The Bible is the literal word of God, Discuss?

The Bible was written by Alchemists and Kabbalists.

Of course not everything in the Bible is literal.

Well, oldthinker, you thoughts are well appreciated and well written.....

The Bible is the word of God........though written by various authors....as old thinker explained.......

copy and paste .......Quote///Inspired by God,
Moses wrote down his revelations,
laws and narrations,
decreeing to the Levites who carried the ark containing God’s commandments, “Take this book of the law and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 31:26).
The successive holy authors continued writing their books with specific requests that they be included with the five Books of Moses,
as though it was one Book. For example, in Joshua 24:26 we find “And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law,” i.e. in the book of Moses.
Similarly with Samuel,
the prophet and judge that lived at the beginning of the Kings’ period, it was written that “Samuel explained to the people the behavior of royalty, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the Lord” (1 Sam. 10:25) i.e. to the side of the ark where the other books of Moses were kept.....


The Lord bequeaths to Joshua, leader of the Israelites and a disciple of Moses: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shall meditate therein day and night” (Joshua 1:8); while Apostle Paul writes to his student Timothy “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation” (2 Timothy 3:15).

www.fatheralexander.org...

The Bible is the literal word of God, Discuss?

It isn't even close. It is the word of mortal men trying to control the masses and tell them how to live.

Originally posted by Zabilgy
It isn't even close. It is the word of mortal men trying to control the masses and tell them how to live.

A week ago I was at the Missions Conference at my church and a man came up to speak. He was an ex-con from a supermax prison. He told of how a christian volunteered their time to meet with him an hour a week while he was a prisoner. They obviously discussed among other things the Bible and God.

This man was speaking because he no longer is a prisoner both physically and spiritually. While 2/3 of those who are released from prison are back in prison within 2 years he is not. And he, without a doubt, told us he owes both(2) his freedoms to God and the man or woman who reached out to him. While the person talked to him, it was his choice as whether or not to read the Bible and he chose too. He then was faced with another choice, to believe it or not. He chose to believe it. He also said one of the main parts that struck him was the fact that a man named Paul(Saul) was a murderer and yet God saved Paul and then Paul surrendered his life to God and God used him to reach others. He could identify with that very readily and easily and has no doubt that the Bible is real and God is real, because he is living proof of that. God wrote what He wants us to know at this point in the Bible. But He has also written what He wants us to know on the hearts of men and women who have been touched by the power of Jesus Christ.

any and everything you read or hear about god is just an opinion. Thats about all I can add to this discussion.

Love and light,

Wupy

partial quote from previous post:
"
The Lord bequeaths to Joshua, leader of the Israelites and a disciple of Moses: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shall meditate therein day and night” (Joshua 1:8); while Apostle Paul writes to his student Timothy “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation” (2 Timothy 3:15). "

Then the Lord must be plenty pissed at the self-righteous and arrogant editors of the early Paulianist church for the total hack job they did on his Word. It now takes far more scholarship and study than 99.9999% of all Christians will ever be able to perform to seek out and find this word of the Lord since you ain't gonna find much of it in the bibles that they read. Thanks to the RCC, we (in our lifetimes, really will never know what God intended for us to use to "medite therein night and day".

Paul as a saint?! Maybe the patron saint of liars and spin-doctors!

[edit on 27-3-2005 by Al Davison]

[edit on 27-3-2005 by Al Davison]

I remember being tought that after Moses did the whole ten commandments and 40 years in the desert thing, that God told him to write alot of the books in the bible. Not sure if Im right though.

Originally posted by Croat56
I remember being tought that after Moses did the whole ten commandments and 40 years in the desert thing, that God told him to write alot of the books in the bible. Not sure if Im right though.

this is what they reckon, but he did a good job because he managed to write about his own death...
check it out

Is the bible the literal word of God.

Without quotations, discussions or any kind of theory involved.

You would have to be a screaming delusional nutcase to believe that it is...and you can quote me on that.





[edit on 3-4-2005 by BobDylan]

I have read it, a few versions of it, and my conclusion is that, no, it is not the literal word of God, if there is a God. It is a book of advice on living, and most of the advice I accept as wise, though some I do not. It is a book that is a combination of ancient Sumerian and Egyptian literature, editted and appended by Hebrew scholars, passed down orally at first, then at some point written down. If it is the literal word of God, then I would bet that the Koran, and most other religious texts are as well. My view of God is one that does not pick sides, and is there for all people, including atheists. Like I said, though, I do not know that there is a God. Nothing has convinced me of that.
I do not feel that those who take it to be the word of God are whatever the last poster called them. I take the position that whatever they believe, that is the right thing for them to believe, and it is as true and valid as my or anyone elses views.

