NOT a Debate: Can you believe in God, but not the Bible?

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by Melora
"But I also do not like the way Christians and bible readers are bashed in todays society either. I think a lot of people are very intolerant of Christianity in this country and I for one, am one agnostic who is sick and tired of it.

Everyone in this country should be free to worship as they wish."

I think you are very correct..everyone SHOULD be free to worship anyway they please. I think the problem a lot of people have with CERTAIN christians is that they dont want you to believe anyway but their way. Certain factions of Christianity are some of the most UN-christian-like people in the world.... They want to shove their beliefs down your throat. They cant stand that you aren't "saved". I appreciate their concern, but really, Im not interested. I am very happy with my beliefs and would not change mine any more than they will change theirs. I dont want to have to deal with their beliefs in a public place or my schools. I think religioin should be a personal, not a public thing.

Yes, but you'll also find members of EVERY religious group who want to shove their beliefs down your throat. I don't think fanatics represent the majority of any religious organization, and while for me, religion is a personal issue, I don't see the harm in someone putting up their religious text on a sign or statue in a peaceful manner as long as all religions are given equal chance to do so. If I want to read the text on said monuments, it's my choice. If I don't, that's my choice too.

 

[dmadman43]

Originally posted by treesinger
I guess I should clarify and say that my problem mainly rests in the OT, not much in the NT. I see belief in Jesus and belief in God to be subtly different. I'm more concerned with belief in God and belief in all of the things the Bible says God said and the things that purportedly happened.

It's a shame that miracles aren't as obvious today as they were then. It would be so much more clear to me I think.

Well, for Christians many of the laws of the Old Testatment were rendered fulfilled by the mission of Christ.

I'm a bit confused with your belief in Jesus and belief in God statement. I don't think you can have one without the other.

 

[dmadman43]

Originally posted by Serena
What part isn't accurate? Maybe I mistated it.

That the Book Of Mormon is part of the Bible. They are two separate books written by two different sets of prophets.

 

[KristaTX]

Okay - I have to hijack your thread one more time, but just for a second. I guess I could just PM you, but other people might be curious, too. I've noticed your picture since you've been posting on the CB. Were you on WWTBAM?? Even if you were just a fastest finger contestant, that is very cool. There are several of us DISers who are big into WWTBAM Play-It at MGM.

 

[treesinger]

Originally posted by dmadman43
Well, for Christians many of the laws of the Old Testatment were rendered fulfilled by the mission of Christ.

I'm a bit confused with your belief in Jesus and belief in God statement. I don't think you can have one without the other.

A couple examples. One can believe in God, but not Jesus. (Of course, you can't believe in Jesus without God) One can believe in the Bible, believe that Jesus existed, but still not believe that he saved our signs by His grace.

Which is where I am.

And what does it mean that "the law is fulfilled?" Does that mean that they don't apply anymore? I just don't know.

 

[treesinger]

Originally posted by KristaTX
Okay - I have to hijack your thread one more time, but just for a second. I guess I could just PM you, but other people might be curious, too. I've noticed your picture since you've been posting on the CB. Were you on WWTBAM?? Even if you were just a fastest finger contestant, that is very cool. There are several of us DISers who are big into WWTBAM Play-It at MGM.

Made it to the hot seat with Regis Nov. 23, 1999, a couple days after John carpenter won the first million. That picture is one of me from TV when announcing the contestants before the first fastest finger.

 

[KristaTX]

Cool! Then I'm sure I must have seen you. I never miss the shows with Regis (except this last month when I was at WDW ). I've been in the hotseat at WDW several times, but I've never gotten the call back for the real show . Maybe I'll catch you again on a rerun someday. Please let me know if you are ever aware that your show is going to be re-aired on the Game Show network.

 

[treesinger]

Originally posted by KristaTX
Cool! Then I'm sure I must have seen you. I never miss the shows with Regis (except this last month when I was at WDW ). I've been in the hotseat at WDW several times, but I've never gotten the call back for the real show . Maybe I'll catch you again on a rerun someday. Please let me know if you are ever aware that your show is going to be re-aired on the Game Show network.

