Why So Much Bible?

[claypot]

For me, some would love to have just one word given to them in which to live on . . .but others need more than a word, they need a conversation.  They need a regular conversation.  Within the conversation is the same one word . . .but the nature comes through so much more vividly during the conversation than just the one word.  The one word manifests the Truth of Christ, the conversation manifests the life in Christ.

The one word is a hand shake.  the one sentence is an embrace . . .the whole letter (Genesis to Revelation) is a marriage.

Nathan, that is very good. It really is. I would say that that is true even as I read the many other works I do read. I hear God talking to me just like you said in many of the works I read. Some works that I read I hear God clearly while other people who read the same works hear nothing.

What I am saying is you made me think of even a bigger reason to suspect the Bible is some ways. You see, when I hear God through a book I am reading that is not the Bible and when someone else reads that same book and hears nothing from God then the book is just put aside by that person and not really thought of again. No real arguments or confusion, maybe a little but not much. Now take the Bible and disagree with someone and it often becomes a matter of whether you are really saved or not or are really walking with God or not and so on. It can start wars!

You say......

The one word is a hand shake.  the one sentence is an embrace . . .the whole letter (Genesis to Revelation) is a marriage.

I would say this applies to all of creation and many volumes of written material. As I read and look around me, oftentimes,  I see and hear God and feel as if I am in a marriage in the making. To tell you the truth I don't always feel that way when reading or discussing the Bible.

cp

[martincisneros]

Takes every word of the Bible to have Father God be Who He is.
Takes every word of the Bible to have Christ Jesus be Who He is.  Takes every word of the Bible for the Holy Spirit to be Who He is.  Takes every word of the Bible for Christians to become what they'll become.  Mark chapter 4.  Not sure if you're acquainted with Andrew Jukes's book "Restitution of all things," but the first chapter is an absolute masterpiece on the nature of the Word.  Working nights right now and it's past my bedtime... Plus, uh...er....something big happened yesterday that I can't get into specifics of much right now.  So, I'm doubly-doubly tired and heading for bed.  Gotta check a few more threads before passing out.  Hoping to spend much of the weekend figuring out this strange online creature called "Skype."

[claypot]

Question to all.....

Can you sum up what the Bible says in one or two sentences?

one word.

LOVE.....it NEVER fails.
:Hi5:

Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.   :drummer:

the most excellent way= pursue LOVE  :bgdance:


blessings.
chuckt

BINGO! Exactly.

Why did God have people write a zillion more words that are suppose to say what you see in one word? I mean, I know why we write and write and write and it is good but if you read my thoughts to Nathan just a few posts before this, I wonder..........

cp

[chuckt]

Question to all.....

Can you sum up what the Bible says in one or two sentences?

one word.

LOVE.....it NEVER fails.
:Hi5:

Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.   :drummer:

the most excellent way= pursue LOVE  :bgdance:


blessings.
chuckt

BINGO! Exactly.

Why did God have people write a zillion more words that are suppose to say what you see in one word? I mean, I know why we write and write and write and it is good but if you read my thoughts to Nathan just a few posts before this, I wonder..........

cp

AH but that love  IS the unveiling of Christ....IS WAS and WILL BE.

do we still not fail at love? ah we do but IT dosent.

Psa 40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book [it is] written of me,

The unveiling of Jesus Christ ((LOVE)) IS....WAS and WILL BE.


be that as it may, surley we get tired and frustrated over thinking we always need to be reading but hey worry not, put it down and rest IN HIM.  :happy3:

just saying i understand your points.

God bless
chuckt

PS. remember how much  we needed the book at first? the milk? we seem as we mature not to need it as much as it  the spirit (( seed )) grows in us.

maybe you feeling growing pains? :gblum:

[claypot]

Takes every word of the Bible to have Father God be Who He is.
Takes every word of the Bible to have Christ Jesus be Who He is.  Takes every word of the Bible for the Holy Spirit to be Who He is.  Takes every word of the Bible for Christians to become what they'll become.  Mark chapter 4. 

Yes and I would add it takes every particle of creation for God to be who He is and for Christians to become what they will become.

Not sure if you're acquainted with Andrew Jukes's book "Restitution of all things," but the first chapter is an absolute masterpiece on the nature of the Word.

