Almost saved- so near and yet so far - Page 14

UnTraditional · #**131** 02-08-2011, 04:50 PM

A Christian cannot be a Christian and claim the Bible is a book written by mere mortal men. It is the Word of God and those who believe otherwise do so in damnation to their own souls.

Maximilian · #**132** 02-08-2011, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UnTraditional

A Christian cannot be a Christian and claim the Bible is a book written by mere mortal men. It is the Word of God and those who believe otherwise do so in damnation to their own souls.

A UPCI brother in this video. Would be curious (as well as NFS) what your thoughts are.

http://imgood.me/2010/04/roy-fishers-story-q-a/

Socialite · #**133** 02-09-2011, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotforSale

The Bible is a Book written by men, plain and simple. The Bible is also a Book of controversy, and it can basically become what you want it to become. We can proclaim all day long that "We Know the Truth", but others will flat out disagree with you, using Scripture to justify their stance. Over 30,000 Denominations on this Earth prove this. Agreement is impossible and unity unattainable.

For instance, the Bible says, "Thou shalt not kill." This Commandment is pretty clear, at least with me. We are not supposed to kill. Then, Israel basically "Nukes" Amalek, killing every man, woman, child, baby, pregnant women, and animals, in God's Name. You can slice it and dice it, but the bottom line is, this was a mass slaughter of Humanity in the Name of Religion, better known as Genocide.

Today, we totally criticize and condemn what Hitler did to the Jews in the Holocaust, and I agree, this was mass murder. But, this historical slaughter of other Human Beings by the Jews is written down for all to see, and, the Wars and Killings didn't stop with Amalek; the march to conquer and divide thousands of years ago by God's People has the eerie tone of murder and blood.

Let's look at what the Bible says about Jesus; He stopped the stoning of a woman caught in Adultery, and commanded US to forgive and to be merciful. He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” and pardoned a Thief in his dying breath. He reached for the poor, the hungry, and the lost, saying a man beating his chest in confession is more justified than a man walking the Strait and Narrow. He told us to love our enemies and that He came to this World to SAVE people, not destroy them. But in the end He will cast these same people into an Inferno of Torture if they don’t “Line Up”.

This is not only confusing, it’s contradicting. We are supposed to believe that you can be God’s Child today, but not tomorrow if you fail.

Christians today are falling for Religious "Smoke and Mirrors" and live by "Out of sight, Out of Mind." We hammer our pulpits with, "Saul was rebellious for not killing the King of Amalek", yet we wouldn't pull the trigger ourselves. We pat the sword bearer on the back, telling him, "GO AND KILL", while the Commandment to NOT kill is forgotten or justified because, "God told us to KILL".

Agreement within this Book will never happen and this disagreement continues to plague the World with Denominal Faith (We have it, you don't). There is an endless cycle of debate regarding what is truly expected of us (The Human Race), via the Bible, and the Populace of the World is scratching their head with what to do.

Think about the Apostolic Movement; Speak in tongues, yes or no? Baptism, yes or no? Hair on Women, long or short? Jewelry, yes or no? Paying Tithes, yes or no? TV, yes or no? Pants or dresses, yes or no? Drinking wine, yes or no? Facial hair, yes or no? Christmas, yes or no? The Sabbath, yes or no? The Godhead, Holiness, Salvation, Music, Divorce, Sin, the list never stops, and neither do the questions, all because of the Bible. One Church says this, another says that.

I see this problem as a Human Element that cannot be avoided, and that this Human Element is within this Book that we claim is God’s Voice. I honestly don’t know why we can’t seem to admit this. Maybe it's fear. Maybe peer pressure.

I’ve tried sharing with others that we MUST validate Truth by experience, not hearsay. God gave us this Life to gain a measurement that can validate what is real and what isn’t, and every time we step into the “Beyond” the loose cannon is unleashed! When I was in the Marines, firing the M16 and hitting the Bull’s-eye required focus and absolute awareness of the surrounding environment. Ignoring these would send the bullet into the oblivion of maybe.

When the target came out of the “Butts” with a white circle on the pole, a smile would glimmer across my face, knowing I was heading for another “Expert Badge” if I kept the facts in view. I intend to do this with my Walk with God. Socialite, I'm tired of the confusion and the Church playing upon my emotions where there is no black and white, and speculation is the rule.

I thought of your post tonight. Something I will try and share tomorrow.

NotforSale · #**134** 02-09-2011, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maximilian

A UPCI brother in this video. Would be curious (as well as NFS) what your thoughts are.

http://imgood.me/2010/04/roy-fishers-story-q-a/

Excellent video! Very interesting coming from a UPCI circle of influence. Years ago, I'm not so sure his platform of ideas would be accepted. Even today, many probably don't agree with his approach to the Bible.

He made several great points, one of which is this (I'm paraphrasing); "Don't expect the Bible to stay within ONE Religious Ideal." He didn’t really expound on this, but I’m sure his thoughts would send shivers up some of our Oneness spines!

Another point that kind of reached out and grabbed me was, allow yourself to become part of the story. He said the Bible is nothing but a series of stories, covering every aspect of our lives, with Redemption at the core. We all fit somewhere, as the Human element throughout Scripture is obvious.

