?) So it is natural that we would have differing opinions of what a Christian is, (and of much else, also).

As far as the part of your question about the Agnostic view of the Bible, I don't know enough of what 'the Agnostic view' is to properly address it, except to say that my understanding is that Agnostics don't believe in the Bible or in God. That would explain a very simplistic unified view: "We don't believe in that, period"--hardly grounds for a diversity of opinions.

The third part of your question, are we the ones missing something? Yes. We are missing the selflessness needed to become a community of Christians that have individualities but WORK in unison. (That's the actual idea of being a Christian). We don't have to see everything the same way, but we ought to see it in the same 'light.'

P.S. There is also the very real factor that the devil misleads people. He doesn't worry about causing trouble for/with people who already serve him, but he is 'as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,' in trying to get Christians to fight, misunderstand and look as bad as possible to the world.

RE your added note: No. Your quesiton is not about the people who follow the Book. It is about the people who don't. And those who don't, aren't Christians regardless of what they say. (Claiming to be a millionaire doesn't make you one.)

Answer 2

I'm sorry, I don't know if your giong to get any real answers, its the same pattern i get, christians telling me to read the bible, espeically when i ask about a verse im told i didnt read the stuff before or after

I like you I think your a friend, but your question is off the wall and illogical and there are inconsistincies in the details, you say its about christianity, then in your second additional details you said its about the people, why the contradiction

Additional Details

5 minutes ago
I would like to take a step back here, I am not trying to make anyone question their faith. I just want everyone to take a moment and reflect on why people are so annoyed with Christianity (note I didn't say Christian's, even though some of us are annoyed with them) I think that Christ's teachings have real value, but what I don't get is all of the arguing about the subtext. I mean people say that Jehovah's Witness' aren't Christians because they don't think Christ is a God, and that Catholics aren't Christian's because they pray through Mary. What difference does it make?

4 minutes ago
For everyone who is kindly suggesting I read the text. I have, twice in fact. And currently I am working on the third trip through it. My question isn't about the book, it's about the people who follow it.

Answer 3

You are absolutely right. The majority of these so called christians do not have a clue to what a true christian is. This is to all the different christian religions. Question: If there is but only ONE GOD, then how can there be all these different religions? God never told not one man to start, or to be anything other than what he said be, and that is HOLY. Not muslim, not christianity, not presbyterian, not catholic, not baptist, none of theses religions that you profess. Christian means to be Christ-like. QUESTION: ask youselves Did Christ smoke, drink, fornicate, kill, steal, roller skate, gamble, shoot dice, curse and swear, fight,etc. All the things that you do in the world , did Christ do? The bible says in
JAMES 4:4
4) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the freindship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Did you know that world? Lets go back in
LEVITICUS 20: 23
23) And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they comitted all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. Now Christians start from the beginning of your bible and find out what the nations committed. Then turn away from doing. I pray for you all. Amen

P.S
And as for interpretating and beliefs. First of all the prophets and apostles had the same belief, nothing wavering. The bible does not give anyone the right to have their own belief or interpretation of a thing. In
2 Peter 1:20
20) Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

What God says goes, and the apostle paul said in
1 CORINTHIANS 1:10
10) Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye ALL speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement.

Now Look at all the division among the churches. every church thinks that its the right church, and listen to all the different beliefs. Sounds like confusion to me.
I pray for you. Amen

PP.S
In response to the answerer below me do not get holy and christ-like mixed up. You see because Christ Jesus was Holy and he did not set aside anything.HE GAVE UP EVERYTHING. PRAISE THE LORD.
E-mail me bible_god_holy@ yahoo.com

Answer 4

You stated the agnostic view of the Bible "tends to be consistent," if this is so, why are you still looking for "real answers?"

When you are given the real answer, what will be your next step? Will you accept the real answer without hesitation? Or, will you revise the real answer to fit your interpretation of what you do not know about Christians, and find another point to debate?

Are you always peaceful? Do you have a cause you will defend against popular opinion? Does passion in your belief make you a fanatic? If someone else was skeptical about your belief, would you stop believing or stand firm in your belief?

No offense. Really.

Answer 5

Hello friend,
After reading your question carefully, I see that you claim to be agnostic. ("since the Agnostic view of the Bible tends to be consistent, how is it that we...")
I admire anyone who knows what they believe and why they believe it. That, unfortunately is a problem among some so-called Christians. A lot of folks like to parrot what they've heard without checking out it's source and validity.

This may be why you see such a variety of "God" answers in this forum. You ask two Christians a question, and you may get three answers.

But to be fair, Christians, even though flawed, do not surrender their humanity when they (we) accept Christ as Savior. We still are quick tempered and fast on the tongue, but this human flaw
should not disqualify truth when it is spoken not from our opinion, but from God's Word.

Now I recognize that you may not accept God's Word as valid, but as a human yourself, you woke up this morning in a world you didn't create, and that cancels the option of you being God.

May I say this in sincerity and humility, I know in Whom I have believed, and nothing I can do or say can change your heart. But.
if you will allow it, God is able to use my words or the words of another to get through to you.

I am no one, all the other Christians on here are no one, but Christ is everything. He will not force His way into your heart, but if you would dare to ask Him yourself if He would make Himself REAL to you, He will.

