Can a "Christian" doubt the early Old Testament?

[Nachtjager]

Okay, so can one still be considered a "Christian" if they are now thinking much of the early Old Testament is nothing more than ancient Hebrew fables?
In short, the more I study, the more it seems that Genesis and Exodus are little more than ancient tales, made up by ancient Hebrew priests to relate to the people of their time. I’m a writer and editor myself, and I see just too many parallels with other ancient texts to accept that these early writings were not heavily influenced by what the Hebrews already knew at that time.

Having said that, I do believe most of the information contained within has its basis in fact, as all legends do. I do believe God created the world, and all the ancient texts have an account of creation that is remarkably similar. God is the God of all, so why wouldn’t other ancient cultures have similar accounts of creation? I believe there was a great flood that covered much of the known world in the middle east at that time, the evidence is there for a great flood which occurred somewhere around 2900 BC. Was there a literal Noah and his family on a boat full of animals? Given that this story is related in texts much older than Genesis, I don’t believe this is a literal story. I believe there was a guy and his family which survived a catastrophic flood, and he must have been a great man, for if he weren’t, no one would’ve bothered to record the incident to begin with. Is that in itself not a grace of God? I do believe Moses was real and he led the Israelites out of Egypt, but I believe the account of the exodus is highly flawed. The list goes on and on.

In short, I believe Jesus is the Son of God, I believe He came and died, and was raised from the dead. I accept Him as my savior. I suppose I’m trying to say, I believe in God, the Holy Trinity, and I believe Jesus came to be the messiah. How does one state to fellow believers that they believe in God but they don’t believe the early books of the Bible are a factual historical record?

Yes, I believe in the documentary hypothesis, and yes, I wonder why Enoch hasn’t been placed in our modern Bible. Okay, go ahead everybody, please tell me how I’m right or wrong on this or what else I should consider.

Thanks to all and God bless!

 

[LoG]

There are 2 documents relating the early history of the Israelites. The Bible and the Book of Jasher. The latter seems to have been written as a running commentary that started before the flood. Since they are almost exactly the same in their relating of the historical events, we have two witnesses. The Bible in two places actually even relies on the Book of Jasher as verification. There are a lot of details filled in to the biblical stories that make it much more lifelike. Worth reading it and then seeing if you still think the same about the Bible being just a collection of ancient tales.

 

[Robinsegg]

A Christian is someone who has a relationship with Christ (and continues pursuing it, hopefully). What they know/believe about anything else (outside that relationship with Christ and the basics of that) is irellevent to whether or not they can be a "Christian".

Here are a couple of things about positions such as the one you've stated above that concern me:
1. How do you decide what passages in Scripture to believe and which ones not to believe?
2. If God is Truth, and He wrote us a letter (the Bible), why would you believe that part(s) of it is a lie?

Rachel

 

[français]

the OT sets the foundation for Christ. without the OT, i often wonder if there would be any Chrsitians, and no one would have believed Jesus! yet, when our Lord Jesus fulfilled 300 of the OT prophesies, then people saw that this was more then just a coinicidance.

i don't think you can be a Chrsitians and deny the OT tob be honest. if the OT was merely a book of fables, and made up, then one certainly couldn't believe in Jesus, as Jesus quoted the OT all the time!! now certainly our Lord Jesus wouldn't quote a corrupt, or made up text.

i am not the smartest person on earth.. but i do know that Genesis isn't just a book of fables. and if you believe it is.. wil lyou show me some proof?

there are many heretics out there who say that this or that was an old fable.. like the virgin birth, the Ressurection, and all of that. little do people know though how much secular scholars corrupt things to fit their own agenda. like did you know that early Mithranians didn't believe in a ressurection? the ressurection wasn't a belief until AFTER Jesus.. so really, it wasn't Chrsitianity that copied from mithranism.. it was mithranism that copied from Chrsitianity!

so ultimetely.. i don't think you can be a Christian and doubt the OT.. because if you do, then you would have to doubt some of what Jesus quotes.. because, if the OT is corrupt, then Jesus would have quoted something corrupt.. which makes no sense! lol

 

[SpiritDriven]

The OT, in fact the entire Bible is a play written by the Author of All things.... God.

It will play out exactly as written and in the fullness of time....Gods time...not ours it will come to completion.

To believe this or not....is the only free will action you actualy have in the sight of God....because he directs every step you take from the day you where born until the day he takes...HIS.....spirit away from you again.

Glory be to God!

 

[Nachtjager]

I’m not saying the entire OT is a fable, just that the early books - specifically Genesis and Exodus, are filled with stories that are not literal. Just as Jesus used parables extensively in his teachings, I believe these stories were recorded to make Jewish faith and tenets easily understood by the common man of ancient times.

For what it’s worth, I believe much of the OT, it’s just the first few books I have a problem with. I mean the first Egyptian God, the origin of all life on earth was named Atum? And this is recorded somewhere around 3,000 BC. Then the first man, from which we all spring, is named Adam? And this was recorded somewhere around 1,800 BC? I think that’s a little more than coincidence. And that’s just one reference of very many.

