The validity of the Bible?

Question

Why are people using natural logic and reason to try to disprove a book that provides supernatural assertions?

For 2000 years, the Bible hasn't been disproved. Isn't that significant? Doesn't that deserve some 'open-mindedness'?

You wonder why the Bible doesn't make sense to you? Look deeper. It's more than science. It's more than 'how'. It's 'why'.

Why would God try to prove himself with the Bible when the whole point of the Bible is to teach us salvation and how to get it? It's a matter of eternity, of serious importance.

Why don't you take it seriously? Is this all a joke? At least do it out of respect of Jesus, who lived a life beyond all of our standards.

:D

"Um...actually parts of the bible have been scientifically proven as false."

Read my first statement, then think about this.

Science is constantly changing. We were certain the earth was flat. We were certain that the Sun revolves around us. Well, it just so happens that science was wrong. You depend on a foundation that is in constant motion. The Bible does not change. "Modern Science" will be nothing in 100 years.

"But it hasn't been proven either. You can't disprove that there is an invisible vampire behind you right now."

My point exactly. All the more reason to be open-minded.

"The earth was covered in water and all species are 6,000 years old"

PLEASE tell me where the Bible states that.

Answer 1

"To get the full flavor of an herb, it must be pressed between the fingers, so it is the same with the Scriptures; the more familiar they become, the more they reveal their hidden treasures and yield their indescribable riches."-- St. John Chrysostom, A.D. 347-407



The Process of Lectio Divina
A VERY ANCIENT art, practiced at one time by all Christians, is the technique known as lectio divina - a slow, contemplative praying of the Scriptures which enables the Bible, the Word of God, to become a means of union with God. This ancient practice has been kept alive in the Christian monastic tradition. Together with the Liturgy and daily manual labor, time set aside in a special way for lectio divina enables us to discover in our daily life an underlying spiritual rhythm. Within this rhythm we discover an increasing ability to offer more of ourselves and our relationships to God, and to accept the embrace that God is continuously extending to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

Lectio - reading/listening
THE ART of lectio divina begins with cultivating the ability to listen deeply. When we read the Scriptures we should try to imitate the prophet Elijah. We should allow ourselves to become women and men who are able to listen for the still, small voice of God (I Kings 19:12); the "faint murmuring sound" which is God's word for us, God's voice touching our hearts. This gentle listening is an "attunement" to the presence of God in that special part of God's creation which is the Scriptures.

THE CRY of the prophets to ancient Israel was the joy-filled command to "Listen!" "Sh'ma Israel: Hear, O Israel!" In lectio divina we, too, heed that command and turn to the Scriptures, knowing that we must "hear" - listen- to the voice of God, which often speaks very softly. In order to hear someone speaking softly we must learn to be silent. We must learn to love silence. If we are constantly speaking or if we are surrounded with noise, we cannot hear gentle sounds. The practice of lectio divina, therefore, requires that we first quiet down in order to hear God's word to us. This is the first step of lectio divina, appropriately called lectio - reading.

THE READING or listening which is the first step in lectio divina is very different from the speed reading which modern Christians apply to newspapers, books and even to the Bible. Lectio is reverential listening; listening both in a spirit of silence and of awe. We are listening for the still, small voice of God that will speak to us personally - not loudly, but intimately. In lectio we read slowly, attentively, gently listening to hear a word or phrase that is God's word for us this day.

Meditation
ONCE WE have found a word or a passage in the Scriptures which speaks to us in a personal way, we must take it in and "ruminate" on it. The image of the ruminant animal quietly chewing its cud was used in antiquity as a symbol of the Christian pondering the Word of God. Christians have always seen a scriptural invitation to lectio divina in the example of the Virgin Mary "pondering in her heart" what she saw and heard of Christ (Luke 2:19). For us today these images are a reminder that we must take in the word - that is, memorize it - and while gently repeating it to ourselves, allow it to interact with our thoughts, our hopes, our memories, our desires. This is the second step or stage in lectio divina - meditation. Through meditation we allow God's word to become His word for us, a word that touches us and affects us at our deepest levels.

Prayer
THE THIRD step in lectio divina is prayer: prayer understood both as dialogue with God, that is, as loving conversation with the One who has invited us into an embrace; and as consecration, prayer as the priestly offering to God of those parts of ourselves that we have not previously believed God wants. In this consecration-prayer we allow the word that we have taken in and on which we are pondering to touch and change our deepest selves. Just as a priest consecrates the elements of bread and wine at the Eucharist, God invites us in lectio divina to hold up our most difficult and pain-filled experiences, and to gently recite over them the healing word or phrase God has given us in our lectio and meditation. In this prayer, this consecration-prayer, we allow our real selves to be touched and changed by the Word of God.

