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Debate:Grave errors/inconsistencies in the Bible make literal translation worthless. (view source)
Revision as of 03:23, May 9, 2008
, 03:23, May 9, 2008→Two accounts of creation - the Bible contradicts itself in the first chapters of the first book
--[[User:Benp|Benp]] 17:48, 8 May 2008 (EDT)
--[[User:Benp|Benp]] 17:48, 8 May 2008 (EDT)
But Christ is represented in the Bible. You have to go to the Bible to get the history of Christ’s death and resurrection. I agree that Biblical knowledge isn’t going to impress God. It’s important and we should study it, but it doesn’t save us. If we rely on our own efforts and our own knowledge for salvation, then we’re lost. It’s faith in Christ and what He did that saves us. But we can only learn about that from the Bible.
In the early Christian church, they’re were people who had traveled with Christ and knew Him personally. So they could understand things in a way that we couldn’t, due to the personal connection. And even in the first few hundred years, they did have the written words of the Apostles. But, they consisted of a much smaller group that what we see today, so there wouldn’t have needed to be as spread out as Christians are today, so it would be easier to spread the Gospel.
The Apocrypha was written in the four hundred year gap after the Old Testament was completed and before the time of Christ. It was rejected by the Jews, so there is no reason to accept it today. If the Jews didn’t put it into their Scripture, why should Christians who built upon that original Old Testament?
I would certainly agree that you don’t have to read to the Bible to be saved, because, again, it’s about what Christ did on the cross that cleanses us from sins. But, you have to go to the Scripture to find the truth, which is Christ. And only the Bible contains the Truth.
There were certainly debates about various doctrines in the early church. But, we have the written work he main church fathers, the Apostles, in our hands. We can see what the correct doctrines are because we can see what they taught.
As far as Enoch goes, it’s debatable whether Jude was quoting from the Apocryphal book of Enoch or something else. But, for arguments sake, let’s say he was quoting that specific book. That doesn’t make it inspired. That just means the author got it right on that one point. Besides, Paul quotes Epimendies, who was a Greek philosopher from the 6th Century BC in Titus 1:12. That doesn’t make Epimendies inspired.
And most Christian fathers didn’t accept the book of Enoch. Some did, but the majority didn’t.
Yes, culture is absolutely important. But scholars can reconstruct what the culture was like at the time based on early writings from that time period. It may not be perfect, but it’s really good, and the only thing we have to indicate that they’re wrong is the assumption that they are.
The Bible has been meticulously worked on to make sure it was translated correctly for generation to generation. In fact, it has been better preserved than any other ancient document. There are over 5,600 early Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, all written within 100 years of it’s completion. Compare that with the next well-transcribed document, Homer’s Iliad. That had 643 manuscripts and were written 500 years after it’s completion. The New Testament just blows everything else out of the water. We have very good reason to believe that it an accurate version of what was originally written.
Anyone can make mistakes. I would never claim that I’ve got everything perfectly figured out. But, I do look at the evidence and conclude that the Bible is extremely accurate and is the inspired word of God.
Not to change the subject, but you said something interesting. You said, “I have faith in God and in Christ.” Do you consider God and Christ to be different entities, or do you think Christ is God? I’d be interested to hear our opinion on that. [[User:Ultimahero|Ultimahero]] 23:23, 8 May 2008 (EDT)