However, I think it's important to note that I do believe the CORE of the gospel message is intact, and not corrupt.
You better hope so! I mean, what if some lost letter of Paul (whether to Corinth or whatever) has some little detail that we'd need? What if he said you can't get to Heaven unless you, I dunno, let your toe nails grow out at least an inch?
(Is that silly? Of course it is. Almost as silly as a maximum (though unspecified) length of hair for men, or prohibiting women's hair to be cut. But maybe there's something missing that's not quite that silly, and we'll never know. Heaven may be almost empty, just because those letters were lost!)
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Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
You better hope so! I mean, what if some lost letter of Paul (whether to Corinth or whatever) has some little detail that we'd need? What if he said you can't get to Heaven unless you, I dunno, let your toe nails grow out at least an inch?
(Is that silly? Of course it is. Almost as silly as a maximum (though unspecified) length of hair for men, or prohibiting women's hair to be cut. But maybe there's something missing that's not quite that silly, and we'll never know. Heaven may be almost empty, just because those letters were lost!)
Or maybe there's a missing letter that settles the 1 vs 3 step question, once and for all!
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Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
You better hope so! I mean, what if some lost letter of Paul (whether to Corinth or whatever) has some little detail that we'd need? What if he said you can't get to Heaven unless you, I dunno, let your toe nails grow out at least an inch?
(Is that silly? Of course it is. Almost as silly as a maximum (though unspecified) length of hair for men, or prohibiting women's hair to be cut. But maybe there's something missing that's not quite that silly, and we'll never know. Heaven may be almost empty, just because those letters were lost!)
Some people immediately shut down if you say that the bible may not contain 100% of God breathed scriptures, or if you suggest that the Bible, or even the KJV was altered in any way, such as Mat 28:19, 1John 5:7, etc.
ahh yes...the imperfect Word. I've often wondered what St.Paul would think if he got to see how we interpret his letters....without knowing him or who he was writing to.
Ensey(?) has a book that does a decent job of tracking where the modern cannon came from.
Timmy...makes you wonder what the "hair" prophets would be preaching if that letter hadn't made the cut.
The Encyclopedia of Religion And Ethics states that Mt 28:19 "is the
central piece of evidence for the traditional view [trinitarian
formula]. If it were undisputed, this would, of course, be decisive,
but its trustworthiness is impugned on the grounds of textual
criticism, literary criticism, and historical criticism… [However] The
facts are, in summary, that Eusebius quotes Matthew 28:19 twenty one
times, either omitting everything between 'nations' and 'teaching,' or
in the form 'make disciples of all nations in my name,' the latter
form being the more frequent… the traditional [trinitarian] text was
brought about by the [trinitarian baptismal] influence working on the
Eusebian [Gospel of Matthew, which originally stated "in My name"]
text”.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, II, page 263:
"The baptismal formula was changed from the name of Jesus Christ to
the words Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by the Catholic Church in the
second century."
New Catholic Encyclopedia, VOL 2, 1967, pp.59
“An explicit reference to the Trinitarian formula of Baptism cannot be
found in the first centuries. The Didache, for instance, merely
repeats Mt 28:19. In the East, St. John Chrysostom (d. 407) is the
first to report it: “N. is baptized in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit”
Mat 28:19 has much evidence against it to show it was, perhaps, adjusted by the RCC. Why did they not also adjust the Book of Acts too then?
The reasons Paul's letters and other apocryphal books weren't included are mentioned in books that reference the canonizing of the Bible. Some letters were historical-only... they definitely could not include them all. If they didn't pass the test of authenticity (dozens of steps), then they weren't included. The Apocryphal books that Jesus quoted were stories kept as tradition among the Jews... there were very significant reasons why it wasn't canonized though. There's also nothing contradictory in many of those books, and they make great reference guides to Scripture.
Is man perfect....Nope... so therfore I would not think the bible would be...LOL
KWSS, not to be rude, but that's odd logic. Bible vs. Man. Man is not perfect, therefore the Bible can't be? Do you not believe in God's hand over these matters?
I'll borrow your logic, and use it this way: God is perfect, therefore His Word is.
No thats not odd logic thats the truth who put the bible together that we have now...it was men like me and you and we are not perfect....Not to mention how many times the bible has been copied and recopied and edited
I ask this because in 1st Corinthians 5:9, Paul mentions a previous letter. I have read in various other places that there were at least four letters to Corinth in total.
My questions are this:
Where are the other two? Why aren't they canonized? Should we, as Christians, assume they are not important, because they are not canonized?
It either means that current letter....the text does not say "a previous letter"....what translation is that?
1Co 5:9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people
Or it does refer to a former letter that does not exist anymore.
Does that make the bible not complete? Not at all. We'd have to assume there are new commands of God found in that letter not found in the NT anywhere. We have to assume also that such a letter in the eyes of God is or was necessary for us to have and God screwed up somewhere in not getting it to us
__________________ Let it be understood that Apostolic Friends Forum is an Apostolic Forum.
Apostolic is defined on AFF as:
There is One God. This one God reveals Himself distinctly as Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
The Son is God himself in a human form or "God manifested in the flesh" (1Tim 3:16)
Every sinner must repent of their sins.
That Jesus name baptism is the only biblical mode of water baptism.
That the Holy Ghost is for today and is received by faith with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues.
The saint will go on to strive to live a holy life, pleasing to God.
O yea don't think for one sec I think our bible is 100% correct remember men put the bible together and they got to pick and choose what got put in it..LOL
I disagree with what this line of thought lends itself to.
When one says our Bible is not 100% correct, then it opens most folks up to the idea that they can believe and practice whatever they feel is worth practicing or believing.
The Bible we have is complete enough for the salvation of the souls who read and adhere in faith in Jesus Christ.
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"The choices we make reveal the true nature of our character."
But maybe there's something missing that's not quite that silly, and we'll never know. 
Heaven may be almost empty, just because those letters were lost!)
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