That is the book that brought me to my understanding of God as I see Him now. It really is. It's been a while since I read it but I will take your lead and read your suggestion and read that section again. I have read it several times.

Working nights right now and it's past my bedtime... Plus, uh...er....something big happened yesterday that I can't get into specifics of much right now.  So, I'm doubly-doubly tired and heading for bed.  Gotta check a few more threads before passing out.  Hoping to spend much of the weekend figuring out this strange online creature called "Skype."

We seem to be in good hands with people like you at the helm, Martin so get some rest and protect us as you can!
cp

[claypot]

Question to all.....

Can you sum up what the Bible says in one or two sentences?

one word.

LOVE.....it NEVER fails.
:Hi5:

Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.   :drummer:

the most excellent way= pursue LOVE  :bgdance:


blessings.
chuckt

BINGO! Exactly.

Why did God have people write a zillion more words that are suppose to say what you see in one word? I mean, I know why we write and write and write and it is good but if you read my thoughts to Nathan just a few posts before this, I wonder..........

cp

AH but that love  IS the unveiling of Christ....IS WAS and WILL BE.

do we still not fail at love? ah we do but IT dosent.

Psa 40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book [it is] written of me,

The unveiling of Jesus Christ ((LOVE)) IS....WAS and WILL BE.


be that as it may, surley we get tired and frustrated over thinking we always need to be reading but hey worry not, put it down and rest IN HIM.  :happy3:

I am actually considering taking it up again in a whole new way. I am considering reading it not as a separate inspired work but as a continuation of all God inspired works.

just saying i understand your points.

Means much to me Brother!

God bless
chuckt

PS. remember how much  we needed the book at first? the milk? we seem as we mature not to need it as much as it  the spirit (( seed )) grows in us.

maybe you feeling growing pains? :gblum:

Yes, I remember and now that I look back on it I probably got as much out of many other areas of Gods creation as I did the Bible but I don't know. It seems in my 28 years of reading the Bible I have fought a million wars directly over things like law verses grace, what version is best, greek and hebrew and aramaic renderings, once saved always saved, UR, ET, and a myriad more.

Like I said before, is the Bible there for other reasons than we think? If we can read the Bible, with all its seemingly inconsistancies and contradictions, and still love God with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves (especially the second) then we are mature indeed, the Bible has done its job.

What I mean is is it possible God knew the Bible would be 'invisible' to most people and a source of major division to those who are given to see it? Is the purpose of the Bible for us to see beyond and behind it?

cp

[chuckt]

What I mean is is it possible God knew the Bible would be 'invisible' to most people and a source of major division to those who are given to see it? Is the purpose of the Bible for us to see beyond and behind it?

absolutly!....and:

there are men who can recite verse after verse even to the point of having the whole bible memorized even to the point of making the bible itself an idiol of the heart, ive seen it. they are even mean as snakes and haters of those not in there club.

((( but hey i was once like them )))) ......being hateful and mean that is even having read and studied much.

sometimes when i dont read it for a few weeks/months i actually get more out of it.

on another forum i was discussing and i asked:

do you have the spirit or just have the book.

his reply was:

""oh so now Gods word is just a book""


thats not even close to what i said but see how he read it?

maybe im getting off topic, but its whats IN the book not the book itself.


know what i mean?

chuckt

[claypot]

What I mean is is it possible God knew the Bible would be 'invisible' to most people and a source of major division to those who are given to see it? Is the purpose of the Bible for us to see beyond and behind it?

absolutly!....and:

there are men who can recite verse after verse even to the point of having the whole bible memorized even to the point of making the bible itself an idiol of the heart, ive seen it. they are even mean as snakes and haters of those not in there club.

I've seen it too.

sometimes when i dont read it for a few weeks/months i actually get more out of it.

Bingo again Brother.

on another forum i was discussing and i asked:

do you have the spirit or just have the book.

his reply was:

""oh so now Gods word is just a book""

thats not even close to what i said but see how he read it?

