Bible questions?

Question

I have a couple questions regarding the bible and how people use it.
First of all, all the Christian sects, such as Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist..so on and so forth...they all get their information from the same place, so how can their religions be so different.

How can Christians say that parts of the bible don't pertain to them and that certain parts are no longer valid, or only meant for jews.

How can Christians have so many different perceptions of the same bible?

I'm just confused as to why there are so many different christian answers to the same question.

Ha, Mayor you're funny. Well it seems that you and I actually see things the same way, and I have lots of ones, so I'm up for a party if you care to join me!

Okay, I understand what everyone is saying about how everyone can see the bible differently...so I guess the next question becomes, how can you say what religion is "right" if everyone see's it differently?

Answer 1

That is the nature of the variations of man.

It's like the story of the blind men and the elephant. They each touched a different part and had a different idea of what the elephant was. the tail felt like a rope, the legs felt like a tree, the ear felt like a rug...

We could call each different interpretation a different part of the Bible, of God, or of Life... A different reaction to reality. And we would call the elephant the intrinsic whole; that thing inside all of us that is the same.

So you can understand why people argue and fight. They think, "If i think this feels like a tree, and he thinks it feels like a rope, of course we can't both be right. But if i'm wrong, that means i don't exist (since our existence depends on our ability to synergize with the rest of the world). i know i exist. so he must be wrong."

Most of us aren't that enchanted when we see an elephant, because we've seen them so many times. but if we see only a part of the elephant, and then gradually the whole becomes revealed, we appreciate it much more.

Answer 2

For example, the Catholics say that there r "extra" books of the Bible that only the Pope can see so that is one reson y practices r different. Also, it has to do with culture and where the religion originated from. Ok..about ur question of the jews and the christians..in the Old testament, there r laws (for exaple, dont eat pork or observe the Sabbath or dont eat split hooved animals) these laws r the laws that jews still follow cuz they do not read the new testament. which cancels out these old laws cuz when Christ came to the earth he brought forgiveness and said that no longer do u have to follow laws to go to heaven all u need to do is accept Jesus Christ as ur Lord.

I hope that u understand this a little bit..good luck!

Answer 3

There are so many denominations for several reasons. (1) Each denomination has a slightly different doctrine or emphasis from the others. (2) As people started churches, they simply gave them different names. (3) Denominations are good in that if you attended a Baptist church in one town, and then moved to another town, you could attend a similar Baptist church in the new town. The Lutheran denomination was named after Martin Luther. The Methodists got their name because their founder, John Wesley, was famous for coming up with “methods” for spiritual growth. Presbyterians are named for their view on church leadership - the Greek word for elder is "presbyteros." Baptists got their name because they have always emphasized the importance of baptism.

We, as believers, must believe the same on the essentials of the faith, but beyond that there is great latitude in how a Christian should worship, serve, and live his life. This latitude is what causes so many different flavors of Christianity. Diversity is a good thing, but disunity is not. If two churches disagree doctrinally, it is fine that they remain separate. This separation, though, does not lift the responsibility Christians have to love one another (1 John 4:11-12) – and ultimately be united as one in Christ (John 17:21-22).

Answer 4

Because the Bible, like every written (or spoken) document, is open to interpretation. This is not a fault of the Bible, it is implicit in evey exercise of language--a standard tene of post-modern criticism. Thus, over the course of history, different groups of Christians have interpretted different parts of the Bible differently. People then tend to congregate with other like-minded people, leading ultimately to the formation of the different denominations (along with other associated political and economic reasons).

But note that most of the distinctions between Christian sects aren't that important. Today (post-post-Reformation), most Christians accepts Christians of all faiths as part of the same greater whole. Often, choice of one type of church or another is based not only on doctrine (since the doctrinal differences are mostly minor) but on style of worship (organ or guitar?) the specific pastor/priest at the local options, tendency to engage in charitable work, focus on bible study, etc.

Answer 5

That question would take a long answer, so don't expect a complete one. First they are not "all that different" if you look closely at the essentials. The details may be a little more varied but the dogma of the Bible is pretty straight forward. Second, the differences come from doing the very things God commanded us not to do, and that is add to or take away from the Bible. Catholics add traditions to the Bible, liberals add "reason" to the Bible, Pentacostals add miracles as proof of truth, and cults add all kinds of writings, traditions or whatever. On top of that contemporary Christianity has added "feelings" and tend to do things if it feels good or right. In all it has produced many variations which would not be here if we all stayed with the original teachings of Christ.
We say that parts of the Bible apply here and not there because that is exactly what the Bible says. There are things written in the Bible to Israel, there are things writen to men, or women, or deacons or pastors, or governments, or angels, or individuals and it would be totally wrong to take those passages and apply them to someone else. There is nothing wrong with understanding and doing that. It is perfectly right for me to say something to my kids that does not apply to the other children in the neighborhood. I say to my child "come home" I don't expect every kid in the neighborhood to come to my home. Why would you deny us the right to do that?
And why is it wrong for God to say "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes?" God gave the law and God can take it away.
There are many other factors involved as I said, but I hope these few comments help you to understand our position a little more.

