Matthew 5:30 "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell."
Sounds pretty clear to me!!!
Me too!
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Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
Everyone knows that there are passages in the Bible that are pretty hard to understand, or at least to know for sure what the author intended. They often have multiple possible interpretations, and different people prefer different ones, presumably based on which ones make the most sense to them. Are we all in agreement, so far?
Some scriptures cover doctrines that are more important than others. (Still agreed?) E.g., it may not be important to know exactly how/why/when God heals a sick person, but I would think it is crucial to know how one is to avoid an eternity of torment. (At least, if there will be eternities of torment for some people!)
This brings up two questions, actually:
1. Is the Bible perfectly clear, on all of the important doctrines?
2. What are the important doctrines?
OK. Discuss.
No, the Bible is NOT perfectly clear. This is why I've become a sceptic, or one to question dogma that claims "We have the ANSWER". In fact, because the Bible is so diverse in opinion, our only honest approach to find Truth is to DIG, and never stop!
We all have ideas, we all are different, and IMO, we can learn great things from one another. The key is to stay open, or accept discovery.
I have many Christian friends who are staunch in their Faith, which keeps them at bay with their concepts or traditional dredging. This leads to dead, dull, dry Religion, and the constant rhetorical spin of, "That's the way our Fathers did it". Many of our fathers never saw a rocket penetrate our atmosphere, entering a dimension never seen before.
In turn, I must accept further discovery that may alter my current views. If I don't, I become guilty of dredging my own idea of a flat World.
Fear keeps our Faith in a bottle, and the Genie only comes out when we rub it with the answers of yesterday or the Religion we give our allegience too. Putting Fear aside, Faith becomes liberated by the answers of today, and no bottle can contain her!
I choose to learn, Timmy! God is far too Big, and His Creation begs for us to launch into the DEEP, and I'm enjoying the plunge!
No, the Bible is NOT perfectly clear. This is why I've become a sceptic, or one to question dogma that claims "We have the ANSWER". In fact, because the Bible is so diverse in opinion, our only honest approach to find Truth is to DIG, and never stop!
We all have ideas, we all are different, and IMO, we can learn great things from one another. The key is to stay open, or accept discovery.
I have many Christian friends who are staunch in their Faith, which keeps them at bay with their concepts or traditional dredging. This leads to dead, dull, dry Religion, and the constant rhetorical spin of, "That's the way our Fathers did it". Many of our fathers never saw a rocket penetrate our atmosphere, entering a dimension never seen before.
In turn, I must accept further discovery that may alter my current views. If I don't, I become guilty of dredging my own idea of a flat World.
Fear keeps our Faith in a bottle, and the Genie only comes out when we rub it with the answers of yesterday or the Religion we give our allegience too. Putting Fear aside, Faith becomes liberated by the answers of today, and no bottle can contain her!
I choose to learn, Timmy! God is far too Big, and His Creation begs for us to launch into the DEEP, and I'm enjoying the plunge!
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Instead of studying to make sure what we believe is supported by Scripture, we MUST study the Scripture to see what IT TEACHES... then BELIEVE THAT!
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2.15 KJV
Come to think of it, is there any teaching (important or not) in the Bible that's completely clear? And I mean clear enough so that everyone that reads it will agree on it?
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Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
Come to think of it, is there any teaching (important or not) in the Bible that's completely clear? And I mean clear enough so that everyone that reads it will agree on it?
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