Since Christians pick and choose which parts of the Bible are?

Question

not to be taken litteraly as it suits them, why is it incorrect to say the entire thing is fiction and just dismiss it withour consequense? In other words, who gets to choose which parts HAVE to be followed and which parts don't have to be? And don't tell me Jesus or God - they aren't here.

Answer 1

I agree. Some things are promoted by them and others are not. For example, Mark 16:17 states, "And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they weill speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hur them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." (NRSV) How many true believers drink poisons and it doesn't harm them? The usual arguement is "don't tempt God". This arguement is a cop out. If you drink Drano, it will cause serious damage and/or kill you regardless of your faith.

Exodus 22:18, "You shall not permit a female sorcerer [often translated as "witch"] to live." Where is the constitutional amendment to abolish witchcraft? They want to restrict gay marriage, surely they have enough pull to get this one done (this would likely backlash against the Religious Right is why).

Exodus 22:28, "You shall not revile God, or curse a leader of your people." How many Christians condemned Bill Clinton while he was in office?

Answer 2

Hasn't the Bible been rewritten so many times that we can't trust it anymore?

This is a common misconception. Some people think that the Bible was written in one language, translated to another language, then translated into yet another and so on until it was finally translated into the English. The complaint is that since it was rewritten so many times in different languages throughout history, it must have become corrupted. The "telephone" analogy is often used as an illustration. It goes like this. One person tells another person a sentence who then tells another person, who tells yet another, and so on and so on until the last person hears a sentence that has little or nothing to do with the original one. The only problem with this analogy is that it doesn't fit the Bible at all.
The fact is that the Bible has not been rewritten. Take the New Testament, for example. The disciples of Jesus wrote the New Testament in Greek and though we do not have the original documents, we do have around 6,000 copies of the Greek manuscripts that were made very close to the time of the originals. These various manuscripts, or copies, agree with each other to almost 100 percent accuracy. Statistically, the New Testament is 99.5% textually pure. That means that there is only 1/2 of 1% of of all the copies that do not agree with each other 100%. But, if you take that 1/2 of 1% and examine it, you find that the majority of the "problems" are nothing more than spelling errors and very minor word alterations. For example, instead of saying Jesus, a variation might be "Jesus Christ." So the actually amount of textual variation of any concern at all is extremely low. Therefore, we can say that we have an extremely accurate compilation of the original documents.
So when we translate the Bible, we do not translate from a translation of a translation of a translation. We translate from the original language into our language. It is one step, not a series of steps that leads to corruption. It is one translation step from the original to the English or to whatever language a person needs to read it in. So we translate into Spanish from the same Greek manuscripts. Likewise we translate into the German from those same Greek manuscripts as well. This is how it is done for each and every language we translate the Bible into. We do not translate from the Greek to the English, to the Spanish, and then to the German. It is from the Greek to the English. It is from the Greek into the Spanish. It is from the Greek into the German. Therefore, the translations are very accurate and trustworthy in regards to what the Bible originally said.

Answer 3

Stacy,

Don't make a blanket statement and say that every Christian picks and chooses which parts of the Bible are not to be taken literally as it suits them.

I for one, have been a Christian for 27 years and I take the Bible as a whole. I do not pick and choose. I believe the Bible in it's entirety. I think you need to get your facts straight before you make a statement like you just did. You also need to talk to your pastor or somebody else. You really need some help. I am praying for you.

Answer 4

The Bible itself shows us that, "[All] Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work."- 2 Tim. 3:16, 17. (Therefore the ENTIRE Bible is the inspired Word of God, and instead of adhering to a creed based on human tradition, worshipers of the true God-JHVH hold to the Bible as the standard for all their beliefs).

How should a true Christians arrive at their explanation of the Bible? A key factor is that the true Christians really believe that the Bible is God’s Word and that what it contains is there for our instruction. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:11) So they do not resort to philosophical arguments to evade its clear statements of truth or to justify the way of life of people who have abandoned its moral standards.
In pointing out the meaning of symbolic language in the Bible, they let the Bible provide its OWN explanation, instead of giving their theories as to its significance. (1 Cor. 2:13) Indications as to the meaning of symbolic terms are usually found in other parts of the Bible. (As an example, see Revelation 21:1; then, regarding the meaning of “sea,” read Isaiah 57:20. To identify “the Lamb” referred to in Revelation 14:1, see John 1:29 and 1 Peter 1:19.)

As for fulfillment of prophecy, they apply what Jesus said about being alert to events that correspond to what was foretold. (Luke 21:29-31; compare 2 Peter 1:16-19.) Conscientiously they point out those events and draw attention to what the Bible indicates they mean.

Answer 5

I %. & % between the Bible, because of the fact a minimum of 1300 years in the past, some people wrote down a Christian oral historic past, & picked & chosen which books to pass away in, & which to pass away out. i've got examine the hot testomony of the Bible, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene (surpassed over), the Gospel of Thomas (surpassed over), and that i am going away out in general the Gospels of Paul. I pay particular interest to the words of Jesus, as he's my admired prophet.

Answer 6

I am a christian and I agree that some poeple seem to pick and choose, but that doesn't meen that all christians do it. I am really sorry you don't believe in God or Jesus, if you gave them a chance they could really give you alot of peace and happiness. Know one is perfect, God wants us to try to follow all the rules and examples he put down- he knows that we can't, thats why he sent his son into the world to show us how, and die on the cross for our sins.
I know you have probably heard this a million times and don't believe any of it. I really hope that some day soon you will realize that God loves you and is really there in your life and always has been. If it is alright with you I would like to be able to pray for you. I hope you have a nice day

Answer 7

Good thing the Bible today is from the Greek version.....

Considering Jesus spoke Aramaic, a language which no longer exists.

Answer 8

Yes they are here! We are all "a work in process", no matter what we believe or don't believe. Luckily for me, I can never remember chapter and verse, so can't be blamed for inadequate word and meaning usages with others. We are all just doing the best we can for TODAY. Tomorrow might allow us to see where we were wrong today.

Answer 9

Yeah, there are only two parts of the Bible that I believe .... The Old Testament and The New Testament.

WHAT are you talking about? There is nothing fiction in the Bible. There are still some things that are discussed in the Bible that are playing out in today's world, but there is no fiction.

Answer 10

They have to do that to prove their doctrine is right. For example the faith only crowd will ignore passages of the bible that says one must work for salvation and don't even try showing them passages about baptism being essential for salvation.