A question

Yes that would be like having beginner's faith. You don't understand much but you heard the Gospel and you were persuaded by it to be the truth. Of course that faith has to grow and you will likely gain more understanding over the years to reach that "so be it" faith where you have complete trust and confidence in God, and His Word.

You change you opinion by studying Scripture and faithing in Jesus to change your heart and give understanding. After all if you truly trust in the Lord then you will trust His judgment, not your own.

In short, what you are describing is fine for a beginner, but it should not stay that way at all. We must always be growing in the Lord.

Beginners faith. I feel like it is taking me 5+ years to understand some of it.

Eishiba said:

If not, how do you change your own opinion on subjects in the Bible?

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Whenever you recognize that a thought you're having is somehow connected to the subjects in question, think of the Biblical interpretation instead of your opinion. At first, you will likely not be able to refrain from thinking of your opinion, so think of it as being incorrect, and the biblical interpretation as being correct. Given enough time, you will have renewed your mind like in Romans 12:2.

Eishiba said:

I know this is going to sound totally stupid but...could one be a Christian, believing that Jesus died for us, while not agreeing with, or understanding a vast majority of the bible? If not, how do you change your own opinion on subjects in the Bible?

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When I was a young teen, I was sort of in that mindset, thinking the Bible was a mix of fact and fiction. After all, how could a man live over 700 years?

Then after being born-again and seeing demons being cast out and people getting healed and miracles happening, disbelief of scripture was no longer an issue for me.

1Corin.4:20- "For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power."

Eishiba said:

I know this is going to sound totally stupid but...could one be a Christian, believing that Jesus died for us, while not agreeing with, or understanding a vast majority of the bible? If not, how do you change your own opinion on subjects in the Bible?

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The word or term Christian, originated as a slang word referring to those who were disciples of Christ in the city of Antioch. At that point in time there was no such thing as a bible.

Eishiba said:

I'm not a really a beginner. I was a Christian for a while but the more I read about the Bible, the less I understand it. There are so many different things that turn me off. For example, Luke 14:26. If I don't hate basically everyone, then I cannot be a disciple? This makes no sense. If God meant to say you area to put God first above everyone else, then he should have stated it that way. But this sounds terrible. This is where I struggle. Am I supposed to believe that this is right and my opinion is wrong?

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You can't trust all the translations to be 100% accurate. Luke 14:26 is more accurately translated as "loving your family and your life less than Jesus." Put it into context. It makes no sense to have hatred for your family or your own life. The greatest love you can show someone other than laying down your life for them, is sharing the Gospel with them. How can you do this if you hate someone? You can't.

Jesus is saying that He comes first in your life, everything else is second. You can't love your family more than you love Jesus, or even your own life. This doesn't happen to everyone, but if ever a situation comes where you have to choose to reject Jesus or die, the true disciple would let himself be killed. That is true faith, and putting Jesus first.

Eishiba said:

You hit the hammer on the nail for me. I do lots of thinking and thought to myself that no where in the Bible does it ever mention Christianity. The disciples never mention it, but they believed. So I thought to myself I wonder if I can just be a believer instead of a Christian.

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I would recommend that you become a disciple of Jesus Christ. Start there and see where that takes you.

Eishiba said:

I'm not a really a beginner. I was a Christian for a while but the more I read about the Bible, the less I understand it. There are so many different things that turn me off. For example, Luke 14:26. If I don't hate basically everyone, then I cannot be a disciple? This makes no sense. If God meant to say you area to put God first above everyone else, then he should have stated it that way. But this sounds terrible. This is where I struggle. Am I supposed to believe that this is right and my opinion is wrong?

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What I would recommend in cases like this is opening your mind a bit.

Most Christian teachers understand this as a comparative term - your love for God should be so extreme, that your love for people looks like hate by comparison. Surely the crowd he spoke to would have understood it this way, if not similarly. But to claim that it literally means to hate people when Jesus himself said otherwise on multiple occasions makes less sense to me. Jesus and the Apostles consistently taught love for others, including and especially our families. The context in which he spoke dealt with persecution, we could lose it all if we follow him. Indeed, many Christians in the first century did, and many Christians today in other parts of the world especially, do. Jesus was telling us to make sure it was worth it before signing on.

Eishiba said:

Its one of the many Bible verses that push me away from the Bible. People can make guesses but ranging from what you said, all the way to, it was a translation issue. What you said does make some sense though.