Use caution though friend, please don't mock Him. How you ask my well be how He responds. Check out Gal.6:7 if you like.
I pray you read this with an open mind and heart.
Blessings,
2 Tim.2:7

Answer 6

Personally, I tend to disagree that the agnostic view is consistent since the doubt about a god varies.

In my opinion, Religion is an act of faith and faith is based on personal experiences and understandings.

You could look at history the same way. Some people will say the civil war was started over slavery and others will say it was over state's rights.

Answer 7

Yes, why such division? The Bible is just one book. Within the United States alone there are twenty-three kinds of Baptists, twenty-one kinds of Methodists, twenty divisions among the Lutherans, thirteen brands of Mennonites, ten kinds of Presbyterians, and a whole handful of Churches of God.

A main cause has been man’s determination to make his religion over to suit him, instead of making himself over to suit God. The Bible foretold that after the death of the apostles, wrong teachings and unchristian practices would slowly come into the Christian congregation. Men would draw away believers to follow them instead of Christ. (Matthew 7:15, 21-23; Acts 20:29, 30) That is why we see so many different religions that claim to be Christian.

The Kingdom of God in America says current religion “represents not so much the impact of the gospel upon the New World as the use and adaptation of the gospel by the new society for its own purposes”. Unity of doctrine is gone, and that loss of unity represents a loss of true Christianity.

Jesus started one true Christian religion. So today there must be just one body, or group, of true worshipers of Jehovah God. (John 4:23, 24; Ephesians 4:4, 5) The Bible teaches that only a few people are on the narrow road to life.—Matthew 7:13, 14. How can true Christians be identified?

The most outstanding mark of true Christians is that they have real love among themselves. (John 13:34, 35) They are not taught to think that they are better than people of other races or skin color. Neither are they taught to hate people from other countries. (Acts 10:34, 35) So they do not share in wars. True Christians treat one another as brothers and sisters.—1 John 4:20, 21.

Another mark of true religion is that its members have a deep respect for the Bible. (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17) They treat God’s Word as being more important than human ideas or customs. (Matthew 15:1-3, 7-9) They try to live by the Bible in their everyday life. So they do not preach one thing and then practice another.—Titus 1:15, 16.

The true religion must also honor God’s name. (Matthew 6:9) Jesus made God’s name, Jehovah, known to others. True Christians must do the same. (John 17:6, 26; Romans 10:13, 14)

True Christians must preach about God’s Kingdom. Jesus did so. He always talked about the Kingdom. (Luke 8:1) He commanded his disciples to preach this same message in all the earth. (Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20) True Christians believe that only God’s Kingdom will bring true peace and security to this earth.—Psalm 146:3-5.

Jesus’ disciples must be no part of this wicked world. (John 17:16) They do not get involved in the world’s political affairs and social controversies. They avoid the harmful conduct, practices, and attitudes that are common in the world. (James 1:27; 4:4)

Jehovah’s Witnesses make up such a happy family of Christians. They are not a sect, inasmuch as they are neither the disciples of some human teacher or leader nor an offshoot of any one church or sect. The Witnesses come from all walks of life. They follow no man but rather God and His Son Jesus Christ. Jehovah has organized his Witnesses into a true worldwide brotherhood, one that can never be broken by divisive national, racial, or religious interests. While the Witnesses number into the millions and live in over 200 lands, they are bound together as one in an unbreakable bond. This worldwide brotherhood, unique in all history, is indeed a modern miracle—God’s doing.—Isaiah 43:10, 11, 21; Acts 10:34, 35; Galatians 3:28.

Answer 8

Because the Bible and all "Sacred Scriptures" of all religions belong to everyone. They are all deliberately difficult to understand because religion itself is a practice of trying to explain what is inherently unexplainable. It's not our place to "allow" someone to interpret the Bible. We can interpret the Bible and any other Scripture however we feel. Christians define themselves as followers of Christ. They all follow the same general structure and moral code (as almost all world religions do), they just tend to see some parts of the Bible as more important than others.

In short, it's not our place to allow people to interpret the Bible, just interpret the Bible for ourselves and not force our opinions on others. We are ALL "missing something."

Answer 9

The bible is a "christian" book. Why do people perceive differently? I'd have to say because there are so many people who were raised differently.
I was raised by a deeply religious man who sometimes went to church and sometimes didn't. He went sometimes to a Luthern church,sometimes to a Methodist church,and before his death he was a Baptist.
I am none of the above,other than a CHRISTIAN. I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe he was a peaceful man. The bible never shows him as being violent.
Some people wanted him to be violent. They wanted him to defeat all of their enemies.
It wasn't to be,that's why Jews don't believe He was the One they were waiting to come.
It's difficult. That's why we have had religious wars. Talk about an oxymoron!
Anyway,that's my view on religion.

Answer 10

There are many religions in the world today and we are free to choose the one that we believe to be the most correct. We must study the scriptures to find out for ourselves what the interpretations are and as we get closer to our Heavenly we begin to understand the scriptures better. The unbelievers do not all believe in the same thing as some believe in the big bang and evolution and others believe that aliens came and spread seed across the earth. We are missing less than the unbelievers, as we have faith even if we do not understand perfectly.