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Why do Christians believe the Bible so literally and entrust it's author(s) to have been pure enoug

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posted on Mar, 4 2012 @ 01:33 AM
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Hello ATS, first of all this is NOT an anti - Christian thread so please anyone who is going to bring nothing to the table but negativity leave right now. If you feel strongly against the Bibles teaching and can argue in a way which remains respectful to everyone then I welcome your input too.

Basically I have never been very religious at all. I am 25 now and I have started to feel considerably more spiritual. I have always been very compassionate in general and over the last year or two have really started to pick up some different beliefs based on my own experience.

I went to a fairly Christian school, but didn't pay enough attention during anything religious so I know about Christianity a little bit but that's it. I have decided to actually put the time and effort in to learning about religion and wanted to start with exploring Christianity. So here's my question....

I looked online for answers but only got some really broad, non - specific ones. I basically believe that the story of Jesus by the time that it reached a format where is was written down properly could easily have been either miss - told by 3rd parties who got details wrong, misinterpreted after being by the author after being told various stories etc, written partially true with other individuals own agendas added in to change anything from a small amount to a huge amount of the book or even totally changed to the point where the story was not recognisable from the various things that actually happened.

I'm not saying that I believe any of these, but just feel it's a legitimate question when asking about the reliability of the modern bible as I know that it has been changed a lot over the years anyway and I just think that for it to be untainted by man would probably take an act of God itself, but seeing as God does not want to interfere in such a way I don't believe that God would have used whatever abilities to ensure that the book always stayed pure (sorry if I sound a bit stupid, but as you can tell when it comes to religion I am poorly educated!)

I have not bought this up to create an argument, although I expect some people to get heated over the subject and I will more than likely question your answers further, but this is not me being hostile, it is genuine interest as I want to know more about Christianity, but this wasn't something I could find much about.

Thanks for your your time guys and gals, I look forward to your replies



posted on Mar, 4 2012 @ 01:49 AM
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I just posted a thread which partially deals with your questions in a roundabout way. My personal opinion is that all of these things are a sort of test. All of the major religions preach the basic wisdom of respecting your fellow man. In the end, it is really that simple (although it's possible to make it much more complicated). Unfortunately, we always obscure the message by looking for more answers outside of us when the truth is already within.

I think it's completely logical to view inconsistencies in the Bible, the Koran, etc. as ways of testing our comprehension of the basic central message. Are we going to fight our enemies because they don't believe in our God? If you answer yes, then you've failed. Are you going to judge a fellow Christian because he has interpreted the Bible in the wrong way? I think you see where I'm going with this.



posted on Mar, 4 2012 @ 02:07 AM
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reply to post by clintdelicious
 


I'm a Christian and I don't.

I only believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ and I have accepted him as my savior and I only live my life based on the words he gave and the things he taught. That is it. I do not live according to the old laws. I don't have to.


edit on 4-3-2012 by skepticconwatcher because: (no reason given)



posted on Mar, 4 2012 @ 02:11 AM
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The fact that the bible was written by the hand of men and not god himself, does not help me to see the truth in it at all.



posted on Mar, 4 2012 @ 02:33 AM
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reply to post by skepticconwatcher
 


Yes but what I am asking is how can you be sure that you really are as his life's story could easily have been incorrectly written in to the Bible? We may never know the truth of Jesus because we inly have the Bible to go by. What I was asking is how an we be sure that the Bible is actually accurate???



posted on Mar, 4 2012 @ 02:36 AM
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reply to post by clintdelicious
 


The same way you have no problem believing anything else that took place in History.

A bunch of white people said it so it's true.




posted on Mar, 4 2012 @ 02:41 AM
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They never have any proof. They just say they believe. That's it. What they will tell you is that god wrote it somehow. And the. Try to shun u from existence lol. Your going to get a brainwashed answer from a brainwashed person.



posted on Mar, 4 2012 @ 02:42 AM
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reply to post by skepticconwatcher
 

Somebody's racist...



posted on Mar, 4 2012 @ 02:44 AM
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reply to post by SonoraUndergroundLabs
 


Utter nonsense.

I love white people. Well, the men anyway.

I think they're cute as a button.

But they are story tellers indeed.




posted on Mar, 4 2012 @ 02:52 AM
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reply to post by clintdelicious
 


My advice...

IF you want to learn about Christianity.... read about Paul.

IF you want to learn about Jesus...

skip the OT and start with Matthew 3... the first two chapters are more about his lineage.

And stop and the end of John.




posted on Mar, 4 2012 @ 03:09 AM
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Some may not call me a Christian but I do consider myself one.

