The Bible?

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Re: The Bible?

Post by ayashe »

It's no more or less accurate than the Talmud/Torah and the Quran. It was written and edited by men, to explain the world around them and influence it. Even why I was a Christian I didn't think it was 100% factual.
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Re: The Bible?

Post by YunoGasai »

This'll be kind of harsh, but it's my opinion, as a person who was raised christian, sent to bible camp, church every sunday, the whole nine yards.
I'm pretty against the bible in all ways. It says that women are dirty on their periods, that gays are inherently evil, & a whole host of other similarly themed things besides. If you believe in the christian god (I don't anymore) then don't take the word of a quasi-fictional story that's been re-written & re-interpreted hundreds if not thousands of times, do what you ought & pray to your god for guidance instead of following the word of a sexist, homophobic, mens-agenda based story.
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Re: The Bible?

Post by bookrage »

well there are parts of the bible where women do take a major and active, and also approved role. Rebecca, Rachel, Judith, and Jaole all have their places where they are depicted as heroes but by and large, I do think the bible can be pretty mysogenistic. In the gospel of John, Jesus himself says some pretty nasty things about women if John or those claiming to speak for John can be believed. That said, all the new testiment books attributed to John are a little weird compared to the others, though you can't make Christ divine without their testimony. Even if the Bible were largely true, I would have to judge the gospel of John, revelations, and a couple other books seperately because of how much they clash with everything else.
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Re: The Bible?

Post by Clowncore »

Having grown up in varying degrees of Christian household and struggling to find my own spiritual path that was not force-fed to me, my opinion on the Bible has varied a lot over the years. I've read different versions, studied and memorized portions. I've certainly heard it regurgitated plenty of times, each person chewing it up and spitting it out with their own interpretation of what is supposedly divine text.

I believe it was deity, or spiritually inspired. I believe heavily in the supernatural due to my own personal experiences and, in my own experience, contacting or deriving something from one specific source is nigh impossible. Many people have said that the men who were writing certain books of the bible were "in the spirit" or in a trance-like state. If they did make contact, how could anyone say for certain it was from God?

I guess the point I'm trying to make is it was written by men. I also think those men have used it, and continue to use it, to further their own agendas. I also think that if it was truly 100% all true and exactly the way God wants us to live, would it not be truly timeless? Wouldn't it not be so centered around what mankind knew at that time of the world? Such as being unable to clean shellfish properly, resulting in sickness so it became a "sin".

I believe some teachings can be applied timelessly and used in daily life to help in personal growth, protection, guidance, etc. I think that's what should be taken from it. I also think anyone who studies or reads it should take into heavy account the time period in which it was written. There is no harm in questioning things or cross referencing spirituality with scientific fact.

As a child, my questions were not only discouraged, but shamed and called sin. Later as an adult I realized that the only reason why an adult or anyone would push this narrative is to hide their own agendas (or others agendas) within it. If something is truly infallible, it should be able to hold up under questions and investigation.

TL;DR - The bible was written by men. Even if their intentions were only pure, they were still only human and capable of failure just as anyone else. I believe the Bible should never be consumed as '100% divine, 100% fact, 100% the truth'. To do so, in my opinion, would be foolish... especially if ones goal is to learn and be granted genuine wisdom through personal faith and not to mindlessly be spoon-fed something for them to leech onto and validate their insecurities. Or worse, use it to oppress, belittle and emotionally destroy others without even so much as realizing it.

Edit- wanted to reply to this too
YunoGasai wrote:This'll be kind of harsh, but it's my opinion, as a person who was raised christian, sent to bible camp, church every sunday, the whole nine yards.
I'm pretty against the bible in all ways. It says that women are dirty on their periods, that gays are inherently evil, & a whole host of other similarly themed things besides. If you believe in the christian god (I don't anymore) then don't take the word of a quasi-fictional story that's been re-written & re-interpreted hundreds if not thousands of times, do what you ought & pray to your god for guidance instead of following the word of a sexist, homophobic, mens-agenda based story.
I agree with you quite a bit here. This is part of what I was trying to point out about the bible being so wrapped up in the agendas men were trying to push at the time. Besides how backward is it to say "love all" and "hate the sin, not the sinner" while men used it to justify abuse? In a lot of ways, it's a very bloody book. If there were a God behind it that is loving and just, He would weep and be outraged at what men have done with this book. It's why I think the Bible should be "sifted" in a way. I don't think it should really be taught to people by preachers or priests, either. I think it should be read by those who wish to read it and it should resonate with personal experiences only, not be used to spread hatred and validate the persecution of anyone.