The bible is a conglomerate of the worlds oldest religions. It is a history book as to the evolution of religion throughout the cradle of civilization. If one were to compare even the initial creation myth, one would see that it is borrowed from previous egyptian/sumerian/babylonian lore. Which actually predates the bible by thousands of years

www.geocities.com...
www.geocities.com...

www.usbible.com...

"Similarities" do not end there, We can find them all throughout the zoroastrian and zurvanite mythologies as well

www.pyracantha.com...

home.btconnect.com...

From the plural elohim & the canannite god of war Yaweh in the old testament, to the Mithraic revival of the New testament ("jesus" Mithra same ) the bible is chock full of many different culture's gods, and stories.

Oh yeah someone also wanted links to old biblical texts. Here is the best online source I have found.

From the Tanakh to the Talmud, it's there. Including the Apocrypha. Hope it helps.

www.earlyjewishwritings.com...



[edit on 3-4-2005 by 1wintermute1]

wesley.nnu.edu...

www.gnosis.org...

Originally posted by BlackGuardXIII
I have read it, a few versions of it, and my conclusion is that, no, it is not the literal word of God, if there is a God. It is a book of advice on living, and most of the advice I accept as wise, though some I do not. It is a book that is a combination of ancient Sumerian and Egyptian literature, editted and appended by Hebrew scholars, passed down orally at first, then at some point written down.

Serious question: If the OT is a compilation of Extra-Judaistic text, wherein the NT which relies heavily on those texts for all of credence in Jesus as the son of God, how can this be explained plausibly?

Like I said, though, I do not know that there is a God. Nothing has convinced me of that.

Then why such contempt for my phrase "geeze?"

The Word of God is Jesus Christ.
He is the Divine Word (the Logos) who became Man.....And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).
eg
In the beginning was the WORD and the WORD was with God and the WORD was God.

quote///By the Word of the Lord were the heavens established, and all the might of them by the Spirit of His mouth (Ps. 32:6); He sent forth His Word and He healed them (Ps. 106:20).
The book of the Wisdom of Solomon speaks especially clearly and expressively about the mighty acts of the Word of God.......


book of Genesis it says that at the creation of the world God said, Let there be light... let there be a firmament.., this means that God the Father desired to create light, the firmament, and the rest, and that the Word, His Son, brought this to fulfillment.

www.orthodoxphotos.com...


QUOTE///
The Old Testament books, if each one is counted separately, number thirty-eight. Sometimes several books are combined into one, and in this form, they number twenty-two books, according to the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.

The Old Testament books are divided into four sections, the law, history, wisdom literature, and the prophets.

I. The books of the law, which constitute the main foundation of the Old Testament, are as follows:

1. Genesis

2. Exodus

3. Leviticus

4. Numbers

5. Deuteronomy
These five books were written by the Prophet Moses.
They describe the creation of the world and man, the fall into sin, God’s promise of a Saviour of the world, and the life of people in the first times.
The majority of their contents is an account of the law given by God through Moses.
Jesus Christ Himself calls them the laws of Moses (cf. Luke 24:44).

www.fatheralexander.org...


The Bible is the WORD (LOGOS) of God.......has been from the beginning.

IX
helen


[edit on 7/16/2005 by helen670]

The bible is a conglomerate of the worlds oldest religions. It is a history book as to the evolution of religion throughout the cradle of civilization. If one were to compare even the initial creation myth, one would see that it is borrowed from previous egyptian/sumerian/babylonian lore. Which actually predates the bible by thousands of years

Here is the problem with your logic.

The bible says:
"I have the story of man from the beginning"

You then judge the bible by others that make no such claim.

NOw here is the catch.
IF..
..the bible is true and is in fact the oldest and most accurate, then you can clearly see that the others stories are different versions of the same...except that they deify people instead of glorify God.
This is why almost all cultures around the world have these stories.

It would be like me making up a mythical story about the WTC being destroyed by kids with slingshots ...and 3000 years later you come along and read my version....and say that the actual 'mythical' real history was made up after mine and that mine is real.

Originally posted by BobDylan

You would have to be a screaming delusional nutcase to believe that it is...and you can quote me on that.

