Ugzugz wrote:Mindia wrote:Ugzugz wrote:Mindia - I have two followup questions for you:
If you believe ONLY in the Bible... then anything that isn't explicitly stated in the Bible isn't true? Regarding Jesus, I mean... obviously.
Also, you believe that God wrote the Bible through ... whoever. Right?
To answer your first question... No, I don't believe in only the Bible. I believe in other people and works too, such as Martin Luther to name one. I also believe that Ellen G. White was filled with the Holy Spirit and has written books to help people understand scripture better, and has led many people to Christ. I don't think of her as a prophet though.
Yes, I believe that the Bible was written by holy men, or men filled with the Holy Spirit. I also believe that Martin Luther removed the books the books of the Apocrypha from the "Bible" under divine influence.
I know what you're trying to get at, but... before you go jumping up and down with glee thinking that you've cornered me or "owned" me somehow, don't forget this:
OK, if you don't believe in ONLY the Bible, then you admit that the Bible is not the "end all, be all" for Christian guidance. You admit you follow the "teachings" of two others (Martin Luther and Ellen White). By doing so, you lose your grounds for claiming (as you do often and vehemently) that if something isn't in the Bible then it's not FACT. You are hereby refuted and any further arguments of something not being "scriptural" are void. You can't have your cake and eat it, too, meaning that you can't have your non-Biblical sources of God's word and deny others the right to do the same when all you have to base your OPINION on is your particular faith and beliefs. Until you can PROVE them wrong, you have no room to tell people that their beliefs are false since they aren't written specifically in the Bible.
As far as the authors of the Bible go, if God truly guided the hands of those who wrote the Bible, how do you explain the inaccuracies (both scientific and historical - which have been proven so don't deny they exist) and the contradictions (which also exist, plentifully... don't try to deny these exist as well)? If God is truly leading Man in the authoring of His Word, then wouldn't God know what he already has instructed to be written - or at the very least - know not to contradict himself? Wouldn't he also know the Truth as is stands to easily researched and proven scientific/historical events/concepts? The simple fact that the Bible is littered with such errors leads many to believe that the Bible is the work of men, not God - or that God is somehow unable to remember what he has already commissioned to be written or events that have occured. or that God doesn't understand simple science.
How do you answer this?
Next time, don't assume I'm trying to trap you into something as narrow as the inclusion of the Apocrypha... your statements have much larger holes in them than something so small as that.
This is quite possibly the most respectable post I've ever read from you Ug. You make a lot of sense here, and you make a good point, and you were not offensive. I will not argue this. However, I will point out this one area of fascination (to me)...
When we look to others for guidance and inspiration (through their written works) we are trusting them that they are giving us accurate information, truthfulness, and practicality that we can apply to our daily lives. In the case of Christian authors, this rings especially true when in context to, and in reference to, the Bible.
Many of these authors use the Bible as a reference point for their works, and you can cross-check them by referencing the Bible yourself to check for any inaccuracies or inconsistencies. Such authors would be people like Ellen G. White (Steps To Christ, Desire of Ages, etc.), Rick Warren (The Purpose-Driven Life), Lee Strobel (A Case for Christ), Martin Luther (The Jews and their Lies, The Bondage of the Will, etc.), John Calvin (Institutes of the Christian Religion), Larry E. Dyer (Baptism - The Believer's First Obedience), etc.
We trust these authors to guide us through the Bible, and to help construct doctrine or dogmata
based only on the Bible to show us how to live, how to act, how to worship, how to pray, etc. The authors I just mentioned can be cross-examined by having one of their books in one hand, and the Bible in the other. You will be very hard-pressed to find any inaccuracies or inconsistencies with the Bible with the forementioned authors (unless of course your reference is from an anti- <insert author here> propaganda website.
Now, with that in mind we now know how to do (or not do), or understand: Baptism; Communion; The State of the Dead; Confession and Forgiveness; Obedience; Idolatry; The Sabbath; Christ's Second Coming; etc. etc. etc. You get the point...
Based on that there are a few religions out there (Christian sects) that deviate away from what the Bible teaches us. And once again, you can use the Bible as a reference to see what I'm talking about. Therein is where the problem lies... not with (me), or what (he) thinks, or what (she) thinks, but with doctrine or dogmata that deviates away from Scriptural teachings. That is what I find peculiar about the Roman Catholic Church. They engage in many practices that are either, A. Not in the Bible, or B. Actually go against the Bible. These are facts that cannot be debated. All you have to do is open your Bible for the truth.
So, in essence, what the Roman Catholic Church has done was to say, "Well, we don't like what it says in the Bible in reference to: Communion, Confession, Idolatry, etc... so we are going to come up with our own practices and rituals." Many good church-going Catholics who were raised with Catholicism think this is the norm... the way "it's supposed to be," and discount and discredit anybody who says to them, "Hey, check this out..." (opening the Bible and pointing out fallicies and inaccuracies with their religion). They don't want to hear about it, because they are sure that "their way is the right way."
Frankly, I don't really care anymore. There's nothing more I can do in regards to this subject. I have offered proof, truth, and accuracy, and I base it only on the Bible. If you choose to ignore the Bible and continue doing your own thing because that's how you were raised and that's where your little comfort zone is... then that's your business. However, it is a Christian's business to spread the good news of the gospel no matter how many times they get rejected. Even though realizing that evangelizing on the NT was a bad idea to begin with, and a lot of opposition was met with, I will continue to do so... for it is my duty.