Answer 6

It's the old "is the glass half full or is it half empty" attitude....People read and interpret the bible in many different ways....I think this is the reason why there are so many different religions and belief systems......
Just like the scrpture that reads---"you should not be drunk with wine but be filled with the spirit".....some people see this as you should never drink alcohol at all and others read this as it is ok to drink, but not get drunk.....so it is all up for interpetiation.....the best thing to do of course is to read the Bible and search out the scriptures and ask God to reveal to you the truth......
Ask Jesus to come into your heart and He will reveal to you what is right and acceptable in the eyes of the Lord...

God Bless

Answer 7

because different religions follow different
things & some take the wrong meaning to
the verses in the bible , some also have old pagan ways that are tied in w/ the religion

others also follow the old ways of the bible
while some follow the new ways

hope I did not confuse you more & SORRY
if I did

take care

Answer 8

Because they really do not know how to interpret the Bible as to the true meaning of the passages of the scriptures!!.......... Most of the Christian faith does not have the full truth!........ They think they know the full truth of the Bible but their not sure, so they go with whatever they interpret and deem correct in their teachings and doctrines.........How ridiculous is that!!.........Being a member of a certain man made "denomination" or man made "religion" may lead you down the path to your own destruction if you are not wise to their ineptitude or deceit, or both! If you call yourself a True Christian than you WOULD NOT be involved in a luke warm church or a false church of which could be the means of your own undoing. Being a True Christian does NOT involve traditions of men through pagan idols and ritual worship, which is what the blaphemous Whore; the Roman Catholic Church,..... "Mother of Harlots and abominations of the earth"....... is deeply rooted in. They call themselves a "Christian" based organization but do not do the things God asks of them. They are in total Lawlessness against God and are enslaved by their own god, Satan, who is the master countifieter of truth. Her Harlot offspring, the Protestant Churches have been tainted with some of the Mother Whore's pagan rituals; some more than others. True Christianity and God's true church is actively being a follower of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and a true and faithful servant of God, living according to the word, the will, and the ways of God, not the worlds ways or from a convoluted version of God's truth......True Christians.... "Live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." God knows the heart of the true believer, and their are many in luke warm churches only for mere fact that they grew up in that particular church or they have been swayed to that church. Many of them may be saved but will not receive the blessings they could've had if they knew the full truth and honored God in the ways of His teachings in the Bible, not the half truths and misinterpretations now being taught today.........God's TRUE CHURCH is alive and well today but you won't find them in organized religion because God isn't about that and neither is His Son Jesus Christ. God's churches are Jesus' "little flocks" who are all around the world who live by every word of God. They do NOT commit abominations against God and are NOT in total lawlessness against their Father. They honor the Father's Holy days and NOT the worlds pagan holidays with traditions of men. These are the true saints of God who WILL become joint heirs with Jesus Christ and inherit the coming Kingdom of God on earth.........

Answer 9

Some portions of the bible use ancient instruments of rhetorical comparison, metaphors, and objective reporting of historical events.

One cannot take a few verses here and there and form an entire theology around them without understanding the systematic messages in the entire bible.

Unfortunately, some believers and non-believers will pick and choose their biblical verses to make a point, yet fail to synthesize the verse(s) with an overall thematic theological message.

So, to properly understand the bible you must first have a solid grounding in what is referred to as biblical hermeneutics. The term hermeneutics was derived from two words--the Greek verb hermeneuein, meaning to interpret, and the noun hermeneia, meaning interpretation.

**Hermeneutics is described as the development and study of theories and interpretation of the understanding of sacred texts.**

Some principles to keep in mind as you interpret the bible:

- Understanding the subject according to its social and historical context
- Assessing the historical social construction between the researcher and the subject
- Relating ideographic details to general theoretical concepts through abstraction and generalization
- Being sensitive to potential pre-conceptual theoretical contradictions between research design and actual findings
- Being aware of possible multiple interpretations among participants for a given sequence of events
- Being conscious of potential biases or systematic distortions in the subject’s narratives

For those who have studied hermeneutics formally or informally, it becomes easier to determine when metaphors or ancient instruments of rhetorical comparisons are being made in the scriptures. Hence when I train future clerics, church teachers, etc., they are equipped with the right tools to then expound to others.

Despite the difficulties in reading such a profound book, investigation will also reveal that there exists NO SINGLE SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY that has been shown to prove error, factually or doctrinally, in the Bible. Yes, there is plenty of speculation and hypotheses, but not a single verifiable fact.

A good text to start with: "Principles of Biblical Interpretation", by Louis Berkhof

Start here:
http://www.bible-interpretation.com/
http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Hermeneutics/

Answer 10

Most people do make there own out of something that's already out there... they feel comfortable on the way they believe in the religion. For example.. Lutheran is the way that martin Luther king saw the message of the bible.. and people do follow it cos they fell safe that way...

it all based on different interpretations people have.... and for all of thees there is only one source..
Christianity..... and the writing of the word of God.. Bible