The Truth

The has been alot of discussion on the web lately concerning biblical topics. I think we all must realize something. No matter how open-minded we are when we read the Bible, we are still going to end up with different interpretations and beliefs. Please don't get me wrong. I am not saying that a particular text or passage can mean 1000 different things and that each of those things are equally right. I believe that text 'x' means a definite thing, and I certainly think its wrong to try and twist the Bible to work in with ones preconceived ideas. What I am saying, is that there are many sincere open-minded Christians who read the Bible seeking truth, with the 'let the Bible interpret itself' attitude, yet they still end up with some different beliefs. While we may disagree with other people's beliefs, we should nevertheless respect them. In our quest for truth discussion of the Bible is important - however keep it to that level - a relaxed polite discussion. Very little, if any good, can come out of a fiery debate, and in fact, more often that not, much damage results from it. I believe Satan uses them to sow discord among Christians. We must realize that despite our differences, we are all united together as believers and followers of Jesus Christ. Though, as I have stated before, this does not mean that all of the multitude of different beliefs among different Christians are right - certain teachings by some Christians may even be very damaging. With this in mind, we should search for truth. But not through fiery debates and an 'I'm right, your wrong' attitude, but rather through polite reasoned discussions with other Christians and most importantly, prayer that God will show us the truth in the Bible and help us apply it in our daily lives.

This is how denominations came to be. Different interpretations of the same Scripture, for example when it comes to speaking in tongues. I agree that Christians should still be united though.

I'm in the U2 mode at the moment, I've been reading a book called 'Walk On - the spiritual journey of U2'.
In the one of the songs, Bono writes 'I can see the kingdom comes, where all the colours blea into one, but I still haven't found what I'm looking for.' As long as we remain our sinful nature, it's very hard to get all the christians to be "united" as one, I would rather use the word "conform" ! If there's no diversity, I can't see there's unity.

[This message has been edited by bgoh (edited 17 December 2001).]

[This message has been edited by bgoh (edited 17 December 2001).]

Westeez - very profound post. I agree with you.