If faith in Christ is the only prerequisite to going to heaven, ..............?

Question

Then why didnt god ensure the bible was perfect?
Why are there so many translations and branches of Christianity? Why was a council of priests gathered by the roman emperor Constantine responsable for putting the bible together? Why are there different versions of Christs death found in the 4 gospels of the bible? Why did Jesus prefer the Jews to the Gentiles?


My point is; can salvation really be based upon belief in a story/book that is full of contradictions and a vast number of alterations?

Dont get me wrong I belief in Jesus. I think he was one of humanities greatest masters of compassion and wisdom.
But I also like to do a little bit of research. And when you study the history of Christianity you find out that the bible was mostly a compilation of writtings from different churches put together by a council led by a crazed Roman emperor. A council that later murdered thousands of "Heretic" becouse they believed differently. ie. Gnostics.

So if you believe that others dont have a chance of a good afterlife becouse they dont belief in jesus then I would think deeply. Such thoughts are a manifestation of exclusion and selfishness. If Christianity was perfect then I wouldnt disagree. But it is not.
Therefore we must all respect each other and stop making claims that limit other people and make them inferior to you.

Answer 1

The author of the Bible is God. To say the Bible is not true is to curse God.

Answer 2

A lot of Christians have decided to believe that the Bible is the perfect word of God simply because they want it to be. They want something that they can use as a basis of their belief system, something that "answers all their questions", and something that tells them things they want to hear.

The Bible is obviously a collection of the works of many authors over a long span of time. Large parts of it are extremely difficult to understand. There are other parts that are just plain impossible to know the meaning of. There are also many parts that are inconsistent with each other.

There is a lot of evidence that large parts of the Bible were edited or re-written at times. There have been many mistranslations in the versions of the Bible. There are also parts where it is impossible to know what the correct translation would be.

Its interesting that so many Christians have chosen to make the Bible the foundation of their faith when Jesus didn't write a single word of it. Jesus never told his followers to write a New Testament. Jesus never said that he would help future Christians write and assemble a book that would be the perfect word of God. Nevertheless, a lot of Christians act as if God had given them some sort of guarantee regarding their Bible.

It all comes down to people believing what they want to believe and what makes them feel good. These people want assurances that they are right, so they pretend that these assurances exist. Sometimes they have even murdered people that spoke out against these beliefs. Its really amazing and horrible that people will go to such lengths to simply give themselves a feeling that they are safe and correct.

Answer 3

The idea that all revealed truth is to be found in "66 books" is not only not in Scripture, it is contradicted by Scripture (1 Corinthians 11:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:15, 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 1 Timothy 3:15, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 2 Peter 3:16). It is a concept unheard of in the Old Testament, where the authority of those who sat on the Chair of Moses (Matthew 23:2-3) existed. In addition to this, for 400 years, there was no defined canon of "Sacred Scripture" aside from the Old Testament; there was no "New Testament"; there was only Tradition and non-canonical books and letters.




Protestants claim the Bible is the only rule of faith, meaning that it contains all of the material one needs for theology and that this material is sufficiently clear that one does not need apostolic tradition or the Church’s magisterium (teaching authority) to help one understand it. In the Protestant view, the whole of Christian truth is found within the Bible’s pages. Anything extraneous to the Bible is simply non-authoritative, unnecessary, or wrong—and may well hinder one in coming to God.

Catholics, on the other hand, recognize that the Bible does not endorse this view and that, in fact, it is repudiated in Scripture. The true "rule of faith"—as expressed in the Bible itself—is Scripture plus apostolic tradition, as manifested in the living teaching authority of the Catholic Church, to which were entrusted the oral teachings of Jesus and the apostles, along with the authority to interpret Scripture correctly

