Posted on 10/04/2005 4:28:28 PM PDT by MeanWestTexan
"Actually I'm just a little old country atheist looking at a mythical story that doesn't make any sense on any level."
Try "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. Its about the best and simplest Christian apologetics out there written by one of the intellectual giants of the 20th century.
Shhh. Don't you know that those hats mean you are really important and powerful?
"The Bible is inerrant. That is what the Church teaches. But it is not literally true. This is a constant teaching of the Church. The Bible does not have to be literal to be true."
Now you must, please, elaborate on "inerrant...but...not literally true."
Really? Where?
P.S. I know the N.T. says that Jesus is the High Priest of our confession.
What say you?
"So by not knowing Hebrew (or Greek, isn't that the other one that's always thrown around?) I am not qualified to interpret the Bible. I guess you made my point for me. That's what the Church Fathers and scholars are for. To interpret and help us understand the scriptures. I'd venture to say that most folks who believe that every single word in their KJV is to be taken literally also have no understanding of Hebrew or Greek."
When teaching that you can't really interpret the bible correctly unless you know Greek and Hebrew...
1. You deny that god was able to preserve His words into the English language, whaich He was able to do, and promised to preserve His word to all generations.
2. The priests (and others) are saying, "We must be the ones ot tell you what to believe...we are the final authority...we're as smart as God."
That was exactly what I thought. This is the apostasy that Jesus warned Christians about. Christians are falling away. Look at the Presbyterian Church USA. Anti Israel. Totally against what the Bible teaches!
This verse refers to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the day of judgement. It does not refer to evolution, nor does it support the idea of long creation days from Genesis Chapter 1.
The previous verse says
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.The next verse, after your verse, explains this time analogy (which to many appears as though God is stalling or has forgotten his promises):
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Not exactly a 'teaching authority'. Many of them have been off the wall for years.
Back in the early 90's, I was at a meeting about the new Catechism before it came out. The speaker, Fr. Alfred McBride, was one of the editors of the new resource. This group consisted of people from their 30's up to their 60's. He started the meeting by saying, "If I asked you "Why did God make me"?, what would you say? EVERY SINGLE PERSON answered at the same time, in the same words, "God made me to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him in this life, and to be happy with Him in the next." When we finished, we all looked at each other and laughed out loud because that's EXACTLY what the Baltimore Catechism said. It had probably been at least 20 years since any of us had been in Catechism class, so it was evidence of the importance of memorization. We KNEW what the answer was, and we understood it completely.
Let's continue with that in mind.
My personal Bible has an Old Testament as well, and I'm not ignorant of it. However, the Old Testament is lacking in what it can offer. If it were not, I am left at a loss as to why God would serve up His Son for torture and death. I believe that the Older Scripture was not completely replaced, but rather completed by Jesus. However, parts of the Jewish law were superseded. Animal sacrifice to scapegoat sins, and circumcision are two that come to mind. This is why I believe the New Testament is the essential element of the Christian Bible.
My experience has been that legalisticly minded individuals too often use the Old Testament as a sword (An eye for an eye) and the New Testament as a shield (Turn the other cheek), as it suits them. I know a few, but very few, scripture quoting Christians who do so to share God's love. Unfortunately, it is almost always done (my observation) as a means of justification, belittlement, or self aggrandizement. The message I take away from Christ's interactions with the Pharisees, is that quoting lines of scripture to set traps or to justify ill actions should be avoided. Individuals that give in to such temptations would surely be better off simply sticking with the New Testament, as it provides less smiting.
Practicing God's Message, the Gospel, and speaking of the meaning of complete passages has always appeared to be far more effective on Christians and non-Christians alike.
You appear to be a person of broad knowledge, but with all do respect, I question your depth of thought on the underlying issues. I also question your methodology's effectiveness in winning converts, either to Christianity or to your arguments.
And I would like to add no matter which version I choose to read, whether it be NIV, KJV, NKJV, ASV, etc. I believe every word, every act, and every historical occurrence that is described to be 100% true. Because it is the Word of God.
You sound like such a happy person on the inside.Too funny : ) Have a great day!
I'd call it Bible scholarship. It's very interesting but getting at the roots of the Biblical books is difficult due to the lack of sources in English. Latin and Greek would be useful languages to know for New testament scholarship.
The Old Testament is a very different. You've got the Aramaic from the exile, the Hebrew translation, plus the older languages that provided the inputs into Moses five books; Genesis, Exodus, etc.
But if you like to look at pictures (like me), there's a magazine called Biblical Archaeology Review that's very good and worth the subscription price. You can find it on the web and subscribe if you have an interest.
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