I do not take the Bible as the absolute word of god as some people do, there is so much evidence that shows over time people have taken out and put in what they wanted. I believe in a god and I believe many things in the Bible as truths but I do not take anything that has been dirtied by man's hands as absolute.

After looking into Islam though and what it says about Christ I may not be a Christian long.(Although I am not going to covert to Islam.)

I believe there are truths and untruths in all religions and the further I go into the wormhole I believe I am going to come out an agnostic theists.

I even subscribe to the theory that our "God" may be an ET.

After re-reading this short explanation of my faith I believe I am in the wrong place as everything I have wrote clearly looks agnostic.



posted on Mar, 4 2012 @ 07:39 AM
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I appreciate your interest...hope you find the right path... and here is my attempt to help.

How do we know it was even true?

There are many corresponding sources outside of the Bible. First is Josephus, a Roman Historian. His records stand up to scrutiny when dealing with other historical, social, cultural, and military events. Likewise, his documentation of Palestine, Pontius pilate, Herod, crucifixion, and the like should be equally accepted.

Look at the characters portrayed. If this were a piece of propaganda or fiction upon which to falsely base a religion, would the characters be frail, have doubts, be spiritually weak, show all of their human traits? Look at Peter... walked with Jesus, but denied him and hid on the night of Jesus' trial. Peter, always troubled, he went to jail to prove a hoax? Or was imprisoned for years to undermine the beginnings of the Christian movement? How about John? He walked with Jesus and to keep a lie going, suffered humiliation, poverty, and exile to Patmos and the slave mines?

No, there was something else to motivate these men. They experienced a true moving of the heart and spirit through Jesus Christ.

Many will say we have no actual records of Jesus and surely someone that important would be recorded somewhere. History lacks records of many people... including my great grand mother. All we have are anecdotal stories and references to her... but not one official document. Now this was back in the 1880s.

How well were records kept about 2000 years ago. Further, if the followers of Jesus had known it was gonna be this big, maybe they would have done a better job of recording. But since they didn't...they recorded the events from memory after Christianity got some footing.

Look at the history, the geography, the political and religious figures, look at the science recorded by... a physician. His account of the Crucifixian is medically accurate... up to the fluids building in Jesus' lungs. There was a Herod, there was a census about 6BC under Ceasar Augustus, the cultural and social stigmas of being from Nazareth are recorded, Pontius Pilate existed and is actually recorded as having served up in Britannia, there was a large group of Hebrews living in Britannia that escaped the Babylonian invasions of 580BC, Jesus' mother, Mary, came from a rich family and illustrated by her rich uncle, Joseph of Arimathea( a land rich in ores and he traveled to Wales) that gave Jesus the tomb to be buried in. There is a good chance that Pontius Pilate knew Jesus family and why he hesitated to execute Him.

Look at 9/11... millions of people saw it on TV play out. News channels have the events recorded. Multiple departments of the state, and federal government investigated and reported. Now look at all the people that do not believe it happened, how it happened, don't trust the videos, even the eye witness acounts.

So why would they believe the Bible?

Lastly, look at the Bible...the Old and New Testaments... read what is written. What does Chritianity stand for... Now do not be confused by what the majority of Christians display and demonstrate... but look at the foundational beliefs... Love, Faith, Forgiveness, Generousity, Encouragement, Charity, Humility and with these things comes a love of God and a walk with Jesus.

We as humans.. with all of our faults and frailties, find it difficult to be like Jesus. That is why God's love was demonstrated to us through Jesus. Just like a soldier throws himself on a grenade to save his buddies... likewise Jesus gave up his Earthly life to give you and me eternal life.

You have to accept that their are consequences of living a selfish and hateful life. There is a Hell...I do not know if it is full of flames or if it is eternal isolation and drowning darkness... I do not know. But most cultures accept that there is a reward or punishment...good Kharma and bad Kharma...

It is because we, as humans, are prone to weakness, lusts, selfishness, greed, hurt, anger, betrayal... that we should aspire to be like Jesus at the very least... and come to love and believe in Him as a fulfillment at the most.

Chritianity... true Christianity does not judge, does not exclude... that includes people that are gay, lesbians, people that drink a beer, divorced, prisoners and ex-cons, or anyone else..

.Judge not lest ye be judged. Love your neighbor as yourself. Give unto Ceasar what is Ceasar's and give unto the Lord what is the Lord's.

If you become a Christian, the worst that can be said about you is you loved people, your family, was charitable, loving, giving and forgiving, helpful... and had a good footing and view of life.

I suggest some indepth studies.. The Bible as History will be suprisingly helpful in answering questions of validity..maybe read the works of Josephus... and read the Bible. Get a Strong's Concordance...can find EVERY word in the Bible, it's meaning, and context.