Again, I do not discount that God created our world and our universe and everything in it. My problem is just that I think the telling and retelling of the same story from that long ago has been corrupted by thousands of years of man’s meddling. I certainly wouldn’t say the Egyptians got it right either, but there are so many similarities in Egyptian religious texts and those of the early Hebrews that the connection cannot be ignored. And remember, where were the Jews just prior to the OT being written down? Egypt. I think all accounts of creation stem from the same source, they’ve just been interpreted differently through the ages.

Jesus didn’t quote from a "corrupt" text. There was no "old testament" as we know it today in Jesus’s time. Jesus studied and taught from the Hebrew (and Greek I’m certain) texts that existed at that time. The honest truth is, we don’t have an exact record of what Jesus taught from. We have theories and ideas, and what different religious sects would have us believe He taught. And need I point out there are several instances where Jesus said, "for it is written" seemingly in reference to an OT verse, and there is no Old Testament verse in our Bible to go with it. Several of these references are found in Enoch, which leads me to obviously believe that Jesus taught from Enoch.

I don’t understand why questioning the historical authenticity of Genesis and Exodus makes for Christian problems. These are books which were written thousands of years after the events they describe. The New Testament, and other books of the OT, on the other hand, were written contemporary to the time they speak of or by people who actually observed and saw what they recorded. That’s a huge difference to me.

Thanks again and God bless all!

 

[Robinsegg]

Sure it's more than coincidence! If we all came from the same place (the same two people, Adam and Eve) and all cultures came from the split at the Tower of Babel (the base of which has been found in Iraq), then of course the cultures have things in common! For instance, if Noah did exist, and he and his family the only ones who survived, everyone for centuries (esp. while they were still alive) would know everything they did. When the cultures/languages split, that knowledge traveled with the cultures, and was corrupted over time (and, in some cases, by demonic influence).

Rachel

 

[Libre]

You know, I've always said you can question everything. God can take it. Like in the OP, God is the basis of all the stories. So what if some of it may be a bit "storified?" That's the oral tradition, which is very accurate, BTW, but is still very old and subject to distortions. I just think the Hebrews got it closer to being right. Either God saw to it that way, or God chose them because the retained it the closest.

Remember, all the early Christians were not Jews. They did not have the OT. And the apostles determined that they did not need to understand or keep the law, for they did not have the law. One can definitely be a Christian and not know one thing about the OT. It helps in understanding what Jesus did, and what Paul is talking about in most of the NT. But it is not necessary to our salvation. IMO.

Libre

 

[français]

well, no one said the OT had to be taken literally! now i for one, do believe that most of it is to be literal. but, there are many, many Christians who believe it to be Spiritual then anything.

like for example this is my view on the Creation in 7 Days..

i don't think God literally meant 7 days. because in the Bible, it says God rested on the 7th day.. why does God need rest! I think it was a spiritual meaning.. telling the Jews to work for 6 days, and rest on the Sabbath. i think that a lot of Christians believe this as well.

so could it be spiritual? absolutely. i don't see anything from Scripture that contradicts that

 

[Nachtjager]

Not to provoke anyone, but I would like very much to point out that God didn't write our Bible. It was written by men, not God. It was written by men inspired by God, but it was not literally scribed by our Heavenly Father.

I believe the authors of the Pentateuch (hope I spelled that right) wrote what they believed and were inspired to write. But I also believe it was written to appeal to an uneducated nomadic people.

Let's all remember, prior to Luther, unless you were a Priest and could read latin, the church didn't even want you to see a Bible, let alone be able to read one.

The Bible is the inspired word of God, but in regard to the really ancient texts, I would underscore the word "inspired."

Thanks and God bless!

 

[ContentInHim]

Not to provoke anyone, but I would like very much to point out that God didn't write our Bible. It was written by men, not God. It was written by men inspired by God, but it was not literally scribed by our Heavenly Father.

I believe the authors of the Pentateuch (hope I spelled that right) wrote what they believed and were inspired to write. But I also believe it was written to appeal to an uneducated nomadic people.

Let's all remember, prior to Luther, unless you were a Priest and could read latin, the church didn't even want you to see a Bible, let alone be able to read one.

The Bible is the inspired word of God, but in regard to the really ancient texts, I would underscore the word "inspired."

Thanks and God bless!

And did you know that prior to Jesus the Jews had the Torah ever since Moses wrote it down. It is soooo unchanged from the years of the Dead Sea Scrolls that we can be very sure it's been the same since at least the time of Moses. The Torah was and still is read every Sabbath by groups of men and always had been. Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah - which was the Haftorah reading for that Sabbath. Jews have been a VERY literate people. Sadly, it wasn't until the Roman Empire took over that the scriptures were taken from the common man and read in a language he could not understand.

Did you know that they have found chariots and wheels in the Red Sea. It's been documented in books and movies - but no one seems interested.

Also, the Pentateuch is the Greek translation of the Torah. A better rendition is the Chumach in my opinion.

Edited to add: You have allowed the intellect of men to interfere with your enjoyment of the Bible. I used to do that also. Then I learned to pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal God through my reading of the Bible. He has and he has also given me the confidence to say that there are no fables in any book of the Bible! God wouldn't allow it!

 

[djconklin]

C. S. Lewis who studied myths for a living said the Bible is not a myth.