Can an OP hijack his own thread?

I always find out about "my" rerun a couple days after it is on. Someone always calls to say, "I saw you the other day!"

One of my clips was actually featured at WWTBAM-Play It! a couple years ago. (Don't know if it is still there)
I was in line and a cast member pointed at me and said "Sacagawea!" when walking in. I was stunned! "How the heck do you know me?" He said, "We see you every 20 minutes on the tv loop. We like you because you laughed at Regis for messing up her name."

Talk about getting a fat head!!

 

[KristaTX]

I remember the Sacagawea episode, so I did see your show!! And I have seen the clip at WWTBAM Play It!! I don't know if they still show it or not. How far did you get? I can't remember. I missed the million point question at Play It last month .

Edited to say - I wouldn't have made it to the million dollar question on the show. It is a lot easier to risk the pins at MGM -Never walk away . Plus, it is just easier than the real show and the audience sometimes helps "accidentally".

 

[treesinger]

Originally posted by KristaTX
I remember the Sacagwea episode, so I did see your show!! And I have seen the clip at WWTBAM Play It!! I don't know if they still show it or not. How far did you get? I can't remember. I missed the million point question at Play It last month .

I called it quits at 64k.

You actually got up to the million point question? Awesome! I've tried it a couple times. Once I was the tenth fastest finger at the attraction, but that's as close as I've gotten to reliving it.

 

[Pongo69]

Originally posted by treesinger
This question is meant more for belivers to answer. I believe in God, but not necessarily the Bible. DW says that is muy inconsistent, and I disagreed. What say you?

I believe in God, the Bible and his son Jesus Christ. I also believe that there is alot of truth where the bible is concerned. I believe we will reap what we sow--I believe the sins of the father will come back on your children--I wholeheartedly believe in miracles (God blessing me to wake up everyday is a miracle)

I also believe if you do not believe in the Bible you are denying God word and beliefs. These are my beliefs which aren't debatable as far as I'm concerned.

Have a Blessed Weekend

 

[treesinger]

Originally posted by Pongo69
I believe in God, the Bible and his son Jesus Christ. I also believe that there is alot of truth where the bible is concerned. I believe we will reap what we sow--I believe the sins of the father will come back on your children--I wholeheartedly believe in miracles (God blessing me to wake up everyday is a miracle)

I also believe if you do not believe in the Bible you are denying God word and beliefs. These are my beliefs which aren't debatable as far as I'm concerned.

Have a Blessed Weekend

I'm not arguing that believing the Bible is inerrant is a foolish thing to do. Maybe it truly is. My belief is that foolish humans can't help themselves from making a mess of things. And since they had plenty of opportunity to tinker with God's word...well, you see my dilemma. My belief is that if I believe in a Bible that has been edited, aren't I then betraying God by acknoweldging things that are NOT His word AS His word?

 

[cheeringmom]

Originally posted by treesinger
My belief is that if I believe in a Bible that has been edited, aren't I then betraying God by acknoweldging things that are NOT His word AS His word?

maybe that is where faith comes in Jason. I really hope someone can help you with your questions. I see that you are the king of common sense!!(hehe) but sometimes things just don't make sense. Just believe!!

 

[southernclass]

Originally posted by Pongo69
I believe in God, the Bible and his son Jesus Christ. I also believe that there is alot of truth where the bible is concerned. I believe we will reap what we sow--I believe the sins of the father will come back on your children--I wholeheartedly believe in miracles (God blessing me to wake up everyday is a miracle)

I also believe if you do not believe in the Bible you are denying God word and beliefs. These are my beliefs which aren't debatable as far as I'm concerned.

Have a Blessed Weekend

I totally agree!! THe thing is, unsaved people do not see the same way or the same things as saved people do where God is concerned. Even the Bible states that the unsaved have blind eyes and therefore that is the reason for being born again.

So many people think just because you are saved if you make a mistake, or you are rude to someone that you are a hypocrite when in fact you are still human.

