Can I be Christian and Not Believe the Bible?

rubyinprogress

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I like that point of view but I have not read where Jesus said that. So if the old testament is simply not our primary source of guidance why do so many Christians seem to be using it that way?

First of all Jesus said, "I did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it." Matthew 5:17
And Paul wrote "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable..." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The Old Testament has value for the Christian but not as a rule book. We are not under the law but under grace. However, there is much richness and beauty to be found in looking at the Old Testament as something which Christ fulfilled. For example, the Passover is rich with symbolism and Christ even died at the Passover time because He is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29.

Continue in your new found faith. Learn about Jesus. In time you will find that you can learn MUCH about Him from the Old Testament as well as the New. Just give yourself time. The Holy Spirit will reveal truth to you as you read the Bible.
 
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jimbohank

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Since I love Jesus and would like to follow him, I will decide how I want to do so amongst all the denominational choices I have. Look at the mormons, they even have another book. And look at other protestants who have taken nine books back out of the original bible. I am not interested in disagreements amongst denominations. I cannot see why I cannot be a Christian just as I am.
As you are is how He wants you! He will do the work, just continually seek His face, dive into His Word, pray constantly and seek counsel from those who truly follow His commandments.
 
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Albion

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He was talking primarily to Jews and not me. And that is good for me to know so I can now forget about the old testament and focus on the new. The old is just there to be viewed from an historical perspective. So am I not now a Christian but perhaps of a different denomination? Now I am beginning to wonder if this denomination already exists?

Is this ^ (from the OP) still what you are seeking answers for--or have we now moved into debating various doctrines and the meaning of a range of Bible verses??
 
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Givemeareason

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Is this ^ (from the OP) still what you are seeking answers for--or have we now moved into debating various doctrines and the meaning of a range of Bible verses??
No we are not debating. I do not like debating. I like discussion much better.
 
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Givemeareason

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As you are is how He wants you! He will do the work, just continually seek His face, dive into His Word, pray constantly and seek counsel from those who truly follow His commandments.
I think you are onto something. So no matter how much I fail, every failure is but another opportunity.
 
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jimbohank

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I'm not sure why you would love a man who told you that you are a sinner in need of a savior and that if you are not born again you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Ignorance of truth does not create a different truth. There is a reason for everything and everything can be found in His Word if it is important for us to understand. Choosing to be "born again" is an intimate decision, fully decided by the heart and not the mind, to shed the old life dominated by the fallen world and to become a new person in Jesus Christ.
 
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Albion

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No we are not debating. I do not like debating. I like discussion much better.

I'd really like to have a clear answer to my question, though. If you aren't still interested in gathering advice on which church to associate with--or if you thought my suggestion of the Unitarians was the answer you were looking for so that there's nothing more to say on that subject--I'll move along.
 
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Givemeareason

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First of all Jesus said, "I did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it." Matthew 5:17
And Paul wrote "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable..." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The Old Testament has value for the Christian but not as a rule book. We are not under the law but under grace. However, there is much richness and beauty to be found in looking at the Old Testament as something which Christ fulfilled. For example, the Passover is rich with symbolism and Christ even died at the Passover time because He is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29.

Continue in your new found faith. Learn about Jesus. In time you will find that you can learn MUCH about Him from the Old Testament as well as the New. Just give yourself time. The Holy Spirit will reveal truth to you as you read the Bible.
Some would say I have to believe the bible but you are saying I dont? I am not messing with you. I am just trying to keep an open mind.
 
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Dr Bruce Atkinson

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There is a bluegrass gospel song “If you don’t believe the Bible, then you don’t know the Lord.”

I suppose it is possible (but highly unlikely) for a person to have a bias against the Bible due to their early training, then hear the gospel and become a Christian. For awhile they might think they don’t believe in the Bible, but they do and just don’t realize it, for all the gospel of Jesus Christ is found there, as are the scriptures that Jesus Himself regarded as authoritative. If such a person were to read the Bible and get proper instruction and discipleship, they would easily come to believe it However, some call themselves Christians but are not, and these people disbelieve, diminish, and seek to revise the Bible.

While the Bible is not our only authority, it is our <i>first</i> authority until the Lord returns in glory, because it contains the words of Jesus Christ and the scriptures that He valued as authoritative (“it is written…”). While of course Jesus interpreted them correctly for the people, He always upheld their authority as He does clearly in Matthew 5:17-19.

As Dr. John R.W. Stott put it: "We take our stand on the divine origin of the Bible, because we believe the Bible itself requires us to do so. Indeed, it is a strange fact that theologians who are prepared to accept the biblical doctrine of God, of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, of man and of the church, are often not willing to accept the biblical doctrine of Scripture. But if the Bible is authoritative and accurate when speaking about other matters, there is no reason why it should not be equally so when speaking about itself.”

