Looking For Answers

[SearcherKris]

I have been told several times in order to find my answers I need to look to the bible because it is the 'inerrant word of God." Why? What proof is there that the bible is the inerrant word of God? Was it not written by fallible human beings and therefore subject to being fallible?

The physical act of putting it in writing was done by fallible humans. However we believe that the books contained in the Bible were inspired by God through His Holy Spirit. The people wrote what God was leading them to write.

There are books that were used along side the Old Testament before and after the days of Christ which were not considered Scripture. They were used like devotional books are used today. They can be good to read, but are not necessarily words from God. They are included in today's Catholic Bible, but most Protestants refuse it. Some protestant will read them, but do not feel comfortable including them in the printed Bible.

 

[charismaticace]

1.) Thank you. What you said was both very well said and very kind. You explained perfectly my motivations.

2.) I completely agree there is a difference between fearing someone and being afraid of someone. I made the comment that it was impossible to love someone you feared because sealacamp seemed to be insinuating one should feel that "cowering in a corner" kind of fear towards God.

 

[charismaticace]

SearcherKris,

Because you seem to be the only person on here who understands where I'm coming from, I'll ask you this question:

Christians claim the Bible to be the inerrant word of God however, various other religions claim their particular holy book as the inerrant word of God. How can any religion claim theirs is the inerrant word of God when no one religion has more proof than any other?

 

[SearcherKris]

I don't have a ready answer for that but I am wanting to study Christian apologetics. One thing I'm going to start with is reading Lee Strobel's books The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith.

Maybe these are some books that can help you. If you would like then maybe we could read them and discuss the content. If they don't seem helpful, then we could look for some other sources.

 

[charismaticace]

[Homosexuality] is a perversion of God's creative purpose (man + woman) and this is plain to see. Male and female "fit" together and "function" together. Male-male and female-female do not. God created us for relationship, and homosexuality is a perversion of that. It is also a misuse of God's gift of sex.

While this is very well written, it does not answer the fundamental question: why? Moreover, in its best attempt to answer the question, there leaves one gaping hole: if homosexuality is wrong because it is not conducive to reproduction, what of the intimacies of heterosexual couples who are unable to have children? Are they to be considered immoral as well?

 

[desmalia]

While this is very well written, it does not answer the fundamental question: why? Moreover, in its best attempt to answer the question, there leaves one gaping hole: if homosexuality is wrong because it is not conducive to reproduction, what of the intimacies of heterosexual couples who are unable to have children? Are they to be considered immoral as well?

It doesn't look like Todd has been here in a while, so I'll attempt an answer if you don't mind.

Marriage is not only for the purpose of reproduction, as important as that is. Try to look at it from the bigger picture. God created us in His image. We see in the family unit and in the church family that we were designed to reflect His trinitarian nature. Each of us has a distinct role, equal, but unique. He blessed us with these roles, and when we live according to them we honour God and are blessed. When we pervert them, we rebel against God and do harm to ourselves. That is true not only regarding homosexuality, but also premarital sex, adultery, etc.

A wife was never meant to be a husband, and vice versa. The Bible is clear that homosexual behaviour is a perversion and even a curse. It is not what God intended for us any more than alcoholism is, for example.

 

[BabyChristian22]

I have several questions with which I struggle daily in my faith:

1.) If, (yes I said it, 'if') the Bible is true and no one comes to God (the Father) but through Christ, that means the God I worship created two thirds of the world knowing full well they would burn in torment for all eternity. I have difficulty accepting this for two reasons:
~ To those who have children: It is most likely fair to say you love your children more than anything else on this earth and our love as humans is not even a microscopic fraction of how much God loves us nor is it as perfect. Now, keeping that in mind, is there anything, anything at all your child could do that would not only make you sentence them to death, but also be tormented for all eternity?

Hell is eternal separation from God. Those who go there go because they don't want to be with God, and He doesn't force us to be with Him. Hell is a bad place to be because if you are separated from God you are separated from all that is good. Only the wicked will be in Hell, and that's the other reason why it's bad.

 

[Mickey Hyatt]

Why is it wrong to kill? Why is it wrong to commit adultery? Why was it wrong for Adam to eat the fruit Eve gave him? If you can answer these questions, you will know the reason homosexuality is wrong.

 

[The Free Atheist]

I have several questions with which I struggle daily in my faith:

1.) If, (yes I said it, 'if') the Bible is true and no one comes to God (the Father) but through Christ, that means the God I worship created two thirds of the world knowing full well they would burn in torment for all eternity. I have difficulty accepting this for two reasons:
~ To those who have children: It is most likely fair to say you love your children more than anything else on this earth and our love as humans is not even a microscopic fraction of how much God loves us nor is it as perfect. Now, keeping that in mind, is there anything, anything at all your child could do that would not only make you sentence them to death, but also be tormented for all eternity?
~ To those who do not have children: If you knew your children would, when they died, would suffer such a fate, would you have children in the first place? (And no, this is not an abortion question).

These are fantastic questions. I will try to answer them in a way that does not attack Christianity.

The idea that anything we can do with our very very very finite lifespan would justify an eternity of torment just doesn't make any sense. I don't need to have a Godlike intelligence to figure that out. This idea of punishment simply does not work because it contradicts everything a Perfect Loving Being is.

There are ways to dodge this however-as always. Interpretation. I've heard many people say that punishment isn't existing in flames, it's just not being allowed into Heaven. That fits better than the above Fire and Brimstone tale when you consider the Perfect Loving Creator. But even this one fails, because you're still talking about an eternity of punishment for a finite crime. I don't care if you're Grand Moff Tarkin and you just blew up a billion people with the Death Star, eternity is still overkill. You could sentence GMT for 100 years of burning for each death and the 100 billion year sentence would still be less than .0000000000000001% of infinity. It just doesn't add up.

Lastly, most people believe that babies get a free pass to Heaven. Obviously they have not accepted Jesus into their hearts yet because they are babies and not capable of such cognition. Therefore many believe that babies get a free pass when they die. They don't even have to take "The Test" that we do, so maybe we shouldn't be sad at all when babies die, since they avoid any chance of going to Hell. Dead babies are the lucky ones.

Of course I don't believe that, because I don't believe there is a Heaven or Hell, but if you take a look at the scenario in perspective of someone who does you can easily reason that babies who died are the lucky ones.

 

[clancey james]

This thread has been so full of insight!

 

[Nstott]

Tough questions and worthy of good responses.
Only via Christ? Sometimes we forget that God makes the rules. Having made the rules he reaches out with love and grace to every individual and every generation. All we can do is live by the revelation that God has given us. By asking the question, then you know the rules and you know the required answer. In that context, you are without excuse before God. Others who may not have received that revelation will be judged according to the revelation (even if a primitive one) that they have of God.

Cheers