How much of the bible is actually true?

Question

I don't want any rude or offensive answers as the bible is very important to some. I just want to know how much of itis believed by real Christians?

Answer 1

Short answer: There is no 'truth' in any book and none in my answer.

Long answer:
What is the basis behind this question? If I say it's true and someone else says its false, what bearing will it have on you personally? I may be able to convince you of one thing and then at a later date someone else with another reasoned argument could come along and convince you of something different. What meaning does any of it have?

Let's look at the world in which we live...

There are Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Shintoists, Taoists, Atheists, Imperialists, Monarchists, Capitalists, Communists, French, Germans, Malaysians, Africans, this-ists, that-ists and the next-thing-ists! What are all of these things? They are labels that people have attached to themselves as a means of identification surely, are they not? They are a stamp to show a person's position in the world. They are all beliefs that the human mind has come to about how things operate and what 'truth' is. Each one has a great deal of importance to the person that goes by the particular label and they will do all that they can to defend their little conclusion. I say conclusion, because isn't that what they are? A so called Christian has come to a conclusion (either on their own, through their parents and/or the education and culture they are brought up with) about the mystery of life, death and the universe. A Muslim has done the same thing and so has the atheist. They all think they are right and have their books to quote to prove it. Let's get back to the Christian again (you did ask about the Bible after all!). He/she is not just a Christian, but will subscribe to a certain INTERPRETATION of the Bible and will call themselves by some other name - Protestant, Catholic, Jehova's Witness, etc. Do they stop there? It's doubtful. They will probably follow a certain off shoot of these off shoots and will attend a church of these off shoots, headed by a minister or a priest, who will no doubt have a similar, but not perfectly matched interpretation of the minister/priest that preceded him...

What does all of this amount to? What does this mean? Most important of all: What are we playing at?

The answer: YOU ARE AFRAID and at the same time, EGOTISTICAL!

You are afraid of death. You are a small, isolated person, born into the world and you need answers. Without answers you are again afraid. It is a vicious circle and a catch 22 situation. For some reason we cannot accept ignorance and uncertainty, so look to teachers, leaders, saviours - 'those who know' - to give us the answers and solace we so desperately need. That is the sum total of our existence folks.

We only have a limited life span and a limited experience of the world, so we cling to what we've been brain washed into believing or if you are step more intelligent, from some rational sounding theory - whether it the creation story or the theory of evolution. We are like animals tied to a post, that cannot move beyond the length of our self imposed tethers and while we speak about brotherhood, we fight for our cherished beliefs; which are after all just an extension of the ego's adamant certainty that it alone is right. We are blind to the hypocrisy that we talk of peace and do nothing but war. Some even call them Holy wars, without a second's realisation of the irony.

So, what are you left with if you dismiss religion and all the falseness that is implied in it? Not atheism or any other philosophies, that's for sure. They are still the limited theories of our limited brains.

Hasn't it dawned on anyone that God/the nature of the universe/life & death are beyond the scope of knowing? Surely God (if such a thing exists) is by definition BEYOND knowledge? Knowledge, as I have said and more importantly as you can all see, is always limited, but God is limitless. Therefore NO BOOK can contain him/her/it! No religion can be true and so you are left with nothing at all! Surely it is only when you face the unknown that such a thing as God can be? This implies following no book; no teacher; no-one! You must be a light to yourself otherwise you are nothing but a shoddy, second hand parrot, that has an array of quotes to repeat, but have no validity in actuality.

Addendum:
So far I have three thumbs down, but TRUTH has nothing to do with your beliefs/opinions. If you look at what I have written without the smoke screen of your prejudices, you will see that it is all true.

Answer 2

There you go. It appears that at least some 'real' Christians believe ALL of the bible!

Although, as pointed out in other posts, not many of them follow it to the letter (or at least the Old Testament) or they wouldn't eat pork or shellfish or do numerous other proscribed things.

Personally as a non-Christian, I am quite happy to believe that say Paul's letters to the Corinthians etc (Epistles) are a fair transcription of the original.

But as for what is 'true'....

The problem is a lot of people forget that the 'Bible' has been edited on numerous occasions and what we have today is only the authorised books (Canon). These are therefore considered to be the word of God (and so true, I guess).

But as you can see from the Books_of_the_Bible link, different denominations (such as Catholic and Protestant) have different canons!

Additionally, other (non-authorised) books are known to have existed which were not 'approved' by the Council of Trent.

So although the decision has been made that the biblical canon is now closed and so no other texts may be added, there still remains for some at least, the question as to whether other divinely inspired scripture exists outside the 'Bible'.

Complicated huh?
.

Answer 3

The Bible replaced into written over hundreds of years - sixty six books and approximately 40 authors who ALL tell the comparable tale. Missler has likened the interest to a hologram - a three-D image which, in assessment to a image, in case you shrink a slice out of it, you will no longer lose the image (nevertheless you ought to lose some sharpness). this is because of the fact it rather is an integrated message from God. it is likewise a message containing approximately 28% prophecy, it particularly is fairly much a million out of each and every 3 verses being destiny-prophetical. purely a God who exists outdoors of time can do this with a hundred% accuracy.

