This is a serious question I would like a serious answer to??

Question

Why do people believe the words in the Bible, Qu`ran and the Torah when they were written by men who said they were the words of god? And if you believe those books do you also believe people like david Koresh who said he was sent from heaven by god? And if you don`t why not surely its the same sort of thing?

Answer 1

Most people believe what their parents brainwashed them with.

Most people who use logic and were not brainwashed as children, do not believe any of those fiction books.

Answer 2

There is scripture in the first five books of The Bible that was written from a scientific mind 3500 years ago that knew fields of science that could only be learned through the use of a very advanced microscope. That's right, microbiology. No human at that time or now for that matter had the knowledge to write such scripture. And it wasn't written by ancient Jewish scribes or sheepherders with creative minds. And it sure wasn't written by Charles Darwin. So who else could it be but the God that is being quoted speaking it to a man named Moses, the God Yahweh. I don't know enough about David Koresh to write about him.

Answer 3

I will answer this for what it purports to be - a serious question - though it seems to me that you already have a mindset that neither the Bible, Qu'ran, Torah or David Koresh came from God, in any case, so one wonders how to convince you of any of them? I have to say, this strikes me as being rather a 'closed question', and, if you insist on thinking in this way, no-one will be able to convince you otherwise.

The problem is, you lump everything together, and, because David Koresh and his followers came to a sticky end, you reckon every other religion which had prophets, too, has to be just about the same thing. You also invidiously put each of your readers, if they have any faith at all, in the position of having to defend all religions.

Sorry, the fact is that, whilst believers (hopefully) respect everyone's right to believe the religion which he chooses, every one of us believes his own religion is the best (or right) one. And we give reasons for this. It is up to the enquirer to go into these reasons (if he is interested) to sort out the 'wheat from the chaff'.

I cannot defend others' faiths, I can only speak as a Bible-believing Christian. I have enquired about the faith over many years, and I have also searched thoroughly the scriptures and related them to life and to each other and, for my part, I have found them to be inspired, just as they claim to be. I didn't start off believing the Bible - it took time, I asked honest questions - but this is my position now.

As regards believing the Bible, there are three options:
you believe it; you don't believe it, or you 'cherry-pick'.

If you don't believe it, you cannot, in all honesty, claim to be a Christian (though some still do), but you should investigate and find out WHY, so at least you can give some rational reasons.

If you pick and choose bits that you believe and bits that you don't, then you have another problem, because others can do that too, so there is then no universal basis for a Christian belief system. Everybody goes his own way, there is chaos and no-one can give you the same answer to the same question. I think this was the problem with David Koresh : he moved away from the biblical standard and this put him and his followers into the 'danger zone'. This is the problem with all 'christian' cults.

Regarding believing the Bible, you know, you can test whether something is from God, but you must approach the matter genuinely desiring to know the truth. If you think you have too much to lose to be honest about this, then you can't either, in all fairness, dismiss the Bible, can you? Because then what you believe about the Bible - that it was written by men who only CLAIMED to have heard from God (but never die) - has never actually been tested. In other words, you have given the matter only shallow thought and then believed what you wanted to believe.

So, if you want to learn - let's say, about the Bible - you will have to do a bit more searching, questioning and genuine seeking to know the truth. That's the way I see it. We believers can give you lots of reasons why we believe the Bible is true and divinely inspired, but these are all easy to dismiss if you have a mind not to listen.

No-one can PROVE that God exists, or that the Bible is divinely inspired, but try reversing that and it is equally true that no-one can PROVE either that God does not exist or that the Bible is not divinely inspired. All each side can give you is evidence - and we think our christian evidence is pretty good - but it is nothing compared with your own research and what you have done, doing your own digging, for that is personal to you. That, in the end, is the only thing that can convince you.

Unless you get personally involved, it is all just a matter of opinions. Whilst I can say to you that this is my opinion, in reality, to me, my faith in my God and the Bible has by now passed far beyond a personal opinion, it is to me what I KNOW. That is the nature of faith - it is strong, enough to live (and, if need be, die) for. At the end of my journey of enquiry, I can now say:
I know Him whom I believe in, and His Word is truth (John 17:17).

