Thread: The Bible

A great book isn't it! Some may call it a story & nothing else...but have you read it in it's entirety? So many scholars have tried to disprove it and failed. Quite a few of those who have tried to disprove it have become believers & even if they didn't become Christians, the attempt to disprove the Bible made them doubt their initial "doubt".

This "book" of books IS a great story, a guide to the way to live a honorable and good life, and will teach you about the greatest Man to ever walk this earth. For anyone who has not read the Bible, I challenge you this: Read it and tell me what you think. If you don't have one, I'll send you a NIV pocket version of the New Testament with Psalms & Proverbs.

For me, I tried to pick it up time and time again throughout my life. I had a copy of the King James version, then a New King James Version. I just couldn't follow along with the Shakespearian type language. Then one day I picked up either a New International Version (NIV) or English Standard Version (ESV) and all of a sudden I could read it. Was it that my level of maturity had grown enough to follow it or was it that I was more receptive...or the comforter? What I do know is that I had a void deep within my soul and this book lead/taught me to learn how to fill that void & become a better man. I'm far from perfect, but do strive to be a better person.

I bring up this controversial subject because there are some who do not believe in the Bible/God/Christ Jesus, but have not had an opportunity to read the Bible to really know what they are talking about & be objective. Knowledge is power anywhere in the world, educate yourself and tell me how reading and understanding the Bible has or has not influenced you one way or another...
Scott

Read it several times, in different versions!!!! No matter how much it is read, one will always find something they missed before. Then one can go to a different version and get even more out of it. I like to think of it as a library or an anthology! Even for those who might be against the idea of a single savior/Lord, it is a wealth of information.

Is there a cliffnotes version?

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

Is there a cliffnotes version?

No cliffnotes that I have seen. Although as I study for ordination I am using whole volumes written on small parts of the Bible

Oh, wait a minute, there is a cliffnotes version Given by Jesus himself:

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Matthew 22:35-40 (NIV)

As Glen (and others) often say 'round these parts: Ask and you shall receive

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Luke 11:9 (KJV)

I have read it part by part, but never all the way through. I am working on that now. I am reading a chapter of OT and NT each morning before work. I am in Exodus and Matthew. The more I read it the more I realize I fall short everyday, but I am still loved and cherished. I think Proverbs 3:5,6 should sum up the whole belief/unbelief thing succinctly....Proverbs 3:5- Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding 3:6- In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

No offense to anyone else, but this simple song pretty much sums up how I feel:



BTW, I was raised a christian, and have read the entire Old and New Testaments multiple times. I can't deny that I learned some moral principles that still guide me in life to this day-- but overall, I find the main premise of the scriptures to be preposterous. Just my 2 cents.

Originally Posted by shooter74743

A great book isn't it! Some may call it a story & nothing else...but have you read it in it's entirety? So many scholars have tried to disprove it and failed. Quite a few of those who have tried to disprove it have become believers & even if they didn't become Christians, the attempt to disprove the Bible made them doubt their initial "doubt".

"So many scholars" ... "Quite a few of those" ... can you cite anybody that fits these categories? How would one go about disproving Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter? If someone said, "Hogwarts is real!" how would you prove to them that it isn't?

Lee Strobel for one who pops into my head. Read: The Case for Christ

Editor's note from the book: A former reporter for The Chicago Tribune and former atheist presents a tough-minded investigation of Christian beliefs, interviewing today's scientists, historians, and philosophers to gather compelling evidence for the truth about Jesus. Simultaneous.

Using the dramatic scenario of an investigative journalist pursuing a hot story, Lee Strobel uses his experience as a reporter for the CHICAGO TRIBUNE to interview experts from the fields of science, philosophy, and history in an attempt to force the truth about Jesus Christ and Christianity out into the open.

Portions of this page Copyright 1995 - 2012 Muze Inc. All rights reserved.

NEXT.....

Originally Posted by shooter74743

Lee Strobel for one who pops into my head. Read: The Case for Christ

Editor's note from the book: A former reporter for The Chicago Tribune and former atheist presents a tough-minded investigation of Christian beliefs, interviewing today's scientists, historians, and philosophers to gather compelling evidence for the truth about Jesus. Simultaneous.

Using the dramatic scenario of an investigative journalist pursuing a hot story, Lee Strobel uses his experience as a reporter for the CHICAGO TRIBUNE to interview experts from the fields of science, philosophy, and history in an attempt to force the truth about Jesus Christ and Christianity out into the open.

Portions of this page Copyright 1995 - 2012 Muze Inc. All rights reserved.

NEXT.....

Congrats; one journalist. Let's move beyond my rhetorical question and your ignoring my pertinent one; can you provide some hard numbers for your claims of "so many scholars" and "quite a few of those"? Furthermore, can we separate out the scientific scholars from the journalists?

And back to the pertinent question, how would you disprove things like: Santa Claus, Hogwarts, or Middle-earth?

The late great expository preacher , the Reverend Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, was asked if he would debate a skeptic in a public forum. He politely declined. Later, in one of his books, he explained that it is the Word of God. He had too much respect for it to 'cast his pearls before swine'. (my paraphrase)

In his introduction to "Studies In The Sermon On The Mount" he starts out by saying that,

"There is nothing more important in the Christian life than the way in which we approach the Bible and the way in which we read it. It is our textbook, it is our only source, it is our only authority.

We know nothing about God and about the Christian life in a true sense apart from the Bible. We can draw various deductions from nature (and possibly from various mystical experiences) by which we can arrive at a belief in a supreme Creator. But I think it is agreed by most Christians and it has been traditional throughout the long history of the Church that we have no authority save this Book.

We cannot rely solely upon subjective experiences because there are evil spirits as well as good spirits' there are counterfeit experiences. Here, in the Bible is our sole authority."

In 1st Corinthians chapter 2 Paul says that the Holy Spirit confers the gift of faith .... it is not a choice that an individual makes intellectually or emotionally. The 'natural man does not receive it. It is spiritually discerned. In the book of Ephesians, chapter 2 verse 8 Paul says we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.

I don't like these threads that open up an opportunity for skeptics to dig themselves in deeper than they already are. The day will come when we all have to stand before the living God and give an account of all we've said and done.