Answer 4

0. Jesus, when asked what the prequisites were, said: "Love God and Love your Neighbor" and that this was the foundation of "the Law and the Prophets" - which was the hebrew "bible". Now this does not a priori contradict the notion that faith in Jesus is the only way to get there, particularly if "faith" does not mean simply "belief", but means living out those two ideas even unto death.
1. The bible isn't perfect, because it is a compilation of various works written by human beings, in some cases, written by humans "inspired" by God. It is not a single work, but a collection of the writings canonized at the council. They chose writings that were used approximately universally held by the individual churches to be inspired by god, and that were written by associates of Jesus, or persons directly associated with the Apostles.
2.There are so many translations because Christianity spread(s) throughout the known world. There are so many branches because it is the nature of things organized by people to fissiparate; division about policies and belief are no less present in any other religion,government,etc.
3. The Gospels were not histories in the sense we use the word today, were we expect a certain amount of empiricism; the gospels are more like memoirs with a point. There are not 4 different versions of Christ's death, at best there are 2, between the synoptics and the gospel of John. The differences are primarily not contradictions [though there is a difference between the reckoning on the exact day between John and the others].
3. Jesus did not exactly prefer Jews to Gentiles; he interacted with Samaritans, etc. Jesus claimed to be the messiah; this did mean that some of the promises made were not made to people who weren't Jews. I presume this assertion.
4. Contradictions are usually b/c people find some of the books selected to belong to bible, to contradict, esp. between the old and new testaments. Alterations are in fact very small number, and a great deal of documented research has shown that the books of the bible have reached us today largely unaltered; whatever you think about the veracity of what is written of in the bible, it is almost entirely what was written within about 30-60 years of the death of christ [or else predates him by centuries].

The important belief about Jesus is not whether he preached compassion and wisdom; it is that his death on the cross can save you from your sins. That whatever you conceive hell to be, there is no avoiding without reconciling your sins through Jesus. That means accepting not just what he said as true, but that obedience to God unto his death was the only means of salvation.

Beliefs ABOUT Jesus are only peripheral matters; faith in him, that is living out those beliefs in emulation of him, is what saves.

Answer 5

OK, this could get long.

The Bible was written by man but was guided by the hand of God.

As for branches of Christianity, you are confusing Religion with Christianity. Religion is man made, Chrsitianity is God breathed. If you follow Gods word in the Bible (literally) then that would be Chrsitianity. Religions like Catholics, Protestants branches, Jehovah's Witnesses tend to make up their own rules and ways, many of which disagree with Gods word. That is why I choose to be Nondenominational.

The council of priests thing I have to research more deeply.

The four Gospels tell the same story but from different points of view. Think of it like this. One guy was a physician, another was a tax collector, one was a fisherman, and the fourth was also a fisherman (we think). So they all looked at the story from their different pro points of view. Picture a car accident at a 4 way intersection. 4 witnesses all on different street corners. Would they not all see it from a different viewpoint? same idea.

Jesus did start with the Jews, but in the Bible where He says "I have other sheep to tend to" He was talking about the Gentiles. (The Mormans believe that this meant He came to America, not true) He wants us all to come to Him, but He started with the Jews first.

And the Bible does not have contradictions. This is a common argument that is full of holes. You have to take the whole Bible in context, not just chapter by chapter. It took fourteen hundred years to write and it still all ties together, even for todays lifestyle.

Good question. Hope I helped.

Answer 6

I have seen these studies that you speak but honestly their biased. The reason there are so many branches of Christianity is because many people interpret the Bible differently and sometimes very incorrectly. Every version of Christs death says the same thing just in different wording. I dont believe Jesus preferred the Jews to the Gentile John 3:16 states that anyone who believes in hims has everlasting life. It doesnt say only the jews.

Answer 7

You bring up a lot of good points.

Assuming for one minute that the bible actually was perfect at one time (a huge assumption), it's interpretations and translations over thousands of years will invariably will be slanted and contorted by those in power that will use it to promote their own political or social agenda.

For all we know, the bible is very different from it's original writing. As far as basing belief in a story/book full of contradictions, I think the underlying message has probably remained constant, even if the words haven't:

Treat all people with respect and love. No one is perfect, therefore find forgiveness as you would have others forgive you for your mistakes. Help those unable to help themselves.

Answer 8

God did make His word perfect. Jesus Himself said this: "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." (Matthew 5:18)

There are various denominations of Christianity because of a certain understanding of what is being taught. There are good reasons, as well as bad ones, for why this has occurred, but you can blame men for this, not God. As to various translations of the Bible, they have been written (especially lately) so that people who have varying degrees of reading skill, can read the Bible in the manner in which they speak.