Your flesh will forever war against your spirit and you are stuck in the middle. The battle is not flesh and blood and so many people think the saved are nuts when they say that.

I have only been saved for about four years and I know I did not see or understand a tenth of the things God has revealed to me before I was saved.

The Bible is simply God's way of talking to your heart and If you don't understand or trust something in the Bible than Ask God, he can surely confirm or contradict everyone's thoughts here!!

 

[leahannpen]

Originally posted by Serena
I say that I believe in god. I'm not crazy about religion and my thoughts are mixed about the bible. But I know god. And if I'm going through a time that I might forget, he reminds me he's around taking care of me. In one way or another.

You somehow summed up my thoughts perfectly! Thanks!

 

[LScot]

I think you can believe there is a God and possibly not believe the Bible is God's Word. And, like you said, I believe you can believe in God but not Jesus--just not the other way around.

However, I personally believe that it is through the Bible that we learn about God and His nature. I believe that prayer is talking with God. But I wonder how much you can really learn about God's nature through prayer.

Obviously, you do put some stock in what the Bible says since you are following Christ's teachings. I guess I would just ask you to think about that. How did you come to put stock in just those things? God is powerful enough to protect His word. Our English versions may often fall short of the original text so it is often helpful to study with books or people that go back and look up the original word and what it means--it is often different than what we think a word means these days.

As Melora talked about, I also think it is crazy to follow the words that someone tells you is true. That is following blindly. This is another reason why I believe God has protected His word. So that we as thinking humans beings that He created, can go into His Word and dig around and find Truth. I always pray and ask for help understanding what God wants me to learn while reading and studying His Word.

Jason, I'll tell you one truth that is in the Bible that I believe is very true and pertains to your threads. The Bible says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."~James 4:8

Your search will bring you closer to God. Possibly a good read for you would be The Case For Christ.

 

[N.Bailey]

Originally posted by treesinger
I'm not debating whether or not Timothy was divinely inspired or spoken to by God. What I'm saying is many many years after the fact, other people, church officials, etc., had access to the writings and could add, delete or alter the text that Timothy was spoken to to write.

I'm not arguing that God's word ir inerrant. Rather, I'm saying human involvement after the fact can create errors. And because I find this to be an incredibly reasonable assumption (there IS proof of biblical editing, hence there would not be an apochrypha).

And believe me when I say I am NOT mocking believers here. I'm trying to "get there" myself, but I just can't accept things too blindly.

Case in point, I had a problem that for near 2 years, no one could answer. finally, my wife made it perfectly clear and it was resolved. This thread is just another attempt for me to rectify the problems I see. It may take a couple years, but every step is hopefully getting me closer to believing fully.

What I would say to you is, if you truly believe in God, why is it so hard for you to believe that he would protect his word? It's all we have to know him by. It has been through many translations over time. Frankly, no one would understand it if it weren't. Now in all honesty, I have a major problem understanding The King James version. As others have said in your other thread, the New International Version (NIV) is so much easier to understand.

One thing I think you should definitely keep in mind. You talk of salvation in another thread. Without the Bible, how would anyone know of salvation? It's like picking and choosing which parts are to be believed. I'm certainly not judging you and I know you're questioning right now, but how is it all right to say this is ok, but that's not? I do hope you find the answers that you're looking for.

Just to toss it in there too, many believe that the 1st 5 chapters of the Bible (Old Testament) were written by Moses. Granted, they too have gone through translation, but I thought it was interesting enough to toss out there.

 

[jimmiej]

You know, I have found that when my wife & I disagree about something, it ends up usually that she was right. I believe your wife is correct here.

Anything I would say has already been said by other posters. I believe as another poster said, if God is really God, wouldn't He have the power to make sure His Word is without error? I believe you're selling God short here. I have no trouble believing in the inerrancy of the scriptures.

 

[LScot]

jimmiej,
As a wife, I think I'm always right also. No, I'm kidding. But I must say, if I think I am right, I'll fight til the death.