[edit on 3-4-2005 by BobDylan]

Then I suppose I'm a screaming, delusional nutcase. So basically...if someone doesn't agree with you, they're delusional? Right. Gotcha. :bnghd:

The Real Dealio:

Believers and non-believers are never going to see eye to eye on this one; it doesn't matter how many Biblical quotes are posted, or how many "no it's not and this is why" answers - we have a basic stalemate situation

That said - no, I don't believe the Bible is the literal word of God.

And disrespectful at worst. It is a diss. It is a slang euphemism for Yehoshua Bar Joseph's Greek name, Jesus. So, out of a sense of respect for Christians' beliefs, which I see as valid, I try not to use it. Though I sometimes say things at least as bad myself.... I am by no means any better a person than anyone else, I am certain of that.
And, if Jesus was a real historical figure, which he may have been, his contribution to the world was huge. Since I was 8 I have admired his message as being one of love, and have agreed with most of the things attributed to him.
No worries, I am sorry for criticizing, I should not have.

All i can say is that i have found nothing in the bible to be untrue, that having been said i cant say as i find everything in the bible to be literal either, we know that the earth wasnt built is 7 days.

I belive that the bible was written by Qabalists as stated before, and is more then just a book of proverbs but a spiritual manual of salvation, but a salvation that only you can achieve, if Yeshua (jesus) was here now, he would tell you all.. that only you can save yourselves, and that all he can do is lead by example, and how you may find truth of redemption in his ways.

but thats just my thoughts on the one we call the son.

It is belived by many that the book of genesis is the allegoric history of mans spiritual evolution starting at the moment he stopped being a monkey and started being a man, who we call Adam, if the theory holds true, then Adam was not one man, but the line of man from the time of self realisation, to the next step in mans spiritual development, who we know as seth. it is said that Adam lived till he was 130 before he sired Seth, then another 800 after. could it not be possible that seth was the first major offshoot from the line, and the Adams co-existed with the Seths till they evenually just phased out evolutionally?

The theory goes on to suggesst that Caine and Abel were not two brothers, but two sides of mans nature at that time in his development, Caine being mans physical desires, and Abel being mans spiritual needs.

Adam equals mans first moments of awareness, and he falls from grace immediately. Caine and Abel are his desires Vs. his needs born out of his sins, and the desire wins out and kills the spiritual needs. this would represent a dark time in early tribal men, it suggests that a small portion of a tribe gave way to baser instincts and split off from the rest of the group after a short but bloody fight, driven off by those within the tribe who had a respect for the sanctity of life, and a sense of rightousness that told him that it was wrong to end the life of your tribemen.

Now this kind of allegory and metaphor doesnt apply to the whole book, some of it has to be true, but i think if you look at what i have said with an open mind, you will find that the idea makes alot more sense then some of the hardcore creation theories... i'm not saying this world wasnt created.. but i cant belive it was done in 7 days

Amadeus about said it all. Here's the modest results of my studies on the Big Three in general and christianity in particular.

Fundamentalists christians can quote scripture ad infinitium but know little or nothjing about the bible and those who constructed it. Believers will stretch reality trying to make some half-way believable explanation for some of the claims in the bible. This is felt necessary because even believers see the contradictions and unreality of most of the accounts. There is good reason for these contradictions and a little effort on anyone’s part will shed light on the reasons. Someone mentioned 80 gospels but I believe there were only about 26 or 27 versions of the pbuh (Jesus) story. The three synoptic gospels included by catholics in the 1st council mentioned by bigdan were three that contradicted each other the least. The best reason for this is that Mark, written first (before Matthew – they just made a mistake when they decided on the chronology) was basically copied and revised but used as a model by committees for Matthew and Luke. John was more reasonable and written by a committee well into the second century and was not a re-do of Mark like the other two. The other “gospels” were so contradictory of each other and the chosen three that they were buried.

Every society had a flood story since there was a really big flood involving the Medeteranian and the entire area. This event occurred during the withdrawal of the last glaciatian of our current Ice Age, about 10 to 12,000 years ago. The flood saga most likely coppied by the Origianal effort (The Book of J and it's three major re-writes) was the Gilgamesh sage which, like most sagas of the Mesopotamian era, contains a flood saga.
There is really no magic about any of this if ya make the minor effort of discovery. Discovery is more fun than gambling. Discovery leads to the understanding of origins which are the key to knowledge. IMO, of course.
skep

Originally posted by skep
Believers will stretch reality trying to make some half-way believable explanation for some of the claims in the bible. This is felt necessary because even believers see the contradictions and unreality of most of the accounts.

Once again the excuse not to believe the Bible, "contradictions", without mentioning the contradictions so that they can be answered. I would appreiciate the mentioning of them so they can be dealt with by believers.