Roy also pointed out that to "Challenge" the Bible is a MUST! Severe doubt will yield answers.

Roy is a very educated and qualified individual to expound on the Historical and analytical layout of Scripture, and he admits the Bible is COMPLICATED. I will be curious to see how his ideas evolve (If I'm still around

) many years from now.

Experience always brings transformation.

Maximilian · #**135** 02-09-2011, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotforSale

Excellent video! Very interesting coming from a UPCI circle of influence. Years ago, I'm not so sure his platform of ideas would be accepted. Even today, many probably don't agree with his approach to the Bible.

He made several great points, one of which is this (I'm paraphrasing); "Don't expect the Bible to stay within ONE Religious Ideal." He didn’t really expound on this, but I’m sure his thoughts would send shivers up some of our Oneness spines!

Another point that kind of reached out and grabbed me was, allow yourself to become part of the story. He said the Bible is nothing but a series of stories, covering every aspect of our lives, with Redemption at the core. We all fit somewhere, as the Human element throughout Scripture is obvious.

Roy also pointed out that to "Challenge" the Bible is a MUST! Severe doubt will yield answers.

Roy is a very educated and qualified individual to expound on the Historical and analytical layout of Scripture, and he admits the Bible is COMPLICATED. I will be curious to see how his ideas evolve (If I'm still around

) many years from now.

Experience always brings transformation.

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for letting me know you took a listen.

I thought it gave up some humble ground, and really encouraged even me how to approach the Bible.

crakjak · #**136** 02-09-2011, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maximilian

A UPCI brother in this video. Would be curious (as well as NFS) what your thoughts are.

http://imgood.me/2010/04/roy-fishers-story-q-a/

I love the way he digs into the story, very stimulating!!!

pelathais · #**137** 02-09-2011, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UnTraditional

A Christian cannot be a Christian and claim the Bible is a book written by mere mortal men. It is the Word of God and those who believe otherwise do so in damnation to their own souls.

And yet the Bible itself testifies that it was "written by 'mere' mortal men."

Exodus 24:24; Numbers 33:2; Joshua 8:32; 1 Samuel 10:25; 1 Chronicles 24:6; Jeremiah 36:4; Daniel 7:1; Luke 1:1-4; Act 15:19-23; Romans 16:27 - (see the subscript on this and each of the following verses); 1 Corinthians 16:24; 2 Corinthians 13:14; and etc.

2 Peter 1:20-21:

"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

Since all of these men are now dead, it's pretty safe to say that they were all "mere mortal men."

Socialite · #**138** 02-09-2011, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maximilian

A UPCI brother in this video. Would be curious (as well as NFS) what your thoughts are.

http://imgood.me/2010/04/roy-fishers-story-q-a/

Listened to this tonight. Wow. Kept my attention all the way through...

Socialite · #**139** 02-09-2011, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maximilian

A UPCI brother in this video. Would be curious (as well as NFS) what your thoughts are.

http://imgood.me/2010/04/roy-fishers-story-q-a/

Quote:

Nobody's text, that they have, fell out of heaven that way.

Quote:

I believe the Bible is the Word of God. What do I mean by that? It can't be the pages... I got the Bible right here... it's vehicle, it conveys the Word of God to me... these wonderful trajectories... redemption... human involvement with God is a zig zag. Sometimes it's going forward and sometimes it's going back.

Quote:

Canonization is a zig zag type of path. Who voted on these things to get them in? The stuff that's in there is the stuff you couldn't stop. So meaningful to the early church that there is no getting rid of it....

Quote:

The Bible is not fragile. I can't break it. You can't break it. That's extremely liberating.... when I realized... if you've never had a really good fight with the Bible, you aren't taking it serious... it's not a nice little story you're supposed to read. It's a story you're supposed to engage and participate in.

Quote:

There was never a ballot. They fought over it. If you were a gnostic, this isn't your story. You have a different story. For me, a Christian, committed to the idea of Jesus... these are the texts that best convey and tell that story. And I participate in that... by allowing the text to be itself. Complexity is a great thing.

Quote:

Much of our problems come from the idea that there is one view of God. One view of what Jesus was up to in our world... then you will run into problems. Some of the tension... uncomfortable feelings we get is because we've imposed too much on the Bible itself.
People love to pit the Book of James against Paul. If you go back to look at 1st Century Judaism, you will see they are talking about the same issue at different angles. The reason is it seems like a contradiction is because I've applied this filter that says James is supposed to sound like Paul... if we don't force this rigid grid on the text, some of these tensions are really tensions with our own worldview.

Some teasers

UnTraditional · #**140** 02-10-2011, 04:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pelathais

And yet the Bible itself testifies that it was "written by 'mere' mortal men."

Exodus 24:24; Numbers 33:2; Joshua 8:32; 1 Samuel 10:25; 1 Chronicles 24:6; Jeremiah 36:4; Daniel 7:1; Luke 1:1-4; Act 15:19-23; Romans 16:27 - (see the subscript on this and each of the following verses); 1 Corinthians 16:24; 2 Corinthians 13:14; and etc.

2 Peter 1:20-21:

"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

Since all of these men are now dead, it's pretty safe to say that they were all "mere mortal men."

It was poenned by men as they were moved upon by the Spirit. Your hatred for the inspiration of the Word makes me question some things.