We're trackin like peanut butter and jelly!

maybe im getting off topic, but its whats IN the book not the book itself.


know what i mean?

chuckt

I do know and as to getting off topic I am still hoping to hear from others how they sum up the Bible. I know how Jesus did!

cp

[sparrow]

Sparrow I'm married. I can't even show your post to my wife!!!!!  :mblush:

I have said similar to you and about you so I hear ya and thank you. It is nice to know when one connects as I know you and I do with so many here at this forum.

And we are 'neighbors' sis!

cp

Back off CP - sparrow's MINE!!!  :laughing7:... eeerrr... except I'm married too, so... well,  but Solomon had all those, I mean uhm, well that won't work cuz sparrow's married too ... so...
I guess we can all just be friends. Friends in love.  :happy3: :bgdance:

  :thumbsup: :laughing7: :laughing7: Seriously.... I'm telling you, our planets: SAME GALAXY. totally.  :bgdance:

We're going to have the best galaxy...EVER!  :grin:

I'm thinking we'll all be going on some grand adventures together.  :icon_flower:
can't wait.

[sparrow]

CP... I'll come back to this tomorrow. I'm so tired I feel slightly delirious so I know I won't make sense and I'll end up rambling (more than usual). But I do have some stuff to add to the original topic!

[jabcat]

Hey James. Our condition is/was known to God and He still gave us the Bible. He must have known how it would interact with our condition.

cp

Yeah, cp, that's what I'm saying too.  None of this surprises Him.  He knows the end from the beginning, so IMO, that must mean He's working His plan, and I can probably only "get" about 1/000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000+ of it.  He knows....I know some people (including me perhaps) don't always like this next statement, but I think sometimes we just reach that point to where we have to trust and believe..in Him...search out as much as we can/as much as He gives us, but there comes a point where He knows and I just don't...

[claypot]

Hey James. Our condition is/was known to God and He still gave us the Bible. He must have known how it would interact with our condition.

cp

Yeah, cp, that's what I'm saying too.  None of this surprises Him.  He knows the end from the beginning, so IMO, that must mean He's working His plan, and I can probably only "get" about 1/000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000+ of it.  He knows....I know some people (including me perhaps) don't always like this next statement, but I think sometimes we just reach that point to where we have to trust and believe..in Him...search out as much as we can/as much as He gives us, but there comes a point where He knows and I just don't...

What I was getting at was that maybe God gave us the Bible and we are not using it as it is meant to be used. Hmmmmmm. I am thinking here.

I was just thinking today how people didn't even know how to read until not too long ago. Combine that with all the people in jungles and the like. Combine that with those who don't care to read the Bible and then combine all that with those who do care to read the Bible and can but are probably misinterpreting it. That leaves a precious small volume of people for whom the physical written Word has done any good.

Now the spiritual Word has always made worlds, if you get my drift, no matter what. It works whether we read it, don't read it, dissect it, crucify it, caress it or 'make love' to it, misinterpret it or interpret it perfectly. It works and works.

Hmmmm, just thinking out loud here.

cp

[firstborn888]

And Taf's comment is interesting!!!!  :laughing7:

Taf's just jealous because I'm such a cyber chick magnet  :happy3:
In real life my wife says "If you find anyone dumb enough to run off with you - then they deserve you".  :dontknow: :laughing7: :laughing7: :laughing7:

[claypot]

Hey All, I woke up with some genuinely nagging questions. Need help here.

I'm going to play totally ignorant here mainly because I am totally ignorant here.

Where in the Bible does it say that the 66 books we call the Bible are the Bible?

Who said these books and only these books are the Bible in the first place?

I am not attacking the Bible, I just realized that I don't have answers to these questions.

cp

[claypot]

I also woke up with this train of thought and it's provocatively disturbing.

I wrote before about how so many couldn't even read until not too long ago and that got me thinking. Discussing Scripture with probably hundreds if not thousands of people over the last 29 years has made me realize some things.

Even if you can read I see that many people say or strongly imply by example and reference that you need to be an expert in languages like Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and so forth to get the real deeper meaning of what the Bible is saying. And if you have a good understanding of the languages then it is implied you should be well up on the local customs of the time and you should be knowledgable in the way the language was used, the inflections and so forth.

Now if you got all these qualifications then you must read the Bible in its own context which implies you should know even more like maybe how literature is written, the use of parables and allegory for instance. If you got that down then it helps if you are a good grammer scholar.

