Religious texts have been heavily edited throughout history to suit or justify a particular faith and should be considered worthless and tainted at this point.

There are no God's chosen peoples, and even the commandments (the 'final' version) were said to be significantly different than the one endorsed today.

Most people couldn't read more than one basic sentence even hundreds of years after the bible was written, and even some written languages at the time the bible was written was a trade secret among scribes, and even at that time people were considered literate if they could write their name.

Christ is the Word of God. And if I claim to follow Christ and that God is in me, and even more so, that Christ sent the Comforter to live within me, I am the Word so much more than the scriptures are. The scriptures are largely manipulated, but not to a point in which the basic understandings of; 1. our own lack of self-completion, 2. God's Order, 3. the grace of denial of denial (repentance), and 4. God's Charity; should not be discarded. It would be foolish to toss away wisdom because fools have claimed to be wise and tried to rewrite a few stories. True wisdom is known by the wise. Do not throw yourself into the fire along with the trash.

Thanks to you for starting this thread, a topic that needs to be discussed!

I am an aspiring Christian, but find little to no fellowship in any mainstream church. I can also tell you from the inside that believers who pursue serious study of the Bible should be heroes and teachers, but their suits aren't fancy enough, their charisma not useful to whoever runs the church, usually a corporate-style board of directors. The "renegade" who brings exposition to the scriptures is usually ostracized subtly at first, then challenged directly to stop "misleading" the flock, or to stop causing "division." What ends up happening is Ben Franklin's epic quote we see everywhere these days: liberty (freedom to explore God, His word, and anything) is traded for security (false sense of accomplishment simply by confessing Christ).

The Book of Enoch really opened my eyes to a bigger picture that Christians must usually refrain from examining or even considering: living beings, not like us, but similar enough to communicate and exist simultaneously with, as well as their roles, clearer understanding of the individual personality that is God and learning more about Him through the things explained in Enoch. There is even what sounds like a radiation-shielding ointment that is smeared on Enoch when he is being brought to God's throne. It is described as metallic, and I'm guessing it is a form of the same shielding (gold and other precious metals) that is on the satellites orbiting earth, and many other space-based structures, to protect them from the sun's radiation and a variety of cosmic particles. Isn't that fascinating?

But even though Enoch is specifically mentioned in the Bible , no one knows about or will discuss this book in any mainstream church. It is buried deep in prophetic books of the OT, probably for those who seek deeper things to stumble across and pursue.

The feeling that your faith will come to place where it can no longer serve you or support you even without all the answers is a very frightening one, and I can sympathize. But pushing forward is the only way through.
And much less unnerving than thinking God left us with no information about the huge topic of UFOs. How much does one really believe in God's sovereignty if they are afraid to find out something about man (changing the text, inventing things) that is more powerful than the personal encounter they are supposed to base their faith on, or the unchanging principles of God and His ways that won them to faith in the beginning?

Sadly, we know that much of this kind of faith may be based on something more secular, and therefore cannot stand any kind of testing. This, IMHO, is why even when offered the Book of Enoch, which clearly refers to and explains extraterrestrial encounters and beings (very specific details, too), and should offer us a way to deal with UFO phenomena, or at least discuss it in a loving (towards abductees, etc) and intelligent way, we (as a body) are fragmented, each to his own way, and the only choice for a real lover of God, is to be run out because he won't stop teaching this extra stuff to those who need to know (everyone).

Then he or she links up with other "outcasts" who study the Bible diligently, or who do good diligently, or both, and realize that the mainstream churches are organizations, not always operating under God's direction, but presuming to please God by serving Him according to their own best efforts, which do not include new information for current times, but rather a financial and emotional bottom line that we can indulge whenever we like.

No wonder the most decent Christians I know are never in a church, but are too busy BEING the church. More of them know about extra-Biblical texts (I am not referring to the Gnostic gospels, btw), such as the Book of Jasher, but more specifically the Book of Enoch, and know better than to trust salvation to some of the people running things right now. We find each other, though. The Holy Spirit brings us together and makes us see these things, more and more of us.

My gratitude to you, SK, for opening this thread. May it live long and prosper.

God will not stop loving those who seek knowledge! He loves them very much, and urges us all to seek knowledge and understanding. That has no limits that HE imposed.


Deeper study leads to deeper insight, which leads to more and more extra-Biblical research. I personally have found this to strengthen my faith rather than crushing it. If it can't handle questions and inquiry, then what is it really worth?! But many people in churches, when confronted with the possibility of deeper questions, seem afraid to delve, as if God would frown upon them for daring to use the brains He gave us!

Reply to moocowman

Why do you opt for aliens ? There is no more nor less evidence for aliens than there is jesusyawheh .

I name them because the story is around for a while. What there is told in the story comes is ( accept for the aliens ) more making sense. Nothing more.

I'm not knocking your choice I'm curious why you rule out the bible just being human writings with a mixed bag of authors with varied agendas.[quote
You just wrote down the answer. Because of the varied agendas I dismiss the way the bible is used and unreliable history IMO.
I do not dismiss the bible it self.

The gun doesn't kill people. People kill people.

Why is it you require a supernatural explanation to the origins of the bibles ?

I do not. A down to Earth explanation without any spiritual or religious influence will do just fine.

[edit on 28/2/10 by Sinter Klaas]