Inside the Bible - Outside the box?

Question

I've had some of the Q&A topics that were broached here in YA on my heart and mind for a couple of days now. The following was part of that journey in thought. Though I know it to be a controversial subject, I hope that you all can see my heart. I would truly like to know your thoughts.

Regarding the Bible....

If one believes that God is omniscient (which I do), how can anyone of that mind set not believe that He knew exactly what texts would be found, when they would be found, how and in what order they would be compiled and the exact timing of their dissemination when He had it prophetically stipulated that there should be no future inclusions or exclusions to the text? Can one point really be dismissed as "only for that specific book" when the text in its' entirety had but one ultimate author? As we follow the parallels and sinuating accounts throughout the text, can there really be a definitive segregation of intended meaning?

I've put my thick skin on, please feel free....

Answer 1

I agree that the Bible MUST be read as a whole. Selecting only the books or verses that you agree with or that prove your point is inappropriate. To properly interpret the Bible, you must consider all of it and the context in which it was written.

As to the meaning, I believe that it is written on many levels. It is a book of history, a family genealogy, a book of law, a book of prophecy; but mostly it is a book of liturgy. The liturgical themes tie the whole together.

Answer 2

Years ago, I found I needed to learn Unix, so I picked up a book called Unix for Dummies. This wonderfully written book started out assuming I knew nothing about Unix, then started introducing me to the basic concepts of the OS, then gradually build upon this foundation to give me a functional knowledge of Unix in just a few hours of reading. Did it make me a Unix expert? By no means, but it gave me enough to get by, and a solid foundation on which to base further learning of the subject.

What you are saying is that your god essentially "wrote" a book called Life for Dummies. Anyone who's ever read this book soon finds that it's full of appalling contradictions of its own text, absurdly irrelevent information, interspersed with poorly plagarized myths from earlier cultures. It's not a good read. Send a copy to any publishing house, it'd be on the slush pile after any compitent editor had read the first chapter.

Don't you think that an omniscient being could author, or at least edit/inspire, a slightly more comprehensable text? He couldn't even get the major points of the story right! Two contradictory creation stories side by side in Genesis? The four "gospels" that, taken as a whole, cast so much doubt on their own authenticity that the effectively cancel one another out? Give me a break.

If an omniscient being really wanted to communicate an idea, it would certainly take in to account the proposed audience and produce a document that anyone in that audience could follow. One would hope that it would be even easier to follow than Unix for Dummies, since supposedly it contains vital information that everyone needs to know to avoid a bloody ETERNITY of punishment. Perhaps your god should have hired the fellow who wrote that book, rather than the Council of Nicea who assembled it...

I've always said that it's a great mystery that your god made even Dean Koontz a better writer than he himself is...

Answer 3

I'm not entirely sure I understand what you're asking (or putting up for debate, as it were) but I think I'll give it a go.

You're wanting to know if god knows all things why people claim that the bible cannot be the work of god inspired men?

This is simple. According to your arguement, yes god is omniscient, however, he also gave men free will and men will do whatever it takes to further their own ends. The bible, while it may have originally been inspired by god, it was compiled by men. These men had their own agendas, their own reasons for the things they've done, their own ends. Later, other men translated and changed the bible (as with the 1612 KJV of the bible). Men are incapable of comprehending all that is a divine being, therefore they cannot adequately portray him in a book that they must write. Regardless of whether or not it was inspired by god, the pen holders were still men and they still had to write in terms they could understand. In doing this, they fell far short of divinity. I cannot put faith in something so flawed.

Answer 4

i just answered a question which in a nutshell said the bible isn't fact, and you're right, it's meaning cannot have been changed much, and yes God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent but who knows why he does anything he does (apart from the good of mankind). But i suppose you could ask why is there so many differences in the judo-christian denominations?

did God orchestrate each of their foundations? what i'm trying to say is (and i'm probably not doing it too well!) we can't really know for definite what to believe, but to just try to be a good person that's all that God seems to want!

Answer 5

You say God is omniscient. This means he/she/it knew what would happen. It does not mean he/she/it chose to control those events. We have free will, a gift from God, if you so believe. Therefore what we humans did with the texts may not have been what God intended, simply that God has chosen not to interfere and allow humanity to explore their faith on their own without being forced to do so by God. Being forced would not create true faith of belief, it would be subjugation.

Answer 6

I totally agree with you. I'll even go a step further to say if man tried to put something into the Bible that God didn't want, God would cause his hand to wither before He would let man write what God didn't want in His Word. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is an awesome God that we know. Faith is nothing more than taking God at His Word and God's Word is Truth.

God said His Word is Truth - Believe it! Great question and I agree with you.

Answer 7

I'm sorry dear, but I think that people give way too much attention to the bible. It's a book of stories, nothing more.
The bible was written by many different people, and revised by many others.
Life as we know it is about change.
The bible is a relic that has no place in affecting the way we live our lives today.
I'm not saying that it should be forgotten, just don't focus so much on it's meaning.

Answer 8

try reading the chronological Bible...it gives a new perspective on timelines and helps with comprehension of Biblical events.

rather than being seperated into the different books, it is printed so that events are in chronological order. Bible study becomes much more interesting this way.

Answer 9

Thank you for so bravely sharing your faith. Especially in a forum like this one where many people are here to only to scoff.

Genuine belief like yours and mine (I also believe that God is omniscient) is a point upon which we can stand. It is a peak from which we can see clearly what is logical and what is illogical.

The number one rule of Bible Interpretation is to let the Bible to explain itself.

Answer 10

Then he would have know that there would be a surprising lack of evidence for the bible and massive amounts against. One would expect that a god that designed the universe would not have had his word contrary to the facts that he created. Therefor either god does not exist or he is not a trustworthy god.