Contemplation
FINALLY, WE simply rest in the presence of the One who has used the Scripture word as a means of inviting us to accept a transforming embrace. No one who has ever been in love needs to be reminded that there are moments in loving relationships when words are unnecessary. It is the same in our relationship with God. Wordless, quiet rest in the presence of the One who loves us has a name in the Christian tradition - contemplation. Once again we practice silence, letting go of our own words; this time simply enjoying the experience of being in the presence of God.




"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." -- St. Jerome, A.D. 340-420

Answer 2

For 2000 years, the Bible hasn't been disproved.

Sorry, but this is NOT correct. Archaeology is the "double-edged sword" that both proves AND disproves which parts of the Bible are historically accurate, and which parts are not. Some parts of the Bible are historically accurate, and some are not, and archaeology proves it.

Also, there is great deal of misunderstanding about the Bible. For example, the story of the Exodus - where the Jews escaped from Egypt by Moses parting the Red Sea is an error in translation that should read the "REED" sea... in other words, they escaped through the swamps, which was a pretty smart thing to do because chariots don't go through swamps very well! Also, the story of Noah's Flood says that the entire world was covered with water, but there isn't enough water on the entire planet for that to happen, and at the time "the whole world" was only the part of the world that was known to them. There really WAS a catastrophic flood - there is evidence of this, but "the whole world" being underwater just isn't possible. Another problem is that if there were only two of every animal on the Ark, the genetic inbreeding by the animals would have caused massive die offs. The story is meant to be an allegory, and not meant to be taken completely literally - be good, or "God" will destroy you. The story of Revelations was written by revolutionary Jews that were trying to overthrow the Roman occupiers, so they wrote in a way that only they would understand using a form of future-predicting ("divination") called "numerology". As it turns out, the "number of the Beast" happens to match the "number" for Emperor Neron Caesar, who was the Emperor of Rome at the time. In order not to crucified, the Jews were smart enough to encode their revolutionary statements in something that only they could understand, and the ROMANS would not have a clue about - those revolutionary Jews were SMART.

As to Jesus, there is ZERO first-hand evidence of him ever really having existed at all, but that does NOT mean that he didn't exist. It simply means that all of the testimonials about him came AFTER his supposed lifetime. And, it was not until the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. that Jesus was actually first worshipped AS a god - prior to that he was considered a prophet, but never worshipped as God. Most Christians either deny this or don't know about it. There are a lot of good moral lessons to be learned from the Bible, but to take it literally is to misunderstand it, and if you really know the history behind it, it becomes a great deal more interesting!

Take the examples of good that are in the Bible and use them to guide your life for the betterment of all, but its really more important to deal with this life now, because it is the one you are in.

P.S. The belief that the Earth was flat is NOT science, and it was determined that Earth was actually round over 2,000 years ago. The belief that the Earth had the sun revolve around it is also NOT science - it was just a belief, and SCIENCE proved both of these beliefs incorrect. I can also assure that science will definitely be here in the future, if mankind survives, because science actually works a whole lot better than wishful thinking. The proof of it is the computer you are using - scientists figured out the electronics - it wasn't "prayed" into being.

Answer 3

You are proper in considering that phrases difference their that means through the years. What I consider your are lacking is that the human revel in does now not difference. Pain remains to be felt as discomfort, it doesn't matter what language you employ to precise it. You need to recall that faith is a courting, in which its the that means of phrases that depend, now not the specific phrases. When you are saying "Real Bible" it sounds such as you consider the bible is a guide of magic which include incantations: phrases that need to be learn in a special method. In the historical testomony it says that God will inscribe his phrase in our hearts. This tells us that we all know God's Word, or God's message, its ordinary to being human. Just consider approximately phrases like love, justice and compassion. We believe those matters as an alternative than examine them. Nobody has to inform a 3 yr historical that they're being teased. They believe the indignation and it feels dangerous, fallacious and hurtful. Culture does difference and a few phrases do cross turn out to be untranslatable. Brother and sister are well examples. In many cultures, it method members of the family of the equal new release, so our phrase, cousin, was once now not wanted and their brother would possibly imply our cousin. On americian TV indicates brother is utilized by black men to name yet another black male to unity. How could you translate that Brother to French or German? This is the project of the translator. I consider the bible translators have taken their paintings very severely and truthfully have attempted to carry God's message as quality they are able to. The Catholic Church teaches that the bible includes the goal of its writer. To appreciate the message of the bible, seem for the goal of the tale, now not simply the specific phrases which might be hired to carry the that means. Remember additionally that the message isn't whole till its obtained. Look on the tale within the gentle of your possess lived revel in after which you'll recognize the message. It will assignment and enlighten you. You will recognize its proper and that it'll result in salvation. Be open to proposal and the Holy Spirit will fill your center and brain with divine fact past human phrases.

