Replies

Thank you for your well thought out response. It is all I wanted from everyone, an intelligent reason why this would be good or bad.

Just for the record, I am in full agreement with you. Many of my comments were directed in a way to awaken a debate with those who refused to even consider the query.

I am not at all surprised that some would instantly go into the attack mode and demand my body be burned at the stake as a heretic for daring to suggest such a blasphemous idea just for the sake of discussion.

We are called to defend the faith and to do so in a respectful manner. Something that many who call themselves Christian at FR to learn. I do believe God likes it when we posture ideas in a way that spurs logical debate. We are told to always be ready to defend our faith, thus we study the written word.

But what about those questions that come out of left field, like what if there were no Bible, how could you defend your faith? Or, if a Korean asks a question about his great great ancestors who never heard of the name of Christ because no preacher ever visited their village 100's of years ago. Are they doomed to destruction? And if so, why is that fair of a loving God to do so.

Questions many Christians would not know how to answer, but for times when we ask off the wall questions to spur debate. The Korean question was asked of me by an orderly that worked in the kitchen at a retirement home I was a pastor at. At the time I answered the best I could, but I did do study on it. later I returned with a much better, and for him, a very satisfying answer. Plus I gave him a good book to read that I believe is a powerful tool to use with the Bible for instances just as his. the book is called "Eternity in the Hearts" by Don Richardson.

I'm sorry for digressing. Later that evening of the day I posted this thread, I found myself in contemplation on the matter. What really struck me about the thought of having no Bible was the very idea that there would never have been a reformation without the Bible, because the reformation was all about correcting the heresy that infiltrated the Churches teaching during the Devils millennium.

I speak of the middle ages from 600 to 1600 when the Catholic Church held an iron grip on the teachings of the written Word. Which is similar to the time between the Testaments when the Pharisees held a similar iron grip on the teachings of the Torah.

God Himself came to fulfill the Law the Pharisees had bastardized, but Christ is not to return until the end times, so He needed an intervention by man to correct the false teachings. Just as he told us that the Temple would be destroyed without a stone left in place, he also told us that men would come after Him to distort and spread lies about His teachings. Thus He sent His Spirit to guide good men into writing His Words down, and more men to chose the letters for the Canon. It was the Canon, His Word, that made it possible for the Reformation to take place.

So while God used the Church to advance many things, He also allowed a second fulness of times, if you would, that set up the Reformation which corrected the false teachings of His word. So without the Bible, Christ Himself would have had to return to save the Church from itself. Now, we all await the third fulness of time, when he will return a final time. He does like to do things in threes. It is after all the number of perfection.

I wrote my thesis at seminary school on the reformation. I basically wrote it about what I believed to be the beginning catalyst of the reformation, the Renaissance. If you are interested you can read it at my site, GATE.

Again I thank you for the respectful way you replied, and I apologize for the long read. I do tend to get long winded at times.

God bless you and yours,

Thank you for the reply.

“What really struck me about the thought of having no Bible was the very idea that there would never have been a reformation without the Bible, because the reformation was all about correcting the heresy that infiltrated the Churches teaching during the Devils millennium.”

I agree with you...in fact your statement is similar to the thought that went through my mind as I read the article. We are in a time now that has seen many churches that used to teach from the Bible now abandon it and we are seeing the results of that within our culture. In my opinion we need to be very careful about these kind of discussions...”Does Christianity Need the Bible?”...because it does seem to fit into what is already happening in several churches, and might help those churches feel like they are doing the correct thing. My advice to your friend would be not to publish a book of this nature.

Speaking of books...”Eternity in the Hearts” by Don Richardson...is on my bookshelf. I have used it at times when I teach at different churches in the area...I am sure I will be using it again very soon as I prepare to teach at another church.

God bless you as well

Worldviewdad