GoodLuck and God bless You.



posted on Mar, 4 2012 @ 08:10 AM
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reply to post by clintdelicious
 
OP ..as I cannot prove anything ,I can only offer you info that might convince you to a certain degree ...I have had certain doubts over the coarse of my journey but have found only more and more convincing evidence that you can trust most modern day bibles ...One extra biblical book that convinced me more in my quest for truth was .The Seal of God by E.R. Fink www.mun.ca... this is a revised version of the original author F.C.Payne ..All I have to offer you is this book to read and consider ...peace


ps I want to add a vid of a mate reading from the Aussie bible ..Its kind of funny but when you consider the different dialects in even the English language one could say that they are different ... have a listen and maybe follow along with a different version ..they are saying the same basic thing..If you want to be a scholar then you need to learn the original languages ..once again peace Good Day Mate - a reading from the Aussie Bible www.youtube.com...



posted on Mar, 6 2012 @ 06:46 AM
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reply to post by AlreadyGone
 


a big problem I have with the religion is the concept of hell and how it is used. For me if God was so loving and forgiving I just don't think that hell would be used as a tool of fear to not convince us to live righteously, but to force us to or else suffer eternal damnation. I think that hell may well be a human concept dreamt up for the purposes of exploiting religion for political gain. I am interested in Christianity, but I feel that the truth is far from what 99.9% of people believe today.



posted on Mar, 6 2012 @ 09:40 AM
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Originally posted by SonoraUndergroundLabs
They never have any proof. They just say they believe. That's it. What they will tell you is that god wrote it somehow. And the. Try to shun u from existence lol. Your going to get a brainwashed answer from a brainwashed person.

You called it right, SonoraUndergroundLabs, I myself have been attempting to get the Christians I run into, and converse with, to examine their Faith, their Religious Practices, and their Book for mistakes, wrongs, lies, untruths, and horror stories. Even if you look it up for them, they still refuse to believe it. I have come to believe if Jesus himself came down here, and told them all to stop hating Gay people, they would tell him to bugger off, and probably lock him away in a mental ward. One preacher even told me that yes, I had way more knowledge of the Bible than he did, but then proceeded to inform me that it was Satan that gave me all this information, not God.

You can see the conversion techniques even in here. One sect or another will post a thread rich with KJV Bible quotes, and very little substance, and then will tell every reader they are going to Hell if they don't do this, or that. See a dead person? That's a Demon! See an ET Being? That's a demon! There is a Demon Army out there that is hell bent on owning your soul, and only a dead man can save you, noting else can. Better give your 10%, and better come to church and do lip service on Sunday.



posted on Mar, 6 2012 @ 10:59 AM
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Originally posted by AlreadyGone
Look at 9/11... millions of people saw it on TV play out. News channels have the events recorded. Multiple departments of the state, and federal government investigated and reported. Now look at all the people that do not believe it happened, how it happened, don't trust the videos, even the eye witness acounts.

So why would they believe the Bible?

And there you have the answer. People don't believe because they don't want to believe. It's not for lack of evidence that they don't believe. It's just a personal choice to not believe in spite of what's in front of their face. Everyone has their personal reason to not believe or to shun the Bible.

On that note you might want to think about the impact of 9/11 in history books. How many movies or stories reference 9/11? Now go back and look at the first 4 books of the New Testament. Which of them gives details about the sacking and burning of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.? Oddly enough it's not mentioned anywhere in the New Testament. Wouldn't at least one of these books mention the sacking of Jerusalem which was the seat of their religion, government, nation?

Jesus prophesied that not one stone on the temple would be left in place. Of course we know from history that the fire that destroyed the temple melted all the gold and the soldiers moved the stones to recover the gold. That totally validates Jesus' prophecy but it's not mentioned even in later passages by Paul. So either these books were actually written by first hand accounts right after the fact or they forgot to mention that the center of their nation was destroyed and their people were all scattered and enslaved. Pick one option. Of course doubt only changes your perception, not what actually happened.



posted on Mar, 6 2012 @ 11:13 AM
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Originally posted by autowrench
I have come to believe if Jesus himself came down here, and told them all to stop hating Gay people, they would tell him to bugger off, and probably lock him away in a mental ward.


The argument that Christianity isn't valid because it names homosexuality as a sin is an invalid point that doesn't address the topic. Disagreement with is not hating but of course your reasons are your reasons. No one can pry them from your hands/heart. Christians are not the judge of right or wrong and no one is judged until after then die. I personally suspect that Jesus accepts homosexuals at any rate. That's totally different from condoning the actions of course.