There, I've given you a testimony - hope it helps.

Answer 4

People believe i thes sort of books because it is rational to believe that a God created the universe and that everything is not just random chance. They also know that there is truth out there and that not everything asumed at the present about the past is correct. From there they follow what has meaning to them and makes sense to the world's(society's) function. Of course one of the most important aspect to the faith is their life's meaning a determination to to have some sort of meaning to existence after death. Of course of all this isn't crucial to one's beliefs but it is a possible cause. I don't beleive that a man was sent from heaven by God, but I am not familiar with David Koresh. this is because God and man have there place as determined by God, except for perhaps temporary visits(near death experiences) and that God can be anywhere and everywhere.

Answer 5

It's really not the same thing. Koresh was a man who made his own meaning from what he believed the bible to be. if a christian or Muslim uses the bible for positive work how can that be the same as the men and women who use it to spread violence. we obviously getting two different meanings from the same text so how can a man who believe in these books and a man like Koresh be one in the same?

Answer 6

I used to think the Bible was a fairy story, then I thought religion was used to delude people. I met a lovely lady, who told me she was a Christian and I actually felt sorry for her to have given control of her life over to a story. But I went to her baptism, and during the service God called me, personally, and showed me how wrong I had been. It was definately an encounter with the living God, it was a spiritual, beautiful, undeniable experience and I just knew, like millions of others, that Jesus is still here. Without anyone knowing what I was feeling, nobody prayed for me, I didn't fall over or shake or any of that, but I was changed inside. I decided that if God is real, I had better learn more, so I did an alpha course and asked hundreds of questions. Not all of them can be answered of course, but enough to keep me going. I have since read many many books on things like creationism, how the Bible is put together, why the books are there and some were rejected, how historically accurate it is, how it can be defended, etc etc. So on top of my continuing experience of knowing Jesus, the answered prayers which include healing miracles, the changed life, I have studied the Bible and found it to be true, relevant and life-changing. I have never taken anybody's word for it that anything is true without looking into it for myself. As hard as it is for us in our post modern world to believe that any one thing can be true, I have discovered that Jesus was the truth. Anyone can.

Answer 7

Well I'm Messianic Christian - and when i met with Jesus 15yrs ago - it was a change that took place in my heart - it wasn't head knowledge. I experienced something i can't really explain - Jesus really has to be experienced - then the Spirit of God comes to dwell in you - this is how you know the truth - through the guidance of The Holy Spirit.
The Holy Bible warns us of 'false prophets' and 'false teachers' - and David koresh was one of these -- there are a lot of them around - and like i said - this is why the spirit of God guides us into the truth.

Answer 8

i believe in the Holy Bible because the words written in it was inspired by God,before i was born again the words didnt make sense after i read it now as a child would his 1st reader i understand completely...as strange to many as it may seem God reveals things to Christians that makes the bible completely clear..there are some that are religious fanatics like koresh,jim jones that i think would like to be like God but that day will never happen..when you develop a personal relationship with God you know that you know that God is really real.....hope this helps in some way

Answer 9

I believe the bible because it's the ONLY book that has told what was, what is, and what's to come and has been accurate thus far. Even with the prediction of people like David Koresh and others. The bible was written by mans had, but it's the inspired words of God. You can take all of the bibles and burn them, but God's word will stand FOREVER!

Answer 10

I was brought up as a catholic' no choice
In my middle age' I explored other religions and cults
and got taken in with one particular cult religion
I had a crisis' and my world collapsed,
I read every religious book' looking for evidence
then I investigated catholic saints' then going on those pilgrims
Lourdes, etc
In 2004, I went to a holy place in Bosnia'
will not mention its name' [reasons]
There' I actually experienced phenomenon' REAL PHENOMENON'' miracles call it what you like
even my scientific sceptic colleague' experienced a life time conversion, and now is a deacon.
I return there every year' and people from all over the world
visit this place of peace' and experience the miracles'
If you want to know this holy Christian site
Pray and ask'
Knock and you shall find,

Answer 11

I believe the Bible because it says:

Al scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,for insruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. 2Timothy 3:16-17.

Scripture: A writing; the Books of the Bible
Hebrews 1:1; 3:7; 10:15.