To those who do not trust the Bible...?

Question

How much of the Bible do you think ( believe) is true?
And, how much of it would you have to understand of it so that you would believe that the Bible is God's word to us (the part that you would not yet understand would than be believed in trusting (having faith in )God that He put it there for a reason)?

Answer 1

How much do I think is true: Maybe 5%

How much would I have to believe to believe it is god's word to us: Around 100%

I'm about 95 percentiles short

Answer 2

I think the old testament is a quaint archaic peoples attempt to explain the world around them and a very loose history.
The New Testament I think was written with two audiences in mind the first being the wide spread Jewish Diaspora in the Roman Empire trying to convert them to an new Judaism and the second audience a gentile audience hence the miracles etc to compete against the Pagan Gods.
How much is true? Hard to say. Jewish scholars used a technique called persher to interpret the Torah and gain a totally different meaning than the surface meaning in the text an the early Christians would have been aware of this technique so the real meaning of the New Testament might be found by employing this technique, maybe, if it hasn't been corupted by the Council of Nicosia or other editors.

Answer 3

I understand the whole thing, which is why I don't believe 90% of it.

Look at it this way: certain historical facts are incorporated in the stories. Daniel, for example, was not a prophetic text, it was war propaganda couched in the symbology of the day. It is inevitable that some of the facts in it are historically accurate, because we have historical records of that war from other cultures.

Why is it that the Egyptians in ALL their history record only *ONCE* a group of herders in a far province calling themselves the 'Eybrau', and they are never mentioned again? People say, "Well, they wouldn't record military failures!" but the Egyptians in fact did so, in exquisite detail, down to the man and the chariot and the horse, even when their forces were entirely crushed by an enemy (such as the Hitites).

Why is it that every remote-control archeological dig in the red sea has failed to find even so much as a wheel spoke from an egyptian chariot? The bottom of the red sea is favorable for preservation.

Why is it that there is no geological record of a world-wide flood? Geology has no 'mind' to guide it, so it can't have a purpose or a reason to conceal it except if its the truth -- there have been many HUGE regional floods but NEVER a flood that covered the ENTIRE planet.

Why is it that the New Testament proclaims Jesus of Nazareth to be the messiah when he failed or broke most of the prophecies involving HaMasiach?

In short, the New Testament goes against the Old Testament, and the Old Testament goes against recorded history (if you wish to interpret it literally. Most of it makes sense interpreted in historical context or as allegorical tales teaching a deeper, less literal truth).

Answer 4

Much of the Bible is historical history and genology which is probably for the most part true. I also think that many of the stories of the Bible hold very true messages in their meaning but are not to be taken literally. For example the story of Adam and Eve holds a very good meaning in that humans at some point began to want to control their environment rather than accept their place in nature and later killed for reasons other than needing food and in doing so commited murder. Doesn't mean that those people actually existed or that it happened in the short time period mentioned but the meaning is true.

Answer 5

Tim. It's not "rocket science." All if is quite easy to "understand." I can sit down with my friend the rev and discuss any aspect of it with no problem at all - and so can anyone who bothers to read it. After all, the writing is as blunt and coarse as one would expect from primitive scribes. It is NOT Plato's Republic.

But I suspect your question is not about the intellectual acuity needed to understand it. Consider that it's highly unlikely that any amount of understanding of the bible will make, for example, a Hindu scholar come to have "faith" in the Abrahamic version of God. (Indeed in this case the horrors depicted therein might drive said scholar away!)

And as to the kernel of your question, there is nothing, anywhere, within or without the bible, that makes a credible case for it being "God's word to us." That is just something you WANT to believe - and that's fine. But you are confusing cognitive categories when you "baptize" your beliefs as "understanding."

Answer 6

I don't believe any of it. I actually understand quite a lot of it, growing up in a VERY religious family and having attended church on a regular basis (my uncle is a retired minister), so understanding it isn't the issue. To me, it's simply ridiculous. No offense, but you did ask. I don't see how stories meant for sheepherders living in a very hostile environment halfway around the globe have any bearing on my life in the Northern U.S. Especially at this time of year, when there are so many snippet of the Bible being used to retell the story of Jesus' birth, the whole absurdity of the religion just becomes so much more apparent.

Usually I'm not so derogatory towards Christianity, though. I'm just getting a little tired of hearing everything about Jesus, given the time of year it is.

Bright blessings!
)O(

Answer 7

Brother, all of the words in the bible every page is true to, to think once that a word in there is not true is to call God a liar and Hon he is no liar. But I see what your doing. Spread the message you have support all over the world trust. Love. God Bless. Amen.

Answer 8

Since I firmly believe that god is an imaginary character, it follows that I don't believe the bible is true, or his word either. The more of it I've read, the more I've confirmed my belief. There is simply no evidence that he's real, or that the bible should be taken seriously.

Answer 9

Some of the bible is historically correct. That does not in any way prove the existence of your god, as there is no evidence for your god.

Some of the Iliad is historically correct. I think you'll agree that doesn't prove the existence or Apollo or Aphrodite.

The same standards of proof apply to the bible.

But perhaps you believe in all of those...

Answer 10

There are many religious/spiritual scriptures, not only what has been written in the christian bible, but many other religious manuals. They vary dramitically in what they say, and yet all religions dare to say there's ony One God. If there's only One God then there would be only one set of spiritual laws, and if this were to be and everyone believed in this one set of laws, then wars sparked by religious beliefs would cease to exist.