Are you holding on to factions of the Bible but throwing other pieces out? Which pieces should we keep or discard, what is important to us today and what exactly do we have to do to be a Christian? The answers are all right there if you'll read. That is if you actually believe any of this to be true. Do you believe the story of Jesus' birth, life, death, resurrection? That is the whole point of the Bible. All the other side-shows arguments are distractions from the center ring attraction.



posted on Mar, 6 2012 @ 11:24 AM
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reply to post by clintdelicious
 




I have not bought this up to create an argument, although I expect some people to get heated over the subject and I will more than likely question your answers further, but this is not me being hostile, it is genuine interest as I want to know more about Christianity, but this wasn't something I could find much about.

S & F, first of all.

I was about your age when I really started wondering. That was 28 years ago, and in a sort of on-again, off-again sequence I have read more material than I can count.
I recently decided to look into the roots of Christianity itself, ignoring the Bible and going straight to the sources.

I agree completely that there is no reason to believe the Bible as accurate, literal, or complete. Jesus himself wrote nothing, but his message is very clear. So I wanted to at least study the writings of the people who knew him. Many, many of those gospels are omitted from the Bible, not to mention all but about 4 years of his life.

I have recently been studying the Nag Hammadi texts (which were only discovered about 60 years ago), which were hidden to keep them from being burned by .... yep, the Church.

Anyway, we have an ongoing thread regarding these things, and I welcome you to come and read what some of us have come up with so far....
Understanding Gnosticism; or, a quest for accurate knowledge
There is a lot of information suppressed or discredited or called "hoax" by the Church, and not for no reason. I wanted to learn what the actual first apostles, disciples, followers, and devotees had to say. Much information is also held in the East regarding the "missing years" of Christ's life as told in the Bible; where was he, who was he with, how did he practice his own spirituality? In fact, he was a member of the Essene Order, who were the specialists in the medicinal arts, and who protected his family while they were in Egypt. He remained close to them for his entire long life, and there is compelling documentation that he survived the crucifixion with their help, and Pilate's permission, and was aided as a fugitive and eventually ended up in Kashmir, where he died a very, very old man.

There are people striving to compile the actual materials (that have not already been snatched or destroyed), from the Coptic Gospels (Nag Hammadi scrolls), the Dead Sea Scrolls, and other texts including Buddhist, Essene, Gnostic, Jewish, Roman and Islamic ones, in their original languages, as close to the primary sources as possible. Few people are aware that the Jewish and Indian races had intermingled and migrated into one another's territories for centuries. There were established trade routes, and colonies of Buddhists, Jews, and Gnostics all over the area.

It's a big project; I congratulate you on your critical thinking and common sense. As you embark on discovery, you'll start to feel like a little kid again...and have the ability to decide for yourself. Especially if you enjoy mysteries, supernatural studies, sociology, cultural studies, and history. It's your journey; no clergy is required to lead you.

Enjoy, and Godspeed!



posted on Mar, 6 2012 @ 11:45 AM
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reply to post by clintdelicious
 


As many would say I believe the Bible to be the infallible word of God on blind faith........This is not true.

When I was about 13 I was baptized and yes I did believe what the adults told me about the word on a blind faith.

Just as the youth of today believe what is taught about evolutionary science is taken on blind faith. Which evolution is a religion of belief as it has never been observed in any form.

Both religions of origins must be studied to see what actually fits the observed phenomena in our visible world..

As for believing is as the whole truth one must as there is not a man anywhere that could say this part is true and this part is not. The Bible is 100% true.

Why is it easier for people to believe that aliens exist (not the ones that cross the borders) then to believe that the word of God could be written over a period of 1500 years by 40 authors that were from many different backgrounds and the supernatural power of God keep it for all to read today.

Yes there are translations that have been perverted by man and the bible clearly states to watch for it.
That is why one should study the bible with a Strong's Concordance so as to understand what is being said.

Also one has to realize that the ancient ruins of the Bible when found never disprove but only bolster the truth.
And prophecy has come true as with Israel becoming a nation again after 2000 years with everything as was before. The desert there is flowering again as stated in the Bible.



posted on Mar, 6 2012 @ 03:30 PM
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reply to post by clintdelicious
 

. . . I don't believe that God would have used whatever abilities to ensure that the book always stayed pure . . .
I was taught that God did protect the Bible through the ages but now I think that was just wishful thinking, stuff people thought a long time ago when they did not have much knowledge of the history of the Bible.
The idea of a "word of God" comes from the reality that the Jews had all these scrolls of the Law, and when they looked at them, they saw a story about Moses being told by the Israelites to have The Lord speak to them through him because they could not stand listening to The Lord speak directly to them.
edit on 6-3-2012 by jmdewey60 because: (no reason given)



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