Now I am not being negative here. I know a person can be totally ignorant of much of what I said above and get life out of the Bible but I wanted some comment on my thoughts so I am writing them here.

Another thought I had was this..........

Are we limiting the Word of God by saying and believing that the 66 books we call the Bible are the only real divinely inspired Words of God? Is our focus too focused?

I better stop here and see how the winds blow. I feel crucifixion in the wind.  :mshock:

And Byron, I hear ya about the cyber chick magnet thing. It is a burden isn't it? Takes one to know one!  :laughing7:

cp

[Nathan]

The Bible doesn't call itself the Bible as we know the Bible . . .technically, for me, it's canonized portions of Scripture.  The first century church had a hard time with imposters writing their own letters and then passing them off as authentic.  Infact, many times, they'd actually sign it as Paul or another disciple that they knew carried the clout to get the churches to accept their doctrines.  

Most churches back then would actually have only a couple letters of Paul or a partial copy of the gospels . . .so basically, a group of highly esteemed men of God gathered together and went through all of the resources being used and passed off as real . . . and they sifted through all of it, throwing out that which they deemed as counterfeit and kept that which they deemed as authentic.  There was even a lot of arguing and debating over what they did keep.

From what I learned in my own schooling is, everything from Hebrews on are books that almost didn't get included because they either don't meet, or barely meet the requirments of what is deemed as authentic Scripture.  For one . . .the author had to be clearly known . .and Hebrews doesn't specify that . . . the book had to have a fair amount of content . . .or, it had to be more than a paragraph or two . . .and if you notice, many of the books following Hebrews are very small . . .and that was why "they" almost didn't get added in.  

The book had to have Christ as the center-piece . . .which is why some books in the Catholic Bible are not included in ours.  They seem to veer away from the ministry of Christ and get more into rituals and agendas of others.  This is where the "inspired by God" really played a key role.  They had to be in harmony with the rest of the books . . .and you couldn't cut part of a book out and keep the other part.  It was either the book as a whole was in agreement, and if there were parts that were not, the whole book had to be removed.

If I'm not mistaken . . .the Bible we have is not the same as the one they originally agreed on . .it's been modified more than once since the first attempt.

It's been a while since I did the study on this . . .so what I have shared out is just from memory.



Having said all of that . . . I also believe that if we read in the spirit what the letter is saying, we'll get the truth of the message regardless of translation or script.  There is truth in the Apocrypha (books that were left out of the canon) if you read it in the spirit and not by the letter.  If we are led by the Spirit of God, He will lead us into all truths.  If we are led by our own minds, we'll get tangled up in definitions, bent principles and inaccurate doctrines.  Many here on this forum have made comments from time to time of the idea that all the different denominations and beliefs that are out there . .seem to have a fraction of truth woven in them throughout.  Example, pergatory . . .I don't agree exactly as the Catholics do on this, but I can see now, there is much more truth to it than I originally thought.

And I think it's the same with all the other beliefs as well.  And if we simply allow the Spirit to lead us, we can take the good from all of it, leave the stuff that's not so good, and still benefit greatly from all.  The 66 books of the Bible may not be the entire volume of the book . . .But Christ "is".  I do know that books like 1st and 2nd Corinthians are not the only two books written to the people of Corinth.  I know that the belief is that Paul wrote two other books to them . . .one after 1st Corinthians . . .and another after 2nd Corinthians . . . which means what "we" have is actually 1st and 3rd Corinthians.

Either way . . . the Bible is only part of what declares God's glory.  The earth declares God's glory . .and we ourselves are epistles of God to others also.

[chuckt]

Hey All, I woke up with some genuinely nagging questions. Need help here.

I'm going to play totally ignorant here mainly because I am totally ignorant here.

Where in the Bible does it say that the 66 books we call the Bible are the Bible?

Who said these books and only these books are the Bible in the first place?

I am not attacking the Bible, I just realized that I don't have answers to these questions.

cp

there really never have been 66 books in the cannon.

you can google this stuff to find it out about the jewish bible and how it was broken up.

be that as it may:

The Church View:
      In the Catholic Church, the Bible is the Douay Bible consisting of 73 books. In the Protestant church only the 66 books that were approved by the Synod of Dordrecht in 1618 are in what is known as the Authorized King James Bible.

