Christianity Made Easy

[PKJ]

Sounds like a parody to me.

 

[Femto]

What would you guys say the best translation of the Bible is? I personaly would like one that is closer to the literal Hebrew.

 

[SH89]

What would you guys say the best translation of the Bible is? .

I am not a expert on the translations of the bible, but i personally prefer the King James version and the New international version. At www.biblegateway.com you can read the bible in any version.

There is a lot to learn. I suggest (if your interested) that you start at the gospels,and then study the Messianic passages(the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah) to get a basic knowledge of the bible.

May i suggest the book "Messiainc Christology", by Dr. Fruchtenbaum?

You can purchase it here:http://arielc.org/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AMC&Product_Code=baf-mc&Category_Code=

 

[mark2]

Saying something is "just that simple" is not exactly a good thing. In my eyes, calling any religion simple .... is belittling, you are degrading your own religion. Because of this, if there is not already a "Dummies Guide To Christianity," you can bet there will be.

There are many levels of understanding anything; e.g. One could say that one can send a rocket into space by accelerating it to such a speed and in such an orbit that the centrifugal force balances the force of gravity. As far as I know that is more or less true, but please don't ask me to actually do it!! On a more practical level it is actually far more complicated.

So too with Christianity; what Kamtre wrote is true and a workable introduction for someone wanting to get started. Simple? Of course simple. But how else does one start. It is to be hoped that people will go on form there to grow in both understanding through their lives.

For a really basic start how about: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3.16) Or on another level try a large systematic theology textbook. The fact is they are both ultimately true.

 

[larose]

What I should tell people is to read the gospels and all the other new testament stuff about Jesus, and then dicide what to do according to just what is in there.. but it takes about 1-2 hours to read a full gospel and the new testament in its entirety would take 2 full days of reading.. The problem is that most people don't have that spare time to read all that stuff that they really don't care much about (usually) anyways.The whole purpose of my essay was to bring people knowledge that would usually take days of reading. I didn't mean people to ask all these questions regarding doctrine and stuff.. all i meant was to paraphrase all the basic christian stuff.. so, if any christians out there can answer questions people post, i'd be grateful.. thanks

Being a Christian means following Jesus and obeying His
teachings as revealed by His Church and the Scriptures
determined by His Church. Unfortunately, one cannot just
boil it down to what Kamtre has done - you cannot just
grab a couple verses from the entire Bible and say - there
that's all you have to do to reach Heaven. That's why Christ
gave us His Apostles and His Holy Church, to guide us on the
journey home. (Mt 16:18-19)

What about these Scriptures Kamtre:

14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith
but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a
brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one
of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well
fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by
action, is dead. 18But someone will say, "You have faith;
I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I
will show you my faith by what I do. 19You believe that
there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—
and shudder. 20You foolish man, do you want evidence
that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our ancestor
Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he
offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith
and his actions were working together, and his faith was
made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was
fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited
to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.
24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not
by faith alone. 25In the same way, was not even Rahab
the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when
she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different
direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
without deeds is dead. (James 2:14-24)

Or,

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who
are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom
prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was
hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and
you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you
invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was
sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came
to visit me.' 37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord,
when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and
give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a
stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did
for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you
who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil
and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing
to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I
was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed
clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison
and you did not look after me.' 44"They also will answer,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger
or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do
for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the
righteous to eternal life." (Mt 25:34-46)

It is more than knowing Jesus is Saviour or believing He is
God or even proclaiming He is God - we must show our faith
by loving Him and our neighbors. If we don't, we will not reach
Him in glory. And He has given us all we need to do so in the
Scriptures and teachings of His Church.


In His Divine Mercy,


chris

 

[larose]

What would you guys say the best translation of the Bible is? I personaly would like one that is closer to the literal Hebrew.