Another disturbing verse for me is Exodus 21:7-9 If a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to go free as the male slaves do. "If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his unfairness to her. If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters.…

1. I would never sell my daughter as a slave.

2. In God's eyes, women are not equals with men.

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The difference between the treatment of males slaves and female slaves reflects the economy of the time, and were put in place so that the female slave would be provided for. As women generally had less options, the master had additional obligations before letting her go into the world, likely destitute. As far as being sold as a slave to begin with, to my understanding it would be for debt repayment, combined with betrothal. So in the situation where she was not kept as a wife, or given to the master's son as a wife, she was not to be re-sold to foreigners, but had to have been provided for or set free.

Either way, slavery in this country is illegal, because Christians pushed for that. They took their interpretation of the New Testament, and wanted to make it the law of the land. I'm not itching to get slavery back, I don't think too many other Christians are either. I therefore don't see the relevance of this passage today. If the passage is irrelevant, I don't see why it should push you away.

To me, Luke14:26 means JOY...

J-Jesus
O-others
Y-yourself

Life in that order. Love God first.

In my life, Jesus is always first. I can do nothing without him. Then, my husband comes next, my children and everything else.

The further you grow in your relationship with the lord, the more you will understand his word.

Sketcher said:

The difference between the treatment of males slaves and female slaves reflects the economy of the time, and were put in place so that the female slave would be provided for. As women generally had less options, the master had additional obligations before letting her go into the world, likely destitute. As far as being sold as a slave to begin with, to my understanding it would be for debt repayment, combined with betrothal. So in the situation where she was not kept as a wife, or given to the master's son as a wife, she was not to be re-sold to foreigners, but had to have been provided for or set free.

Either way, slavery in this country is illegal, because Christians pushed for that. They took their interpretation of the New Testament, and wanted to make it the law of the land. I'm not itching to get slavery back, I don't think too many other Christians are either. I therefore don't see the relevance of this passage today. If the passage is irrelevant, I don't see why it should push you away.

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That's how I read this particular section. Great explanation!

Try reading different versions of the Bible. You may find one you can understand easier.

Eishiba said:

I agree that it is irrelevant to America today, but if thats something that went on...one can't help but think about it. God was pro-slavery. When you say the female was sold into slavery was to repay debts. Do you mean debts that the father owed or the daughter owed?

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Probably that the father owed.

But since these are not instructions that we are to follow today, nor will we ever be obliged to follow them (unless you become circumcised, convert to Judaism, and somehow come into the possession of a slave according to the circumstances of this passage, which is very different from how Jews today practice), why get hung up on this? This command is as exclusively Jewish as the rules for dress, washing, trimming the beard, and keeping Sabbath. There is no reason for a Christian today to follow it. Rather, we are to love people. Today, loving a slave means freeing that person. In past economies, this wasn't always the case.

Eishiba said:

I have been dealing with this for three years and I have only grown apart. He no longer speaks to me. I pray for him to give me some answers but nothing. I can't help my skeptical mind. If he created me, then he knows I have a skeptical mind and if its true that only God can give me the understanding I need, I don't see why he chooses to wait.

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I'm fine with critical thinking and details myself, that's part of who I am and what I do for a living. I'm happy to continue to discuss any more points of contention with you.

Hi Eisheba,the bible certainly is a mixture of many different views concerning God and his way for us to live. For me the new testament with the teachings of Jesus is what I must try to understand and follow. I don't spend much time with the old testament although there are specific parts that back the way that Jesus taught to live. And then you see Jesus even contradicting the old testament ways to some extent as when he said "you have heard it said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth but I say to you Love your enemies etc." So I personally concentrate on his instructions which essentially cover, Unconditional Love, Compassion, Equanimity, Forgiveness, Non-violence and Helping those in need. This for me is the way to live our life and it takes all our effort to achieve with the challenges that life gives us. And I believe this is the way to heaven.There may be some translations that seem odd, as some others have explained here but their true meaning that Jesus will always intend will be to lead us to true Love. The only thing Jesus wants us to hate is sin. So I recommend continuing developing this unconditional Love that Jesus has given us the example of. Then over time the other spiritual aspects of your nature will grow and the bible may gradually become a greater source of clear support with guidance from the Holy Spirit or a fellow Christian with deeper understanding. But if we all stay close to the basic way of life that Jesus gave us then any parts of the bible that seem out of step with Jesus' teachings we can put to one side for now. Concentrate on the foundations first then you will be guided by the Holy Spirit I am sure. May the Love of Our Lord be with you always,christopher