The Bible View:
      Though there is no specific list or accounting of all the books that made up the complete Bible in scripture, there are over 20 books mentioned in the Bible, but not found there. This is proof that many have been removed and there is evidence that many more fell under the same fate.

An Introduction
      Human history has allowed precious few ancient religious writings to survive the onslaught of the more aggressive and powerful religious forces, which seek only to gain territory and wealth. Genocide and cultural eradication always go hand in hand with missionary zeal. In many cases every trace of the conquered society's religious writings, practices, icons, and even buildings were destroyed in the name of conversion from worship of gods considered evil, and religious customs labeled as heresies. What generally results from past crusades is the conqueror's religion replacing or predominantly blending with the conquered culture's former religious practice, making its religion almost unrecognizable. Christianity falls into the latter category, having been the victim of the Roman Empire, under the Emperor Constantine, who blended the Christian Church with the institutionalized "pagan" practices of Rome and eliminated any semblance of either the Jewish religious influence or the first church Jesus established during his ministry.

http://www.thelostbooks.com/intro.htm

Books Mentioned, But Not Found, In The Bible
      There are between eighteen to twenty-four books mentioned in the Bible, but not included.  The variation is due to possible double mentions using differing names for the same book.

Book of the Covenant
♦  Exodus 24:7  And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.
There are those that believe the Book of the Covenant is found in Exodus chapters 20 through 23. There are no authoritative sources for this text.
Book of the Wars of the Lord
♦  Numbers 21:14  Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,
Certain sources believe that this is to be found by drawing text from several Old Testament books.  There are no authoritative sources for this text.
Book of Jasher Here
♦  Joshua 10:13  And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
♦  2 Samuel 1:18 (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)
The Manner of the Kingdom / Book of Statutes
♦  1 Samuel 10:25 Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
Book of Samuel the Seer
♦  1 Chronicles 29:29  Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
Nathan the Prophet
♦  1 Chronicles 29:29  Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
♦  2 Chronicles 9:29  Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
Acts of Solomon
♦  1 Kings 11:41  And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?
Shemaiah the Prophet
♦  2 Chronicles 12:15  Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
Prophecy of Abijah
♦  2 Chronicles 9:29  Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
Story of Prophet Iddo
♦  2 Chronicles 13:22  And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in  the story of the prophet Iddo.
Visions of Iddo the Seer
♦  2 Chronicles 9:29  Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
Iddo Genealogies
♦  2 Chronicles 12:15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually
Book of Jehu
♦  2 Chronicles 20:34  Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.
Sayings of the Seers   Here  (Description)
♦  2 Chronicles 33:19  His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.
Book of Enoch  Here
♦  Jude 1:14  And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
Book of Gad the Seer
♦  1 Chronicles 29:29  Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
Epistle to Corinth Here
♦  1 Corinthians 5:9  I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
Epistle to the Ephesians   (Missing)
♦  Ephesians  3:3  How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,  4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)   
Epistle from Laodicea to the Colossians  (Missing)
♦  Colossians 4:16  And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.
Nazarene Prophecy Source
♦  Matthew 2:23  And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene
Acts of Uziah
♦  2 Chronicles 26:22  Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.
The Annals of King David
♦  1 Chronicles 27:24  Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. Wrath came on Israel on account of this numbering, and the number was not entered in the book of the annals of King David.
Jude, the Missing Epistle
♦  Jude 1:3   Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

http://www.thelostbooks.com/intro2.htm

[Cardinal]

 :cloud9: That's the way I see it too Nathan .... :thumbsup:  Chuckt that was one informative post  :thumbsup: Blessings....

[claypot]

Good stuff gang so now to my point.

Why do we hold what we call the Bible in such high esteem over say other written words that are obviously inspired by God Himself?

Again I believe the Bible is a book of books to be honored and esteemed as Gods dictated word to us but aren't there many other written pieces that are inspired by God?

cp

[Nathan]

Good stuff gang so now to my point.

Why do we hold what we call the Bible in such high esteem over say other written words that are obviously inspired by God Himself?