Spread love, don't be deceitful (and if you are, be prepared for it to ruin your close relationships), judge not lest ye be judged, be kind and pursue God in the way that resonates with you. People need to realize that even IF homosexuality or mixing fabrics or eating shellfish is wrong.. or anything is a sin, they're not supposed to harass, bully or try to destroy it. That's God's job. And if their belief system is as real as they say it is, it's them who will reap what they've sown.

From Matthew 7, NKJV
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’


They teach this, but never would even consider that they're talking about themselves.
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Re: The Bible?

Post by BlueOrchid »

As a disciple, I hold the Bible to be the ultimate truth and without fault. Of course, I believe there are a lot of passages that are misinterpreted and/or misused, but I don't believe this makes the book itself any less trustworthy. I am also not going to sit here and say that there aren't passages in the Bible that make me struggle or that I find confusing. I am a women with gay and bisexual friends (one who has actually chosen to become a disciple), and many scripture that are often brought up against Christianity have caused me a lot of doubts as well.

One thing I will say, the ultimate theme of the Bible is love and grace. Without that you miss everything. I see a lot of Christians today who will unfortunately keep gay people or other non Christians at arms length because they're "too sinful" for them. There are several problems here. One, that wasn't what Jesus did. It was what the Pharisees did. Those were the people Jesus called out CONSTANTLY in the New Testament in case you were wondering. God wants us to love fist. Our place isn't to judge.

The second problem I see is the one with gay people and their status as sinners. Okay, so the Bible says do not engage in homosexual activity, but nowhere does it say "do not be homosexual" because YOU CAN'T CONTROL THAT. I am sick and tired of Christians thinking that gay people are inherently evil. They aren't. They are wonderful people who have temptations and fall into sin just like you and me. It's NORMAL. I have several friends who I deeply care about who feel romantic attraction towards the same gender, and I don't love them less because of this. I wouldn't love anyone else less because of their impurity or anyone else because of greed, so why would I love them less for a temptation they feel that isn't even a sin yet and for some may never be?

Finally, this doesn't help anyone. No one becomes a Christian because of the disciple pushing them away. No one can see God's love in them that way because God's love isn't in them. They aren't showing it. It's really sad too because when this is done and then they claim to be a Christian others see God in a negative light because of it.

I guess what I wanted to get at overall is that the Bible does not say that BEING homosexual is a sin. It says that engaging in homosexual activity is a sin. That obviously won't be enough for some people, but I know it's enough for my friends to stick with me and hear me out and it's enough for me even though it's hard. I also wanted to emphasize that the main concept of the Bible is love and grace. I could spend hours talking about why, but you probably don't want to hear it, so I'll just leave it here. If anyone does want to chat more though I would always be happy to talk more about the subject and explain more about what I believe. I'd also love to hear what you believe about the subject! :wave:
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Re: The Bible?

Post by missshadedlove »

I wouldn't call it a history book per say but it does talk about certain people/places that did exist at some point. It was written by men though. I used to be christian and after i grew spiritually,for lack of a better term I found it harder to believe. I have become an Agnostic Thiest. I believe there is a higher power but it's not the christian god. There is so much contradictory. I do believe Jesus was real but just a normal man.
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Re: The Bible?

Post by 411 »

the bible, as a work of art, is very well-written.

however, i don't think it should fully impact the way we make up our morals. even if there is a god, the bible was written by humans. humans are flawed, obviously, and if we can twist each others' words to fit our narrative, who's to say we wouldn't do that with god's word? it might not even be malicious- there can be miscommunications between us, and i'd be surprised if we could fully understand a higher being's message.

i dunno, i've thought a lot about religion in the past, even though i'm not religious (spiritual, maybe?). if there is a god, that doesn't mean we can fully understand their existence. after all, perfection doesn't exist in our world... and if god is supposed to be a perfect being, who's to say we could even perceive them? but i'm rambling.

returning to the topic at hand, there are plenty of positive messages in the bible.... yet many people have used it to excuse awful things such as discrimination. again, humans have a tendency to interpret others' words to fit their worldview.

maybe i'm crazy, but i don't think that the human interpretation of god's word should be taken at face value. this can be said for any religious book, really.
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Re: The Bible?

Post by peachscraps »

personally, i have never really vibed with the Bible as a whole, but i greatly appreciate the renaissance art that was inspired from it! the aesthetics of it are much more captivating to me.
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Re: The Bible?

Post by LilMoop »

:wave:

Hiya! So, to start, while yes I have a personal testimony of the Bible, that does not affect my ability to see openminded-ly.

I'm also (trying to become) a Mormon, so I have a different belief concerning the Bible than many, many others. It's more open, I'm not going to sugarcoat it.

