were there several things left out?If it is the word of God wouldn't it be "The Gospel according to God"?And wouldn't all writings be included?
2006-08-07 18:03:30 · 16 answers · asked by Jennifer 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Because the Bible is in fact fantasy, you can basically refer to it in any old way to suit your cause. The Bible is just a man-made play script, with several actors God, Devil, Jesus, Satan, Adam, Eve etc, and of course some intriguing imaginary places like Heaven, Hell, Purgatory and Limbo.
I certainly don’t believe in the Bible and I doubt any reasonably intelligent person would either. However, if you view the Bible as a man-made play script, with several actors God, Devil, Jesus, Satan, Adam, Eve, Noah, and so on, then you can certainly start to see a clever interwoven plot, that the audience is unaware of. It’s really just a drama thriller with clever twists.
You see, if you seriously think about it in an unbiased manner, then clearly the actor God in the Bible could really be the Devil, and the audience (religious believers) are being sucked into being the bad guys, who then use religion to get everyone fighting each other.
On the other hand, the more intelligent audience (Atheists) spot the plot and try their best to teach believers that this is just nonsense, stop getting sucked in.
2006-08-07 18:07:46 · answer #1 · answered by Brenda's World 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The gospels only comprise 4 of the 66 books. The word gospel denotes "good news". The good news of salvation through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. The gospel according to...simply denotes the author.
As for what was left out, I'm not sure what you mean. Not all religious writings pass the test of canonicity. There were other writings by Paul and Timothy for example that are not in the bible. The gospel of Thomas is not new and has always been rejected as authentic even by non Christian historians. You ask a great question and there is so much history and fact behind the answer that thousands of books have been written throughout time in order to give the facts for the canon. Keep in mind that the Bible central theme is that God loves you and wants to forgive you and have a relationship with you that lasts through all eternity. It has poetry, historical facts, and instructions for becoming a Christian and living the Christian life, to name just a few. There are several ancient historical texts that confirm what the bible says.
2006-08-08 01:17:25 · answer #2 · answered by imdmutt 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not really.
The Bible can be broken up into two major categories - Law & Gospel.
The Law is given to us as a set of rules to follow, with consequences (think 10 commandments here).
The Gospel means "good news" and is what saves us from how we can't fufill the Law. Think of it as God being merciful, which mercy means not getting what we deserve. According to the Law, we deserve to be punished and severly. But through the good news, (aka Gospel) of Jesus Christ we can be saved. That is why you usually here it said, "The Gospel of John, Chapter 3, verse 16".
People like to say that the Old Testament is Law and New Testament is Gospel, but there is both in each.
ETA - WOW, I really can't believe some of the other answers you got. But if you want to know more about this, ask your pastor. Depending on your denominations focus, you might not really have Law & Gospel put plainly in front of you during sermons, bible studies and other events. But he (or she) should be able to talk you through it.
Another way to think of it is while listening to a sermon. Often, the pastor is speaking of something that doesn't make you comfortable - let's say wanting something you probably don't need. But then toward the end he mentions how you can be redeemed in some way, by Jesus and giving your life to Him. In a sense the pastor covered Law and Gospel... Contact me if you'd like to know more.
God Bless! (And don't let the wonky answers on here get to you!)
ETA.2 - To anyone else on here, realize that GOSPEL MEANS GOOD NEWS. I seriously can't believe most people are missing the point completely.
2006-08-08 01:12:18 · answer #3 · answered by Molly 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There were four different gospel writers that God chose to use to write their unique accounts of Jesus' life. As you read and study each account you see and appreciate a different aspect of Jesus. For example, Matthew reveals Jesus as King of Kings. Mark reveals Jesus as the perfect Servant. Luke reveals the perfect Man. And John reveals the Savior. The reason that God inspires each writer to only include specific information and exclude other information is because He (God) wants a specific picture of Jesus to be revealed in each gospel to the reader. Hope this helps. Good question!
2006-08-08 01:49:12 · answer #4 · answered by Waterboy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because different writers wrote different interpretations of what happened at a certain event. The stories are all similar, but it's from their point of view. And the Bible is written by God, but he just told the writers what to say. *By the way, don't listen to Brenda in any shape, way, or form. She doesn't know what she's talking about. She's simply making stuff up.*
2006-08-08 01:10:22 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
they refer to them as 'the gospel according to...' because they were all written down like two hundred years after their collective deaths - they should rather refer to them as 'the gospel as remembered by a person who knew a person who claimed to have known a person who knew the brother of an uncle who once knew John, or Peter, etc' - and yes, lots of other similar accounts have been conveniently left out of the bible
2006-08-08 01:13:08 · answer #6 · answered by litch 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well that's the new testament. Jesus didn't write anything or if he did it didn't survive. So they are the gospels of Jesus and his life according to whoever wrote it. Most of the Gospels are written by his immediate disciples.
In the old testament they are books. The books are about people, events, or times. No one knows who wrote them but the title describes what they are about.
It's like Socrates and Plato. Socratese didn't write anything but we know about hims because plato wrote about his last days.
2006-08-08 01:14:02 · answer #7 · answered by Jason B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Holy Spirit of God inspired certain people to put His words down to writing readable by humans.but the Bible is indeed God-breathed it is the very word of God
2006-08-08 01:08:33 · answer #8 · answered by snoopy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do you know what the word Gospel means?
Look it up. you will have your answer.
2006-08-08 01:11:01 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the gosples are the Good news of Jesus and were written after his death by men but they are a record of his preaching and time on earth
2006-08-08 01:14:10 · answer #10 · answered by Sam's 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