Again I believe the Bible is a book of books to be honored and esteemed as Gods dictated word to us but aren't there many other written pieces that are inspired by God?

cp

In a word?  Fear.  Fear of being misled.  Fear of being entangled in a form of God, but missing the power thereof.  Fear of more confusion . . .and perhaps even fear of freedom. 

[claypot]

Good stuff gang so now to my point.

Why do we hold what we call the Bible in such high esteem over say other written words that are obviously inspired by God Himself?

Again I believe the Bible is a book of books to be honored and esteemed as Gods dictated word to us but aren't there many other written pieces that are inspired by God?

cp

In a word?  Fear.  Fear of being misled.  Fear of being entangled in a form of God, but missing the power thereof.  Fear of more confusion . . .and perhaps even fear of freedom. 

Nathan, you are not suppose to encourage me in this!!! Now you got me really thinking. This God seeking with all ones heart is scary.

I still think God is up to something with what we call Scripture and I'm thinking it's not what it seems.

cp

[Nathan]

Nothing is what it seems . . .that's the beauty of it all.  As soon as we let go of what we know, the sooner we can see what we don't understand.

[claypot]

Nothing is what it seems . . .that's the beauty of it all.  As soon as we let go of what we know, the sooner we can see what we don't understand.

It's the letting go of what we have that is very hard and extremely scary. I mean it. The old proverbial hanging from the cliff and trying to believe the very strong net below will be enough to catch you safely if you only let go.

And what happens if what we let go of is the real thing? I suppose God will guide.

cp

[sparrow]

Y'know, CP... I had started to post a thread a week or so ago, and I never posted it, but I saved the text. (It's in Blue.)

Just curious.

What if...
the bible was discovered to be a complete fraud?
What if all religion turned out to be false?

How would that affect you?
would you still believe in God?
What would you do if you weren't able to discuss  bible verses and bible meanings?

My views are that I have found considerable comfort and meaning and truth in the bible.
However, my belief in God does not depend on it.
I believed in God before I read anything in the bible.
It was the BIBLE that actually made me sort of turn away from God, to be honest. (in the beginning when my eyes were a bit hazy.)
I see God's word all over His creation.
I feel Him in my heart.

It wasn't the bible that helped me believe in God, actually, it was in SPITE of the bible.
And then when I started putting the jigsaw pieces together, and reading the bible from a new set of eyes, did the bible even start to make some sort of sense.

I know some of you grew up on the bible and have completely opposite experiences.
I was just curious.

Pretty much nothing can shake my belief in God.
Aliens landing? Nope, Still believe in God.
Evil getting worse? Nope, still believe in God.
The world turning inside out? Nope, still believe in God.

I feel like... He's USED the bible to talk to me.

hmmm.I guess I just see it as... what is the POINT in debating all the verses and every last little shred of whatever that's in the bible, when you've kind of gotten the gist of what God is trying to tell us? about LOVE. And what it means. and how GOD IS LOVE. and that LOVE is what we need to LEARN.
Isn't that the point?

seems like we make it too difficult. When really it's something so simple a child can understand. And actually children DO understand... it's just they lose more and more of it as they age in this fallen world and get away from innocence. But... that's ALSO the point. To experience the darkness so we can appreciate and cling to the light, cling to GOD.  WE.NEED.GOD. Period. That's what this life shows us... We Need Him. We can't rule ourselves. Look around you at our life, at the world, We cannot rule ourselves. WE NEED HIM. (and He needs us because He loves us.)

Why do we NEED all that other stuff...?
Sometimes, I look at all the forums and all the thousands of different discussions going on dissecting scripture and I think, doesn't this just get turned into yet ANOTHER distraction?
something to keep us busy.
Too busy to go out and start trying to spread the love.  :dontknow:

:dontknow:   <----- I really don't know. I don't know if I'm wrong or right or what. just don't know.



peace.

[sparrow]

Maybe my view is just too simple.
Maybe... other people dissect scripture so much because they want to know MORE about God?
Maybe I feel like I know the most important thing there is.. (about God being Love..) and so I don't have the drive to know more?

and maybe I am wrong for that.

hmmm.
That's possible.

Maybe my views are too shallow or something?
But..

I'm just being me.
aren't I?

Shouldn't I follow where my path is leading?
Aren't we all different?

:JCThink:

Maybe both views are true.