Answer 4

the True parts are
1) the Publisher
2) The fact that james !st authourised the translation into english
3) Place names

Whether the rest is true ,,,, well thats up to the reader and what they believe, but bare in mind the church has re -written the bible so many times over the centuries to keep the population under control nobody knows what the real scriptures are anymore. The bible wasn`t written by the moses the disciples and all the rets of the so called prophets but by people after it was handed down by word of mouth until people started to make books. also it has been translated from about 5 different languages over the centuries. whether there is a god or not we will all find out in the end

Answer 5

The truth in the Bible is the love story of God for us. When the Bible was finally written, it had first been orally passed on. Even the New Testament was written 30 years or so after the event actually happened and only St. John was there as an eye-witness. The stories of Jesus and His words were repeated over and over going through many different language translations from Hebrew to Arabic to Latin then later English, French, German, etc.
Words change in translation. The words of Consecration: "Take and eat, this is My body. Take and drink, this is My blood," were important to the Mass and repeated every time the Eucharist was celebrated. These words were probably the exact words of Christ as well as other words repeated over and over again.
The truth is in the story, not the exact words and in the faith of those who lived the story.

Answer 6

None of it of course. It's a collection of fables (e.g. the virgin birth of Jesus, the giving of the Judaic laws to Moses on Mount Sinai etc) and explanatory myths (e.g. the Creation of the Universe) which are very common to many religions of the time. There is nothing new at all about the story of Jesus: compare it with the Roman cult of Mithras - it's virtually identical. And there are countless other similar stories.

The Bible may provide a partial moral framework, and help some people through its myths and stories to determine right from wrong in some sense. But as to if it is actually true - there is no more evidence for the reality of Jesus as a messiah and 'son of God' as there is for the nursery story of Jack and the Beanstalk.

And anyone who knows anything about fossil records and paleontology knows that the notion that the Earth (along with the rest of the known Universe) was created by God 5000 years ago is patently false. The Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, and carbon dating proves that as an empirical and objective fact. Something that the Bible is lacking throughout my friend!

Don't waste your time with such stuff and nonsense. Life is too short - if you are interested in truth, just stick to science, and the scientific method of hypothesis, testing and evidence.

Answer 7

Well this seems to be a loaded question. I am a real Christian. I do believe the Bible is true, but what extent you may ask?

First, if you want a careful discussion on this topic, feel free to IM me. I would be willing to talk with you and we could take specific stories and try to get an understanding on how "true" they are.

Let me tell you what I mean. Specifically in Hebrew Literature (OT) there are three major componets that influence their literature. History, Theology, and Asethetics. Therefore when they tell a story they want to tell you something about God, that is rooted in a historical reference, and that fits the literature genre and looks "pretty" so to say for that genre. Therefore, each of these influence the other. Sometimes when you read Scriptures it may be HEAVY on History, or HEAVY on theology, or HEAVY on asthetics. But they are all there working together at once.

Answer 8

No one to date has been able to prove that anything in the Bible is contrary to the truth.

People doubted whether Noah's flood could have happened, and many assumed such an event was geologically impossible. Now our Mars rovers are finding evidence of a similar event on Mars, complete with the chain of geological circumstances to explain it.

People doubted whether a King David ever really existed. Then archeologists found clear evidence of his reign.

People doubted whether the city of Jericho could have fallen as portrayed in the Bible. Then archeologists found it and excavated it, and found it precisely as described.

People doubted the plagues of Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. Now they're finding volcanic ash throughout much of Egypt, chariot parts and Egyptian armor on the bottom, precisely where it ought to be.

According to the Catholic Church, the only Church Jesus personally founded, and the church that still has the Holy Spirit in charge of truth, and Jesus as its' head, all scripture is inspired by God, is totally without error, and accurately and properly conveys precisely what God intended to have the sacred writers set down, for the purpose of our salvation.

Jesus personally expressed a similar confidence in the old testament scriptures.

This is not to say that the Bible may be used to usurp the authority that was given only to the church, or that the Bible possesses authority that is superior to that of the church, or of official church tradition, as that would be just as wrong as doubting the Bible's veracity.

Answer 9

The bible is written by man, though supposedly inspired by god. The bible, all 66 books were constructed under the council of nicea. The bible was debated and voted on in the same fashion as this countries constitution. This was done in the 4th century as a means of gaining control of the Roman Empire by Constantine. 66 books were chosen, and no one really knows how many were rejected, as they were all confiscated.

If you want an answer to this, start a petition to get the vatican to release all of the documents and artifacts it has stored in and under its grounds. Isn't it interesting the vatican has tighter security than the whitehouse.

**Added** One of the answers said possibly the flood story was accurate. The greeks had a very similar flood story long before the version containing Noah and his arc.

Answer 10

The true part of the Bible starts at the first verse of Genesis and ends at the last or Revelations.