Dwise1 writes:
Yes, I do in fact believe that the Bible's contents need to be examined and evaluated, but that is something that Bible believers will not stand for. To a Bible believer, if we find even one single error in the Bible, then the entire Bible is false and God either does not exist or is a liar whom you should not worship, so you must therefore become an atheist. That is what countless fundamentalists have witnessed to me and they were extremely adamant about it. I believe that position of theirs is completely wrong and self-destructive, but they will fight very viciously to maintain that position.
I'll try reading what you have to say before replying this time.
Actually I couldn't agree more. My Christian faith is the most fundamental aspect of my life and yet if I felt it was necessary to understand the Bible as being the inerrant word of God I would have to leave the faith.
First off, you only have to read the Bible with all of its contradictions, errors and for that matter the personal anecdotes of the authors to understand that it is not God dictated. Worse than that however it paints a picture of a sometimes loving god, a sometimes vengeful god, a sometimes hateful god, a sometimes cruel god etc. It paints a picture of a god that is of no discernible nature meaning that you can understand him in any image that suits you.
If however we consider the Bible as being written by men inspired to write their personal understandings and accounts, recognizing that their individual and cultural biases will show up in what they write, we actually can then come up with a coherent narrative and within that narrative a relatively clear understanding of God.
Christianity started out being Christ centred and now in many instances, particularly on this continent it has become so Bible centric that Jesus is virtually left out.
He has told you, O man, what is good ; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8