it is true that the many portions of the bible are indeed factual and have been written long ago by the followers of one of those true people that actually existed, but as the bible passed through mankinds' hands over the years especially when it was still being written, it has been altered in ways that benefit man more and more. As I say, give a man anything and he will use it to his own personal benefit.
2006-08-23 15:47:59 · 23 answers · asked by Display Name 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
I think you about have the gist of it. It took 6 thousand years for the Bible to be written down. You know what happens to the verbal word if one says something in a room and tells another to pass it on. By the time it gets back to the originator it's all messed up. You know why there is a King James version of the Bible? Because King James edited the existing Bible to suit his own purposes and so on; and so on; and so on. . . . . . . .
2006-08-23 15:57:22 · answer #1 · answered by darkdiva 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, I think it all depends on who you ask...
What is now our modern Bible has undergone many evolutions since the times of Jesus (and even before!). What gospels were retained, and even certain passages and how they were written were changed with each different church leader, transcribing monk, or king. Basically, whoever was in power got to make the "rules" and changed the book to best serve their needs. I know I'll likely tick off a bunch of stalwardt Christians here, but lets face it... many times in world history the bible was "edited". The most recent major revision was the King James edition which was organized in the early 1600's. (I believe 1603 if I remember correctly).
I believe in God, but I personally feel that reading the modern day Bible and taking it word-for-word is a great folly. Much of what is in there is told as parable - a story told to illustrate a moral.
Do some searching on the Gnostic Gospels. There were about 32 gospels in the first centuries after Jesus. Later it was narrowed down to only 4 - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. National Geographic aired a very interesing documentary back in May about the "Gospel of Judas". There was also said to be a Gospel of Mary and Thomas and Phillip... among all the others.
2006-08-23 16:46:08 · answer #2 · answered by ibdsassy1 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there are some parts that are imbellishments on historical fact, but in large, it is a work of fiction, written by several different people over the course of hundreds of years.
People will always take what is written out of context, and apply it to whatever cause they have at the moment, using one small verse as a "rule" and disregarding all that came before and after it.
A good example of this is where it says "go forth and be fruitful". This particular line was written in a time when a lot of women would die in childbirth, and children (should they be lucky enough to survive birth) were more likely to die before reproducing than not. The fact that this no longer applies to life TODAY, has no bearing for some people.
2006-08-23 15:59:47 · answer #3 · answered by cynthetiq 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm sure that there are pieces of the bible that are based on fact. the new testament, for example, involves many people who experienced first hand, if you will, what happened. however, those stories were passed on from one person to the next and I'm sure are distorted in some way. the old testament, i believe, is mainly made up stories. especially the creation story. there are also books that weren't put in the bible so maybe the church just picked the ones that they believed would be the easiest for people to grasp regardless of how truly believable they are. people invest so much into faith it is hard to say how much of the bible is really true, especially since other people put it together.
2006-08-23 16:36:45 · answer #4 · answered by U of T Girl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
100% of the bible is true. There are original manuscripts available (Dead Sea Scrolls is one example), that are nearly identical to what we have today. You're right about 'man' in general...he will almost always be selfish. However, God has preserved his word throughout the ages even through man. It is proven.
2006-08-23 15:54:52 · answer #5 · answered by Mark 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I ask this question ALL the time at different churches. EVERYONE has a different answer. That's why I don't believe in the bible, I do have a strong faith in the will of god--I just don't believe that the bible is right about everything.
2006-08-23 15:50:48 · answer #6 · answered by ArtisticallyUgly 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Every word in the Bible was inspired by God. Through the translations, it is still God's word and has not changed. Translators have the utmost respect and have taken great measures to make sure it has been translated accurately.
2006-08-23 16:24:49 · answer #7 · answered by Eric P 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's gotta be.
I especially like the one about the guy who spent 3 days in the belly of a big fish and then was spit out.
I met a guy the other day who had that same thing happen to him, or at least he smelled like it
2006-08-23 15:55:07 · answer #8 · answered by fra_bob 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I study it an prolonged time in the past whilst i became Christian. My ideas-set became that I enjoyed God and that i wanted to benefit extra approximately him. Then i began out to notice that there became various crap in there that did no longer make experience. in certainty, examining the Bible grew to become me into an atheist.
2016-09-29 22:13:06 · answer #9 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's the same as the history books, some embellishments, some cover ups. A bit like the horoscopes you make of it what you will.
2006-08-23 16:01:58 · answer #10 · answered by obenypopstar 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