In saying that, how do you look at the Bible? Is it a historical piece that no longer has a purpose in modern day society, or is it still relevant to Christianity and for salvation? In essence, do we still need it?
A:
I believe that the Bible is the most, and possibly the only important and relevant written resource. It is almost always the “control sample” for belief. The Bible is timeless in its teachings, and I believe it has been relevant to any society throughout history. It is the “Owner’s Manual” per say, for living a fulfilling and meaningful life on earth.
It fascinates and amazes me how it is written. It has the structure and formatting of typical writings, a start page, divisions by book, chapter and verse (although verses were added to help reference), and an end page. However, the thing that sets it apart from most resources are that the lessons, teachings and topics are layered within, creating a two dimensional reference. Proper interpretations of these teachings are essential in educating oneself in more advanced topics of spirituality. Imagine creating a book that covers all areas of science (physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, geology, microbiology) in one resource, and not having to climb a ladder to read the chapters.
One unfortunate problem that we still face today in Christianity is that its global teachings and understandings were based on political interests originally. The truths that we accept and build upon were interpretations to unify and inspire citizens under a political regime. It is important to measure what beliefs one has learned with what they find to be true based on biblical references.
Your comment about global teaching and understanding based on political interest is still alive in the U.S. (and other countries)today as the debate continues (in the courts as well and other places) between Separation of Church and State and a push that our country leaders should regulate as a Christian nation with Christian morals.
ReplyDeleteShould a religion (or group) successfully 'win Congress' by convincing the voters that it is the only way to 'save' our country's integrity in the sight of God, that religion would likely be using the same 'control sample', the Bible, that you mention. I wonder if I, would be comfortable with the standard(s) established for me...
Hi Ivy, I think that this is a relevant concern and very dangerous notion. I completely agree that combining church and state not a good idea. Forcing people to God through law has been done throughout history and has never succeeded.
ReplyDeleteI think that sometimes people feel, for whatever reason, they need to enforce the will of God. Although most of the time they would enforce what they believe to be God's message, and perhaps not what is indended.
I believe it becomes a two edged sword... on the one hand, Christians are being bullied out of everything and every place, much to the detriment of society. Tolerance for any belief except Christianity abounds in our society today. It would be easy as Christians to want to stand up for our beliefs and quit letting non-believers push us around. On the other hand, forced religion has no place in God's society or ours. How do we stand up for our rights without pushing them onto other people?
ReplyDeleteI agree that the majority of Christians feel the need to assist God in fulfilling His will for our lives. Unfortunately, it might be our perceived will...sort of like Abraham and Sarah thinking that if there was to be a child - they better get the maid to sleep with Abe because Sarah was sterile.....who's laughing now?!
ReplyDeleteI am less concerned about Christians experiencing persecution and most concerned about Christians neglecting/ignoring/bullying others. I just finished a book "Under the Overpass" where the christian author and his friend went homeless for five months. They found most of the churches they dropped into a big Christian disappointment. Cold and uncaring to the point of telling the haggard men "we're here for worship," as a way to tell them they couldn't find them anything to eat or offer something to clean his bleeding foot. If it was one church...ok; unfortunately it was the majority of churches in Wash DC, San Francisco, Denver, Portland, Phoenix and San Diego. Christians cater to christians and Jesus didn't.
Oops, I should clarify - Jesus obviously took care of Christians openly as well as anyone else. By catering, I mean Jesus didn't fall into the Pharisee line of thinking just because they were the leaders of the church; Jesus instead challenged the leaders that they were not teaching God's love principles.
ReplyDeleteBrock, just a thought (by-the-way, Ivy turned me on to your blog); What if the Bible is not an "owner's manual" but a biography? A description of God's mercy, patience, and love. What if this book was all about describing the nature and character of God and His dealings with an obstinate and rebellious creation? And finally, what if the Bible isn't the authority but God is the authority?
ReplyDeleteCool, Greg. Glad you are able to join Brock's blog discussion (at 5:16 am?!)!
ReplyDeletePeople like a list of rules so that obedience is defined and the Bible is a highly credible reference for 'rules.' Then people like to monitor how everyone else is following the rules and tend to ignore their own questionable behavior! Amazing how many lists of rules humans are ready to trust as the most credible for the pathway to Heaven (thousands of religions with each list of rules based on the Bible and each list different).
Brock, Re your comment:"The problem then is the interpretations of teachings because of the complexity of its structure." An additional complication is that every printed copy of the Bible (including King James) is an interpretation!
Hi Greg, thanks for joining. I will definitely agree that the Bible paints a beautiful picture of God and his unconditional love and grace. The actions and compassion that God has shown and has been documented in the Bible certainly tell an amazing and tragic account that will last an eternity. I think that this book helps us get a glimpse of the amazing God that we have, but seems to be directly related to the scope of human existence because of sin. If a true biography of God were written in the scope of the heavens and universe, it would exceed all we can imagine. I also completely agree with you that the Bible is not the authority for us; the grace of Christ is our authority because of our sin. If we sin but one time we are guilty of death, it is only God’s grace through Christ that covers us from this punishment. I believe the Bible helps us to create a relationship with God and know our expectations as humans.
ReplyDeleteHi Ivy, I agree that Christians need more focus on loving and helping our brothers and sisters. The comment posted on viewing God through a set of rules is a major concern. Some people are more comfortable with trying to figure out what they are accountable for and focus on those things. This is not the relationship that God wants with us. The Bible identifies what sin is, and it is important to know. Once we know what sin is and we know we have committed it, we then appreciate the gift of grace and can fully submit to God’s will through Christ.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the comments on interpretation, it is true that the Bible as we read it is interpreted from language to language. This interpretation is less concerning to me because small differences in dialog or context can be reasonably explained. I feel that the more pressing problem is the misinterpretations of core beliefs. These tend to be more damaging to Christians because they require more distortion of truth in other beliefs to compensate. This makes Christians seem very obscure and uncertain because teachings are so vastly different.