Answer 4

How else would you disporve supernatural assertions other than reason, logic and evidence? Surely that is enough for any sane, rational person?

The bible claims to be the truth. If you disprove one thing it is obviously not the truth.

The world is not ~6000 years old.
pi doesn't equal 3
The world is not flat.
There was never a flood that covered the entire world.

In addition to that, the bible itself contradicts itself.
The genealogies of Jesus don't agree.

Jesus could be viewed as being a terrorist leading dissent against the Roman government. We have no proof that he lived a life beyond any standards, other then the bible itself. We know that, following the Nicean Council, nearly 300 other eye witness accounts of Jesus' life were ordered to be destroyed because they were writen in Hebrew and Greek. Who knows how many more dissenting opinions on the life of Jesus were wittingly destroyed for the sake of consistency of dogma (which they still didn't get).?

Answer 5

For starters, the Bible has been disproved. Christians are just too stubborn to acknowledge it.

Scientists claim that nothing overrules natural law, not even a God. Christians then say that God created natural law. (Fair enough).

But then in Genesis, God creates plants before light. He stops the sun in the sky! At what point did he create natural law?

The Bible has been disproved on many, many fronts. However you can't argue with someone who uses the little brother argument of "Well that's what God intended it to seem like" to everything science unveils.

There IS a lot to say about Jesus, I agree with you on that. However the Bible is disproven, it just takes time for an entire culture to die down (which is currently happening).

Answer 6

If you are willing to bring me proof, I'd be more than willing to look at it.

But: God's convenent, that of the rainbow, stated that he'd never cause flood distruction again. However, if he cares for the world which he has created, why would he do it in the first place? In theory, he is supposed to be a loving, caring, and kind creator. He is supposed to forgive those who ask it of him.

And yet, a small baby, newly born, hasn't done much wrong. But still, day after day, infants die. Is this punishment for their sins? No, they have none. So really, what makes them any less worthy of life than the rest of us? Exactly; they deserve a chance more. But if there truly is a God, he's taking it away with every small, helpless being he allows to die.

If you ask me, this contradicts quite a few parts of the Bible.

Even if the Bible did state, "though shalt murder children without question of their purity and innocence," I wouldn't want to follow it. If you'd like to tell me that God does everything for our own good, go ahead--I'll simply disagree. We could've done without Katrina. We could've done without our citizens going to war in Iraq. We could've done without the daily Hell imposed upon us, seemingly by some almighty creator.

Really, the Bible, God, and life today don't add up.

If this is what God does--he may accept me, but I could never accept him. And therefore, following the word of the Bible, holy book of God, is not something I'm willing to do.

Answer 7

What, you think that just because it has been around for 2000 years that it shouldn't have it's correctness and authenticity tested? Come on..... This is a book that is telling us, if it is true, some of the most important information ever distributed. It is telling us how to live forever. It is giving us "rules" to live by and how to treat others. It damn well better be beyond reproach. My question to you is why are you so scared to have the bible questioned and examined in detail?

Answer 8

I really wish someone would show me where in the Bible it says the world is flat, because as many times as I've read through it, I've never seen that. It's starting to drive me crazy. Anyway, the Bible does not delve into scientific subjects so it's a little hard to prove that way. However, archaeological work has repeatedly shown the Bible to be accurate. Funny, no one ever wants to talk about that.

Answer 9

I think Jillian said it well. The bible has some great messages (unfortunately also some bad ones). The problem comes when people demand that you believe everything in the bible 100% and then tell you that you are going to hell if you don't. And they tell you that you are not a Christian if you dont believe that gays are evil, or that you must hate muslims, or that women who want equality are nazis. or that teaching evolution is the Devils' work. These people are nuts - and they give Christianity a bad name.

Answer 10

I could say the same things about the "Book of the Dead", the Koran, "The Book of Mormon", etc, etc. The Bible exists in a natural world and supposedly records people and their interactions with God in an infallible manner. It stands to reason that what it records would be accurate (especially since it is infallible). Given that, we expect the numerous cultures that existed at the time to have recorded things like a world wide flood, the sun stopping or even moving backwards. We expect contemporary historian of the time to have recorded earthquakes and 3+ hour periods of darkness at the time of Christ as well as writings about him that date to that time. Given that we have none of that or any other collaborating proof, what conceivable reason would we have to believe any of it?

The Koran and book of Mormon are even less creditable.

Answer 11

I don't know exactly what 'bible' you are referring to. When one refers to the Bible, most people think of the Five Books of Moses, which were given to the Children of Israel at Mt. Sinai by the hand of Moshe (Moses). This book is the basis of morality for Western Civilization. Besides that, it is also a code. Do a google for "The Bible Code" and you'll see what I'm talking about.