One that has all the books in it, the Revised Standard
Version - Catholic Edition (RSV-CE) is the closest to
the original languages of Hebrew and Greek.

chris

 

[2BHizown]

Thanks for sharing your paper with us! I know you are an influence for Christ in your school and among your friends! Jesus told us to count the cost before commiting to HIm! Living for HIm is forever, now and for eternity! He actually is the initiator of our salvation and completes it. Our part is to submit to His authority! Such a great thing to belong to HIm and live bravely for HIm! You are especially blest to be His!

 

[earringguy]

Well in a sense John 3.16 is theology made easy.

But it's also very profound.

May the Spirit teach us it's profound meaning.

 

[Lance4999]

There is no ‘best’ version or translation. They all have some good and bad points. The best version for you is the one that encourages you to read it and let the Holy Spirit interpret it for you. Naturally I have my preference but to say it was best for everyone couldn't possibly be true. Since I am a protestant, I naturally go for one with the 66 books in it and not the Deuterocanonical books which the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine. As a young Christian I started with the Good News Bible (TEV) and as I progressed went on to other versions; but now I use the KJV almost exclusively because it is easiest to recall to memory; has wonderful turns of phrase and has the most tools associated with it.

Nor can Christianity be made easy - Jesus warned his disciples that the road would be tough, hard not very happy but the rewards for those who persevere are great.

 

[stranger]

How do we REALLY get to heaven?

Why would you even want to go to heaven when God comes down to be with men in the new earth ....

The problem is in listening to fables of men's tradition taught in 'bible schools' ,people then have not much shance to ditch the indoctrination and see wht the scripture really says ...

Only spirit goes to heaven , men all go to hell when they die , even Jesus did :-

Ac 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

The way out of hell is only by resurrection TO THE BODY, just as Jesus showed all his followers that he was NOT spirit after resurrection ... only later was jesus translated to spirit and ascended to heaven to fulfill his role there

That which is in hell is SOUL, not spirit , read the scripture, stop listening to men who do not have all truth of God to give ...

Heb 8:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

 

[stranger]

Can you help me please????? This is my essay topic:

Some people say that religious beliefs can be neither justified nor refuted by reason. However, while sometimes this claim is used as a reason for rejecting religious beliefs, at other times it is used to conclude that these beliefs are established by faith. To what extent is faith a legitimate basis for knowledge claims, in religion and different Areas of Knowledge? - I am not a believer, I do not know what to write and I have big problems with langugae because I am not a native English speaker. I just need some advice. Thank you! E.

Reason is essentially logic and is thus itself is based on 'axioms' , a set of statements which one has to accept on FAITH! ... if one is to accept reason as argument for belief or knowledge...

thus reason is also based on faith, just a different faith ... even most atheists and sceptics have FAITH in something then...

The test of faith could be chosen as consistency and there both logic and religious faith fail , no faith is consistent and complete that is expressed in words [Godel, 1945]

Thus we all wait on being given a faith beyond words by God... but most men are far too impatient to wait on God... thus the world is full of incnsistent incoplete faiths with which we even lead most of our children astray...

more than fortunately God has a plan to sort out the awful mess and division this causes , but again not until He is ready ...

thus God will create a new earth and heavens even before the matter is resolved ... but God des require that a few men be given all his truth in this world, to be His priests and kings in the new earth , so a few men that He chose from the beginning will be redeemed in this earth ... that doesn't stop religionists trying to muscle in and convince people that the scripture supports this or that creed in words... the world is full of them, each telling a different tale about easy salvation now , instant saving of one's soul ... who does one believe, in whom can one have faith... not in men, only in God... but few can wait on God ...

Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

Heb 8:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

 

[stranger]

All bible version have the nost startling translation inconsistencies . many in modern translations simply copied blindly from the original translation faults in the KJV

Robert Young produced a Concordance to the KJV in which he also lists the thousands of errors in translation in the back ... that then is one way to use the KJV which is not available in any other translation I know of...