And what does Scripture say about itself? A great deal. Here are only two NT witnesses (among many):
Peter: “And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21, NIV)

Paul: “...the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16, NIV)
 
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jimbohank

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I think you are onto something. So no matter how much I fail, every failure is but another opportunity.
You can look at it like that. We all stumble, constantly, in our walk with Christ. We are bombarded with information overload from the world. TV, movies, social concepts, political corruptness, religion, you name it, it is extremely hard to focus on our walk. If we trust that God is alive and He sent Yeshua to give us hope through salvation, since He is the only one who can walk perfectly, then we need to embrace that and never turn away from Him. We tend to stumble and fall and then turn our back on God because we are ashamed or frustrated that it is so hard to do. We need to remember, that is why He walked it for us and it is only through our choosing to love Him and not the world that we seek His face and yearn to understand His prefect character. The war for those who seek Him honestly, in their heart to love Him, is over. A perfectly loving Father does not disown His child because that child stumbles and falls. He will build us up stronger and stronger and open our eyes wider and wider. He may bend us but will never break us.
 
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Givemeareason

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Is this ^ (from the OP) still what you are seeking answers for--or have we now moved into debating various doctrines and the meaning of a range of Bible verses??
Yes I am still looking for answers as I think we all are. And as I said I am not looking for debate nor do I want to invalidate the Bible. By discussing these things I am coming to where I can ask more questions. As I said I love Jesus and what he represents in my mind. In the manner that I see him he makes me moral. And I feel good because of that. And I very much want to see Christianity prosper. I just have a lot of issues with the old testament.
 
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bhsmte

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Here's the deal. We can only judge if we are born-again by God's word. His truth is the measure by which we ourselves know we are His. If you reject God's word, in essence, you reject Jesus. It is God's word that proclaims who Jesus is and what His purpose is in coming.

Does this mean that you are able to judge if someone is a Christian or not?

Bottom line, who cares what anyone else thinks, if a person has their own faith beliefs that are genuine, they should stick with them.
 
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justlookinla

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As I said I love Jesus and what he represents in my mind. In the manner that I see him he makes me moral.

I'm assuming you're not playing games here, as many do, for this very serious. You say you love Jesus. If you do, there are teachings of Jesus one must follow, they're not optional, pick and choose.

Begin with this.....John 14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
 
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Givemeareason

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You can look at it like that. We all stumble, constantly, in our walk with Christ. We are bombarded with information overload from the world. TV, movies, social concepts, political corruptness, religion, you name it, it is extremely hard to focus on our walk. If we trust that God is alive and He sent Yeshua to give us hope through salvation, since He is the only one who can walk perfectly, then we need to embrace that and never turn away from Him. We tend to stumble and fall and then turn our back on God because we are ashamed or frustrated that it is so hard to do. We need to remember, that is why He walked it for us and it is only through our choosing to love Him and not the world that we seek His face and yearn to understand His prefect character. The war for those who seek Him honestly, in their heart to love Him, is over. A perfectly loving Father does not disown His child because that child stumbles and falls. He will build us up stronger and stronger and open our eyes wider and wider. He may bend us but will never break us.
I like that view.
 
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Albion

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Yes I am still looking for answers as I think we all are. And as I said I am not looking for debate nor do I want to invalidate the Bible. By discussing these things I am coming to where I can ask more questions. As I said I love Jesus and what he represents in my mind. In the manner that I see him he makes me moral. And I feel good because of that. And I very much want to see Christianity prosper. I just have a lot of issues with the old testament.

Well, here's the bottom line. Whether or not you are correct about your views on the OT or the Bible overall, there's hardly a Christian church that sides with those views. Therefore, the discussion here may be worthwhile, but unless someone persuades you to change your views dramatically, the search for a church to join or attend narrows immediately to almost none. The Unitarian Universalist Association would be about the only one that you could join without compromising your conscience by pretending to believe certain doctrines that you actually do not.
 
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bhsmte

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Though often that won't be overtly stated, and instead a variation of the No True Scotsman fallacy will be employed to make you feel like you're less authentic and less reverent than they are because your hermeneutics differs from their's. So much of what we believe seems to be influenced by our cultural upbringing and education and how we were trained to believe. There are such wide and divergent variations amongst Christians and throughout the ages, with so many being adamant that they are exclusively right and following the truth. I wonder sometimes what it would be like if we all read the Bible for the first time in a self-directed way with fresh eyes and no preconceived notions or external shaping.

But yeah, I sometimes feel on here like you're expected to either believe there were dinosaurs on Noah's Ark by faith, or just call the whole thing off.

IMO, the labeling of others by Christians is likely driven from their own insecurity of their own faith beliefs. If someone believes differently then them, they see it as a threat, that needs to be warded off, with a label.

If there is a God, maybe this God doesn't doesn't care too much about people telling others, what they are and what they aren't.
 
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Albion

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IMO, the labeling of others by Christians is likely driven from their own insecurity of their own faith beliefs. If someone believes differently then them, they see it as a threat, that needs to be warded off, with a label.

If there is a God, maybe this God doesn't doesn't care too much about people telling others, what they are and what they aren't.

Maybe. But if it's the God of the Bible, he does.
 
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