As to the canon of Scripture, you are making a case that really isn't there. The canon of the Bible was discussed at great length during several councils, of which the first council of Nicea was one, which occurred in 325 A.D.

In order for the books of the New Testament to be considered for inclusion, they had to meet three criteria: 1) They had to have been written by or for an apostle. 2) They had to agree with the common faith practice of the plurality of the churches. 3) They had to be accepted by the plurality of the churches. Constantine had little to do with the councils, other than order that they be held.

As to salvation in Christ alone, it wasn't Christians who came up with that. It was Christ Himself: "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. (John 3:17-18) And "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

The Gnostics were considered heretics right from the beginning. The letter to the Colossians was one treatise on the subject, as well as John's three letters. Gnosticism is against all that Jesus and the apostles taught.

Answer 9

Dear ABY,
 You sound like an intelligent person who is seeking truth. God said that to any and all
who seek wisdom, He would give it abundantly, and withhold nothing (James 1:5). You have many questions in your blog. If I were to reduce them all to one, the question you are really asking is "Can I trust God?" I am going to make some recommendations if you are really interested in knowing God and knowing all you can be through Him.

1:You are asking all of the right questions. There is one book specifically written to answer those most confusing dicotomies. This book has yet to be released to the public. You can only get it through the publisher at www.zugospublishing.com. It is called Liberty -The Perfect Law, by Michael Angelo. It speaks specifically about interpretations, denominations, and so on.

2: Read your Bible regularly, God is raising an army of believers in America, and obviously He is calling you to be a part of it. I say this because men do not reach for God or search for answers as you are doing. It is God who calls us to Himself. It is not in man to be Godly. Mankind is basically selfish and for good reasons.

3: Before each reading pray as the Psalmist did in PS 119:18: “Father, Let me behold the wonders out of thy law.”

4:If you have never read your Bible through, I recommend you get a copy of The Picture
Bible from www.cookministries.com or from Amazon or Barnes and Noble. It is the entire Bible
in chronological order, in comic book style, and can be read in a matter of days. I have been
recommending it for years. It is like flying a helicopter over the city to see where the rivers run,
where the roads cross and where businesses are in relation to the homes. Once you understand
the “lay of the land,” you can navigate the city easily. Likewise, once you know all the characters
of the Bible and how they are involved in the entire work of God, it becomes much easier to
study and understand the more intricate details.

Finally, answers about God are easy if you ask the right "Person." It is God that knows about God. You have not because you ask not (James chapter 4). If you ask God He will answer every question, and give you everything you need (Matt 6:33). However, God speaks in a language with which you might be unfamiliar. It is called Bible. The Bible is written to be confusing to those who are not really seeking answers so they cannot use it for evil purposes. The language is available only to those who know God. 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, and because of evil, God's truth falls on deaf ears - 2 Corinthians 4:3-6. Once you know God, and you become familiar with the language of Bible by having read it and studied it thuroughly, then God can use the words of the Bible to give you the knowledge you seek.

There is a book that will give you confidence that the Bible is here for a reason and that it is here, by the power of God. Only God could have preserved it through so many who have come against it. The book is called Evidence That Demands a Verdict, by an atheist named Josh McDowell. He was a lawyer who was challenged to take Jesus to court to prove He does not and never did exist. He spent a decade researcing the evidence only to become a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. His book tells it all including why we can trust the Bible as true. It is probably the best book written on the subject. Hope this helps.
Agape

Answer 10

Yeah I was thinking that last night, just so then I didn't have so much work to do, researching and discovering the ins and the outs of the Bible...

I don't think God made it like a text book for the simple fact that he wants us to believe, he wants us to have faith...

1 Cor 1:25 The foolishness of God is more wise than man's most wisest moment

1 Cor 1:27-31

It's all very interesting and I think holds the keys to the crux of your question here.

Answer 11

At the time that Jesus appeared on earth, it should have been easier to believe in a "godly-man" or "God-Man" than in an invisible God, or printed myths and stories.

For those who did not believe in what they could see, there was little hope of salvation.

But times have changed. Jesus has become the invisible God, and people need to see something real and good...

...any volunteers?