Apart from that perhaps the surest translations are literal interlinear ones... they are far from easy to read but at least one has more confidence that what one is reading is closer to the original

John R Kohlinger III produced 'The Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament' which has the interlinear literal translation together with the readable NIV , page by page

And if one had digested these books [not that one could in a lifetime] then there are many 'non-canonical ' writings which have been excluded from scripture, some for what seem very subjective and even arbitrary reasons ... and the bible refers to many books of scripture which are either not known or are also not included ... religion of men is quite a mess to say the least ...

For the NT there is the 'Interlinear Greek-English New Testament' by George Ricker Berry which quotes the AV page by page alongside the interlinear literal Greek translation...

There simply is no good enough translation of scripture into easily readable form , it is always hard work and prayer that brings one to understanding god's words , and no translation even could be perfect... languages do not allow word for word translation to convey the full meaning and all translators have their own beliefs and bias that affects translation ...

 

[Kamtre]

All bible version have the nost startling translation inconsistencies . many in modern translations simply copied blindly from the original translation faults in the KJV

Robert Young produced a Concordance to the KJV in which he also lists the thousands of errors in translation in the back ... that then is one way to use the KJV which is not available in any other translation I know of...

Apart from that perhaps the surest translations are literal interlinear ones... they are far from easy to read but at least one has more confidence that what one is reading is closer to the original

John R Kohlinger III produced 'The Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament' which has the interlinear literal translation together with the readable NIV , page by page

And if one had digested these books [not that one could in a lifetime] then there are many 'non-canonical ' writings which have been excluded from scripture, some for what seem very subjective and even arbitrary reasons ... and the bible refers to many books of scripture which are either not known or are also not included ... religion of men is quite a mess to say the least ...

For the NT there is the 'Interlinear Greek-English New Testament' by George Ricker Berry which quotes the AV page by page alongside the interlinear literal Greek translation...

There simply is no good enough translation of scripture into easily readable form , it is always hard work and prayer that brings one to understanding god's words , and no translation even could be perfect... languages do not allow word for word translation to convey the full meaning and all translators have their own beliefs and bias that affects translation ...

Ok.. dude.. do you think for one second that God , the SUPREME OVER ALL, CREATOR, AUTHOR OF THE FAITH (and not to be disrespectful, but etc. times 50) Would let every english speaker who has read the bible be led astray by simple mis-translations? LOGIC IS KEY! GOD IS LOGICAL! God would not let people who have faith in Him and Jesus, His Death, and Ressurection be mis-beleivers because of ignorance! I have full faith in the Bible and that it, in every untainted translation (that being of jehovah's witnesses and other cults) it has the same Message of Jesus, and God's and the Holy Spirit's Deeds. God inspired every word of scripture! Do you think he would let a whole Population of a certain language beleive the wrong things because of an error in ignorance (or not)!?! I may onyl be 16, and I may only be a drop of water in the ocean, But I know God cares for all, and would not let some errors screw up His master plan for the WHOLE FREAKING UNIVERSE!!! I'm chewing you out because first, YOU HAVE BLASPHEMED GOD BY SAYING HIS INSPIRED WORD IS FLAWED!!! IF YOU BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS FLAWED, YOU CANNOT BE PART OF IT'S RELIGION BECAUSE YOU DON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT SAYS! THINK FOR ONE FRIGGING SECOND WHAT YOU WROTE! GOD IS SUPREME AND HIS WORD IS LAW: WETHER IN WRITTEN OR SPOKEN FORM, HE IS IMMUTABLE, AND HIS WORD NEVER CHANGES, EITHER BY AN ANGEL'S, A DEMON'S, OR A HUMAN;S WILL.

BTW, how can you call yourself non-denominational if you are so open about your conspirical beliefs?

 

[earringguy]

Why would you even want to go to heaven when God comes down to be with men in the new earth ....

