Christine, I do want to encourage you to continue reading the Bible, if that's what you've been doing.
In addition, I would be more than happy to discuss the scriptures with you, as time allows. But, considering some of your past statements about the Bible and Jesus, I'm not sure if it would make any sense at all for us to have such a discussion just quite yet.
Christine, you have talked about the Bible in different ways at different times, each position vastly different from the last. You have varied from:
1) Wondering if Jesus had ever in fact existed as a real person walking the earth, and perhaps was created as a fictional person "for political purposes".
2) You asked me not to quote from the Bible, implying the Bible is meaningless, because "it can mean anything a person wants it to mean". Now it is absolutely TRUE that a person can rationalize just about anything, if one wants to force their own will on their reading of the Bible. But if a person puts aside their own fleshly will and asks God to send his holy spirit to help them see the spiritual meaning of what they are reading, they may begin to see the scriptures in the spiritual light in which they are meant to be seen.
3) Now you say, "Jesus was a very modern fellow,...", and "The Bible has been revised and translated numerous times. Some scholars would seriously argue that.."
Again though, I DO hope you begin to become interested in reading the Bible.
I will tell you though, that you MUST sincerely wish God to show you His truths, otherwise your reading will be purely an academic excercise in reading literature. For starters, realize that the single most important theme for mankind prophesied of repeatedly in the Old Testament is the promise of a Savior for mankind to be sent from God: "The Messiah". I sincerely suggest prayer and meditation on this single subject before you even open the New Testament. Read references to the promised Messiah in the Old Testament first. There are roughly 130 or so separate "Messianic Prophecies" in the Old Testament (places in scripture in which a Savior sent from God is predicted). I know this because in my "Master Study Bible", each and every reference is given, listed by book and verse, starting with Genesis. The list is single spaced, and goes for 2 1/2 pages. Talk with experienced Pastors, Priests, etc.. Join a bible study. Almost all churches have weekly bible studies. Ask an experienced Pastor to recommend Old Testament readings which shed light on the subject of God's plan for the salvation of mankind.
Ask God to open your heart to the idea that mankind may indeed be in need of an undeserved saving grace, then ask God to open your heart to the idea of a Savior sent by a loving and merciful God. Then and only then, begin to sincerely read the New Testament.
If you read very much of the New Testament before coming at least to the spiritual place I describe above, that reading may not be a very fruitful or meaningful excercise. Incidently, Jesus speaks in the New Testament specifically of this subject of condition of heart, and how the various conditions of heart cause vastly different reactions to the reading and hearing of his word. So again, I'm not just inventing all this of my own wisdom.
Read the parable of the sower in Luke chapter 8, verse 4. Then read how Jesus explains the parable in verse 11: "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are those that hear; then cometh the devil , and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience". Christine, "The sower" is a parable which Jesus himself explained in as plain as language as possible, and it pertained to the subject of hearing and receiving the word, and the fact that the seed of the word will in fact be interpreted in various ways, depending on the person's condition of heart.
The best very thing you could do for yourself in any reading of the Bible is to go to a Christian book store and buy a Bible like the one I have, which includes in the same book, in addition to the Old and New Testaments, following sections:
1) an Encyclopedia of the Bible: a long, comprehensive section which includes this in the introduction: "The purpose of this section is to give the user a great array of facts and information to the exclusion of scriptural interpretations. Scriptural information is followed by the reference to the passage from which it is taken...prepared by scholars who had access to source material relating to every area of truth that sheds light on the text and teaching of the Scriptures."
2) a Harmony of the four Gospels: Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John, each of which is a separate account concerning the life and death of Christ, and many of the same incidents and happenings are described by more than one of the Gospel writers. Some events are written about by all four Gospel writers. A "Harmony" has each event described in succession by each Gospel writer which wrote about it.
3) a "Life and Teachings of our Lord" section, which includes:
a) Miracles of our Lord: description of miracle, and reference to book and verse where miracle is described.
b) Parables of our Lord, which gives a little more info including "lesson taught", plus the reference to book and verse.
c) Discourses of our Lord, same format as "Parables" section.
d) Teachings of Jesus, a comprehensive study, arranged by subject, with alphabetical index of approx. 200 subjects, starting with "Access to God", "Acountability", "Adoption", "Adultery", "Advocate", etc, and ending with "Wisdom", "Witness", "Word of God", "Works, good", and "Wordliness".
4) a section of Bible Prophecy, separated into "General Predictions", "Messianic Prophecies of the Old Testament" (which I mentioned earlier)
5) a Chronology of the Bible
6) a "How to Study the Bible"
7) a "Thematic Approach to Bible Study"
8) a "The Early Manuscripts of the Bible"
9) a section "The Languages of the Bible"
10 a section "The Land and the People of the Bible"
11) a section "The Archaeology of the Bible"
12) a Guide to Pronunciation of Bible Names.
13) a Concordance: A handy listing of the chief words of the King James Version text of the Bible in the order of their appearance in Old and New Testaments. The approx. 3,000 entries appear in bold, followed by explanation of meaning, and the principal references of each entry with book, chapter and verse and identifying phrase.
14) Bible Maps with Index.
Christine, re There is much evidence that the Bible was translated incorrectly,...That is why people who believe every word of the Bible is literally true live, in a very real sense, in the past.
All I can say is, read Revelations ch 22 verse 18:
"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."
Be careful of picking and choosing what parts of the Bible you like, and which you don't like.
Jesus was a very modern fellow, a social activist, fighting for justice against the Romans.
Hmmm. Christine, you haven't read much of the Bible anytime recently, have you? Christ rarely mentioned the Romans or Caesar, the head of the Roman Empire. Jesus simply said to "render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and render unto God that which is God's."
Nice try though, Christine. I don't fault you at all for wanting to discuss the scripture, and I'm not trying to show your Biblical ignorance. But I am trying to tell you that I've regularly attended church services for 34 years, so a little Biblical familiarity has inevitably sunk into my brain. Not to say I am any expert, for sure I'm not. But I do know that Jesus didn't care much at all about the Romans, and only rarely mentioned them. Don't try to snow me, Christine..:-)
If you would like to discuss scripture, let me know when you have reached the proper place of heart to begin to sincerely read, and begin to sincerely want to know His word. Eventually, as God reveals His word into your heart, you may come to realize that the issue of homosexuality fades from significance in the landscape of the various "conditions of man". That is correct: It's not very important. This is why your statement "Dwight, when you are talking about homosexuals, you are lumping in them with sinners again." doesn't make any sense to me. As a Christian, I am one who believes that ALL of mankind needs the Messiah, not just SOME people.
This is a huge difference between us, and until resolved, won't lead to any fruitful discussions of the Bible between us. If you believe that it is possible to please God enough by your own works to get to heaven, then be my guest. But keep in mind that Jesus says that to achieve the Kingdom of Heaven by your works, you must be able to love your enemies, and do good to them which despitefully use you. That doesn't mean just some of the time, or most of the time. It means ALL the time, EVERY time.
Anyway, I won't be able to take any more time to answer your other replies to me after this one I'm responding to, but I will read them. I'm very busy next week also. Buy a good Bible, Christine, and begin to read a little here and a little there, as time allows.
DK |