The Bible stands as a guidance (at times, certain times/stories), and a history book for those who believe in God the Father. Heavenly Father provided another book for us (Latter-Day Saints) that we actually use mostly as it was written specifically for us to guide us through this time. The Bible, however, is more dated. It wasn't meant for us to follow every law and rule within it (those laws are super duper old), but gives us insight of different literature styles, historical events (if you believe in the Bible, that it; it does stand as a history book to us, but not to the public person who is learning George Washington in their schoolbook), parables to learn from, and witness to tender mercies or how Heavenly Father dealt with His children (not in a bad way dealing ^_^ ). It, of course, also showcases the life of Jesus Christ, the son of Heavenly Father. Many of the teachings come from the events during his time on this earth, as he gave lots of guidance to those around him.

I do want to say that, yes you can spend your time studying the Bible to the very last verse, but it won't get you very far personally if you don't do something with what you've learned. One thing about the Bible that I have learned is it works when you put the teachings into action. It also works when you follow things like not killing, committing bad acts against other people, and etc. (These things are really good to follow even if you don't believe in them, lots of them are laws in the USA too :derp: ).

The Bible can be nice to read, but please don't try to interpret it wrong. Purposefully. If you're confused, make sure wherever you are trying to get your info is reliable. Pray about it, if that's what you like to do as well.

I hear many people (Christians included, which is disappointing that it happens) use the Bible against eachother. It wasn't made for that, and has gotten a bad name generally to people, disinterested or disillusioned by other's actions/words (or anger for personal reasons, including sabotage and all that jazziness). Certain laws, verses, and stuff will be interpreted differently in the modern world than it did then, whether the difference is easy for you to find or not.

The Bible HAS been.. changed over time. That happens to books that have been here so long with people. We like to screw things up. (In my religion, we recognize the fact that the Bible is VERY different from today and is very hard to understand at times! No doubt this is also recognized in other religions, of course!!)

I do want to say, to those who have been hurt or abused in some way by wrongful use of the Bible, I'm incredibly, deeply sorry to you. It really hurts me even to type this.
People who prefer different pronouns, none at all, like different genders, those who have made choices that have caused lots of pain, and all those who feel like the Bible is pointing out their faults and choices; it's not, people are, and I'm sorry. If you're gay, the Bible doesn't really care... it's just about trying to be good and make good choices, and loving your neighbor (we have free agency, people. We use it. God knew we would, He gave us that blessings. He doesn't force you to believe that, or anything as of that matter. You get to choose you.) The Bible's purpose is simpler than what the confusing stories portray (so, so confusing lol).

If you haven't payed attention to the teachings of Jesus Christ, know that when a person came to him, he didn't care about background, gender, or anything. He cared for everyone, loved us all, and shared his love to all he met. Please, when something bad happens, and the Bible is (wrongfully, when used by people I mean) involved, know that that is not what Heavenly Father intended.


Simply, the Bible can be used however we want, I guess. I mean that, if you want to just research it, go ahead! Wanna believe in it, go right ahead! Don't wanna read it, He does NOT force you to. (If you feel pressured, by whatever, it's not Him pressuring you.) It's got a simple message which is different to all His children, but one thing stays the same and that is the message of unending love, care, and mercy (not always about us doing bad and being forgiven. It's also about giving us peace and comfort. Mercy is actually a beautiful thing).

(As an FWI, I'm currently trying to go through therapy to figure out if I have ADHD, so if my post was all over the place, it's because my mind is.. a lot for me to handle. If there are points I probably missed, totally PM me and I'll chat with you! Or if you just want to talk, I'm free hahaha I really tried so please don't be rude, I almost didn't do this but started thinking about those who have been hurt by the misuse of the Bible's words and felt the need to share. I love y'all and hope your days are peaceful when life gets too rough!)

Most of this was by the interpretation within my religion, which has come to be personal but also refer back to my very first statement. It's going to be different, we're all different ^_^ :t-^_^:

also... hope this didn't break any rules...?
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Re: The Bible?

Post by LutemiNovora »

I have God and Jesus with me always.

There was a time when I was alone. I spent most of my life before becoming a Christian, sad and alone. A lot of the people I cared about left me and I stopped getting close to people because it hurt so much when they left me. My father abused me and I ended up in another abusive relationship in high school that went on for a few years, even after high school. I always felt sad and lonely. I always felt like something was missing and I tried so hard to find it, and nothing worked. None of the people I met, none of my hobbies, no matter how I tried to make myself look, no matter how many accomplishments I made, I still felt empty.

Until one day I was led to church. Then my life started changing, for once I started to be truly happy. Things seemed to actually start going right in my life. I don’t feel alone anymore. All of the pain I had is gone. I can feel God and Jesus with me always. There’s so much warmth in my heart now.
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