If you don't have to believe everything in the bible, then how do you know the right parts to believe?

Question

I'm referring to SeeTheLight's response to this question:

http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtaDfej9UIaDANu1PnHFrDZEShh.?qid=20070319132149AAA8Qjs

I do wish the christians could get their stories straight. Is the bible the word of god, or ain't it? If it's the word of god, then I should think it would be an all-or-nothing thing -- accept it or burn. And if it's not the word of god, then why bother with it at all?

Answer 1

You are correct- that is because king Constantine changed many things in the Bible to control the citizens. The original Bible which was found hidden under a Buddhist temple (the Original Christian Essenes and disciples of Christ hid the copy so Constantine couldn't burn it. It is now available in English. IT is amazing Christ originally taught Reincarnation, Karma, Vegetarianism, Hell temporary place no one goes eternally. For more info. Go to gospelofthenazirenes.c I also have a book that shows all the mistranslated words in the bible called You Mean That's' in the Bible by Satyaraja Dasa

Answer 2

There are some people, theist or otherwise, who just don't worry over the details. And they make that work for them, somehow. I think SeeTheLight is less "type A" than I am. And that's probably a good thing. ;o)

I agree that it's not a pick and choose proposition. I believe that it is the word of God and that I'm responsible for understanding it and living it as best I'm able. Some things are difficult, and I'm glad that it's a learn as you go process.

Do I know how to answer everything? No. Do I have faith that the answers are there and I need to seek them? Absolutely.

I will say this, though, there are some central beliefs that are more important than understanding something like the book of Revelation. Some parts are more practical and fundamental than others; the gospels, for instance. It's not that parts are untrue or or unimportant, but some are pivotal.

Answer 3

Oh it's God's word alright. Problem is it's people reading it and giving others what they got from it. That's the problem. Instead of reading it and encouraging others to do the same, they read it and go about teaching what they aren't sure about. How much more heavy the punishment is for the ones who teach falsely, it would be better had they not heard the word at all! Be wary of false teachers.

You have it right, it is accept it or burn, it is all or nothing. Sadly because we aren't all as wise as God, we all see different parts of what he has to say. The bible likened it to a "body", each arm and leg has a different function and different type of work to do, but it's all called to do the work. This is why the bible says you are responsible to keep track of your own salvation once you have been given it. The teachers you listen to WILL fall, they are human and give in to sin like the rest of us at some point. It is your own responsiblity to make sure YOUR relationship with the Lord is secure so WHEN that happens, YOU do not fall with them. Read the bible yourself, it's all there.

Answer 4

You are getting your information from confused people obviously. Or maybe you are hearing from many different people who claim to be Christian but don't really know much about Christianity. The only way to get your answer is to seek God yourself, who will confirm that everything in the Bible is true.

Some people think that because of translations, it's not accurate. Confirm anything in the Bible with Strong's concordance and Bible Dictionary. And the Bible isn't contradictory either, as many try to say. It just tells the full extent of the details of info from previous chapters or books in the Bible at a later time in the Bible. True students of the Bible have all gotten that. Everybody else still needs to find out this truth before babblng their opinions and disillusioning the world. No small wonder so many people don't believe. Self-proclaiming Christians are talking but saying nothing.

Answer 5

It IS ALL TRUE, but it has to be taken IN CONTEXT! It does NOT all apply EQUALLY today!

Ephesians 2:15 Through his body on the cross, Christ put an END to the LAW WITH ALL ITS COMMANDS AND RULES. He wanted to create one new group of people out of the two. He wanted to make peace between them.

Colossians 2:14 He wiped out the written Law with its rules. The Law was against us. It opposed us. He took it away and nailed it to the cross.

Galatians 2:16 ...No one can be made right with God by obeying the law.

Galatians 2:21 ...What if a person could become right with God by obeying the law? Then Christ died for nothing!

Galatians 5:4 Some of you are trying to be made right with God by obeying the law. You have been separated from Christ. You have fallen away from God’s grace... The ONLY verse that talks about falling from grace, and they did it by trying to follow the law!

Jesus said he didn’t come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. (Matt 5:17) The effect was the same. Once fulfilled it was no longer in effect. The very next verse, Matthew 5:18, looks forward to the time when the law would be set aside. "...Not even the smallest stroke of a pen will disappear from the Law UNTIL EVERYTHING IS COMPLETED." IF the law were intended to be permanent, the "UNTIL..." clause would be meaningless.

On the cross, Jesus' last recorded saying, "It is finished," is an important milestone. Because of Jesus life, Satan had been defeated. The law was finished and would no longer stand between God and mankind.

The 10 commandments along with the rest of the law ("commands and rules" from Ephesians 2:15) were "set aside" when they were fulfilled or completed at Jesus' resurrection. We are no longer bound by that law.

Answer 6

It is indeed the word of God, and we should believe every word. Anyone who says they can only believe some and still be saved, are not saved....it is like a sweater that has a loose thread, once that thread is tugged at, (by taking just one or two scriptures and rejecting the rest) that whole sweater comes apart.
I believe the Bible IS the word of God, just as it says! And the Lord continues to reveal the truth to me through His Holy Spirit- and I am entirely thankful for my God and Savior! There is NOTHING more important than your eternal salvation in Christ.
2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

Answer 7

You are right. It's all or nothing. It is definitely the holy word of God. And if one wants to "pick and choose" what they believe, then they shouldn't bother. But people should study it and be able to rightly divide the word (know what it really says.) And one must also pray for wisdom, knowledge and understanding when studying the Bible. God will reveal His word to all sincere seekers, but those who think they have wisdom in themselves will be easily deceieved. It is entirely possible for people to read the Bible multitudes of times and never really know the truths contained in it.

Answer 8

The whole bible is the word of God. No parts should be ignored. Anyone that does is not following commandments of God.

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 9

You are 100% correct. If people dont believe Genesis for instance and want to believe in atheistic philosophy, are the still Christian? Either God gave us the truth or he gave us lies. People need to decide because I got news for ya, God doesnt appreciate being called a liar, even if it is part of the time.

Answer 10

Good question. I'm not a Christian hater, but I do wonder about the veracity of the Bible. For instance which version of the garden of Gethsemane story are you to take for the real one. Peter cut the ear off, wait no he didn't cut the ear off . What gives?