The problem is in listening to fables of men's tradition taught in 'bible schools' ,people then have not much shance to ditch the indoctrination and see wht the scripture really says ...

Only spirit goes to heaven , men all go to hell when they die , even Jesus did :-

Ac 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

The way out of hell is only by resurrection TO THE BODY, just as Jesus showed all his followers that he was NOT spirit after resurrection ... only later was jesus translated to spirit and ascended to heaven to fulfill his role there

That which is in hell is SOUL, not spirit , read the scripture, stop listening to men who do not have all truth of God to give ...

Heb 8:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

Actually God's Word says that those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and then pass into eternity are "absent from the body...present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5.8).

The believer's hope is sure. The Lord Jesus said, for those that remain, "I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, ye may be also." (John 14.3).

 

[UrMyHeRo]

jesus loves you! And me, man i love God..

 

[blessume]

i think its safe to say that christianity ISNT easy... so whats this thread for?

hehehe

 

[Kamtre]

well, my point in creating this thread was to show people that christianity isn't about legalism. Jesus denounced legalism until death. Christianity is about faith in our creator. It is the fulfullment of Judaism. God told the israelites to sacrifice animals until the true sacrifice would come, that being Jesus. Christianity is about beleiving that Jesus is the only way you can get to heaven, and then only by asking to be forgiven.. And remember that God forgives any who ask because "he is not willing that any should come into comdemnation." (somewhere in the NT.)

 

[moretap]

Hi,

I know this was posted a while ago, but I just read it (the original post). It is good and shows potential, but I would like to offer a little advice.

In this topic it is important to be really gentle (Proverbs 15:4 "A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.") Much of what cschauer wrote is good advice. One good way for apologetical/evangelical writing to improove is to listen to the critics; especially the non-Christian ones. They will often let your know the areas where you are not being gentle enough. Even if they are being confrontational sometimes there is good advice behind it. Pray for wisdom, patience, and humility from God in these times.

For example:

First things first, have you ever sinned?

Starting with sin is a turn off. If I was a non-Christian reading this I would feel confronted and bring up defenses (it's often good to think If I were a non-Christian reading this...)

First things first, God created the world and it was very good. Humans were made in the image of God. This is something that is amazing and really attractive, and is a good starting point. Then you bring in the fall and finally redemption.

 

[horsecrazy]

Hey what THE TRUTH is knowing God and believing Him.All what you said like stealing,lying are all very bad because the 10 commandments say "You should not steal or lie".So if you did those "bad things" you sinned.THE TRUTH is the Bible that God has sent us to understand and learn.

 

[Bananna]

One should be careful not to rewrite scripture and false interpretation.

Where does it say lying is a sin?

You shall not bear false witness against your neigbor.(Don't tell stories about others that are false) There may be occasions like when Rahab hid the spys and lied that it is okay to lie. It is proverbs that teaches us not to lie because our reputation is more important than what is to be gained (usually)

You shall not murder ( killing can be justified and a fulfillment of Torah. Murder is wrongful taking of life of People only.)

Stealing is taking what does not belong to you. The bible defines for instance that corners of the field belong to the poor. If you harvest the corners you steal from the poor. The first born belongs to the Lord, you must redeem him or her or break the animals neck. If you do not you steal from the temple (what temple? well you can pay it to the temple funds for restoration of the temple) Not tithing to the temple store houses is stealing from God. Etc....

Accept Jesus and you will go to heaven...no, The overall biblical context shows that one must repent, must call upon the name of the Lord and must choose to walk in righteousness for faith without works is dead. What is accepting Jesus? very vague language. As one added that one must accept Jesus is God... it never says that.

Heaven will come to earth eventually. However we receive a heart of flesh in response to accepting Jesus as lord and savior. It enables us to desire to keep righteousness. Where does the bible say that if you do not confess Jesus is Lord you will not be saved?

Anyhow, pay close attention to what is and is not said in scriptures. Assumptions can get us into real hot water.
bananna