A question for believers - why the Bible?

2 Timothy 3:16 says that all Scripture is God-breathed (inspired by God), so why would the same God who inspired both the gospels and the letters of Paul have these two contradict each other?John 10:35 "The Scripture cannot be broken."

mmmm internal sourcing.so if i wrote a paper that said at the end that i was right, would you believe it? and what if i had written this paper about say... 1700 years ago? and what about other religious texts? they say similar things about their gods and their scriptures.funny that it's paul that's saying that... (see my first question).

Let me answer your question with a somewhat tragic story.My mom and dad were both non-practicing catholics when I was a toddler. They would go to church once in a blue moon, and were good people. Once every other blue moon, we would visit my uncle's protestant church.One night when I was 6, my mom, dad, and I were visiting their church. We were sitting in the foyer (a room in the back that is closed off, but you can still listen to the service) because I was sick. The message that night is one you've heard before if you've spent much time at any church. Now is the time of salvation. No man is promised tomorrow. You know, things along that line.Well, at some point in the service, my dad decided that it was time to go home. So he went to open the outer doors for us to leave, but they wouldn't open. He pushed harder, but they still wouldn't open. Finally, he had to hit the door with his shoulder, the doors opened, and we left.He was shot and killed 2 days later.My mom and I moved away and built a house in another town. She spent that entire summer reading the bible and asking God some tough questions. Why would a just and loving God take her husband away that she loved so much? What did that prove? Was He making her pay for some past hideous sin?One day while she was reading, God gave her an answer (those of you who don't believe in God, this is referring to a particular scripture that seemed to "jump" out of the page and speak to her). Whatever it was, she didn't like it. She threw the bible accross the room and screamed, "THERE IS NO GOD!" She then stormed out of the house and went for a walk.After she had cooled off, she came back home. She walked in her room and started cleaning. She saw the bible laying open and face up on the floor. She bent down to pick up. As she picked it up, her eyes fell on Psalms 14:1 "The fool says in his heart, there is no God."It was as if the omnipotent God of the universe came into her room and pointed his finger at her and said, "Who are you to tell Me that I don't exist?"Now, some will write all of that off as coincidence, some will see it as evidence of a higher power. But at any rate, that is why I came to believe in the bible.And there have been many instances like that since.

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Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8

When I first became a believer, I was convinced that a change had taken place within me. Often, Biblical quotes that would seem obscure in any normal context suddenly applied to my situation at just the right times. This could be explained, I suppose, but what really got me convinced that the Bible was more than a book was at a Bible study. Nobody knew what the topic would be or even the theme that we were headed towards. I had randomly read a portion of the Bible the night before and, upon arriving at the study, found that not only did an individual share the exact passage with me, but the topic of the study was the same topic! Now some would argue that this was planted in my subconscious somehow beforehand, but I am unconvinced of any skeptical alternative and convinced of the validity of the Spirit working through what would otherwise be a rather ordinary book.

They do not contradict each other if taken in a dispensational context. Paul was sent as the apostle to the Gentiles...the Church...the Body of Christ. The Gospels were directed towards the Kingdom that was promised to Israel. When Israel, concluded in unbelief, rejected Jesus Christ, the way was then open for the Church Age that we are in now. The Kingdom will continue after the Church is taken up. At this point I am not a thorough scholar on this, but a good source of tyhis theology is C.R. Stam.
http://www.geocities.com/protestantscot/ttd/chapter2.html

When you place your hand in the fire you exclaim, "It's hot!!!"Likewise, when I read about the teachings, life, and death of Christ my heart is set on fire and I must exclaim, "I believe!!!"Also, the Bible's theology, creation, explanation of life make the most sense to me.I must marvel at how the prophecies and teachings of the OT pointed towards Christ.

I really do marvel at how people see things that just aren't there.Brian.

It wouldn’t be difficult to be more of a humanist than a believer since I am an atheist. Although there was a time when I thought the Bible was true and that Jesus was my Lord and saviour, but that’s in the past now. I do appreciate this reply, which is what a true Christian (IMO) should conclude after they realise that the person they are speaking to is aware of the Good News and the consequences for ignoring it. I am glad that you didn’t trot out the boring old fire and brimstone reply that is so worn out by many ‘Christians’ here.But, I agree, that ultimately what I believe really should not have a great affect on any one else’s life. One of my jobs is tutoring an introduction to the Old Testament and the vast majority of students on the course are trainee ministers, but I can guarantee that none of them know I am an atheist, it just doesn’t come into it. So, it works both ways, what I believe does not affect your life and what you believe does not affect my life, we are both entitled to believe what we want. What we are not entitled to do is to force our beliefs on to any one else, that is wrong.What I do not like people doing is to abuse the Old Testament and I believe that this is what may Christian websites do, they simply do not understand the OT in context and make all sorts of silly claims. If they are so keen on the Bible then surely they should study it? Again, this is loading the dice before we play. ‘If’ this and ‘If’ that is a pointless process.I actually think that I am a more moral person than the majority of Christians that I have met.To think that God is more honest or truthful than any person is also a loaded dice. Why should God be a moral being, why should God be the ultimate example of morality? I surely do not consider Yahweh to be a decent, loving, caring being, he is portrayed as a barbaric, bloodthirsty savage, certainly not a being that I would worship.But, of course, we all can make excuses for god, if god thinks that so and so should suffer and die then that’s great because god is just and that person must have deserved it!People can justify all sorts of Old testament atrocities, whereas most decent people would be repulsed that a being would order the cold blooded murder of countless women and children. Yep, and if Christianity is true the I will accept the consequences for rejecting Jesus. These people are IMO not actually Christians, they are too stupid and don’t understand what Christianity is. Anyone who HAS to use a gimmick such as prophecy, harmony of extant texts, and ‘inerrancy’ to try and convince a non-believer really should take a good look at themselves and try and find out exactly why they are calling themselves Christians. But, did Jesus actually try to prove Christianity? Was he even trying to establish a new faith?I think that Christianity is more an idea of Paul’s than anyone elses. Yes, and IF Siddartha Gautama did attain enlightenment and IF the Buddha nature in any of us grows and we attain enlightenment, then Siddartha’s truth is alive today.Your criteria for the existence of Jesus today can be applied to any religious figure. This may well be evidence, but the verdict could be completely wrong. Either that or I need to get out more. Brian.

Blog et actualits en France et dans le mondeSome of those are repetative, but you'll get the idea.

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Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8
No webpage found at provided URL: www.1st-vets.us

Well, you quote that quite a lot. I bet you reject the books that Martin Luthor removed from the Bible. I bet you reject the gnostic texts, even those that are older than 2 timothy.And, I bet you reject the Book of the Mormon too.Where does that leave you??

Of course, those are using the technique known as 'quote mining', where a phrase or two is taken out of context. There are also some very serious mistranslations in there too.IN other words, it is full of bull.

Ok, I'll do some leg work and get back to you on that.

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Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8
No webpage found at provided URL: www.1st-vets.us

Do you realize how many times in the New Testament you read something along the lines of this:And this occured to fulfill the prophecy of [some prophet], which said, "[quote from the prophet in the Old Testament]."

If you want to levy such accusations, then how about you back them up and show how he was doing that? Anyone can make those claims, but a good poster will actually back them up.

Hi Tal, hope you are well, Oh I get the idea, but I still do not see any hint of Jesus in the Old Testament.Maybe you could pick a prophecy or two and demonstrate for me that it has to be an OT prophecy fulfilled by Jesus?Cheers and take care.Brian.