1. Holy Scriptures:
The Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, are the written Word of God, given by divine inspiration through holy men of God who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. In this Word, God has committed to man the knowledge necessary for salvation. The Holy Scriptures are the infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the test of experience, the authoritative revealer of doctrines, and the trustworthy record of God's acts in history. (2 Peter 1:20, 21; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Ps. 119:105; Prov. 30:5, 6; Isa. 8:20; John 17:17; 1 Thess. 2:13; Heb. 4:12.)
Fundamental Beliefs
My problem with this belief is this.... if the "holy scriptures" are the written word of God, why didn't God write them? Why did man write them? If men wrote them, they are the written words of men, compiled and packaged by men... Likewise, the written words of men cannot be infallible because men are not infallible.....
I agree with you, Stormy.
I guess it could have been phrased a little differently so that "written word of God" would not give the impression to some that the words of the Bible are literally God's words. The only literally written words of God that are found in the Bible are the words of the ten commandments, written with the finger of God.
My perspective is that since humans are the medium, then it is not the literal words, but the thought or message behind the words, that are from God. God's message comes to us couched in the language and personality of the human writer, which means you are going to get all kinds of viewpoints about the same truth. Some writers are depressed (Jeremiah), others worshipful (David) or despairing (David again). One writer is cerebral in nature (Paul), others are poets (Solomon, David), and yet others are methodical and recordkeepers. Each expresses God's message according to his personality and bent of mind and we get glimpses of God through the eyes of these varied temperaments and perspectives of human writers. And that is why I take certain texts that describe God as harsh and vengeful to be descriptions, not dictated by God, but seen through the filter of minds that thought in a certain way.
So how can we trust what these humans write? Are they portraying God correctly? I mean, I tend to give them latitude, that some of the ways they express themselves come from their worldview, their personality type, and not necessarily that God is every bit of what they report. But how then do we know that they are writing truth? Is it left to our own filters, as well?
This is where prayer to the
Author of the message behind the human words is essential, for only His Spirit can get His message through to us, despite the shortcomings and personality types of the various writers.
Okay, I could be wrong in my present approach to this first fundamental belief, so any objections from others I will weigh with care. But for now, this is how I read the Bible -- trying to catch glimpses of God through the eyes of humans who have been
inspired to share their views of Him.
That's just for starters....
There's more on fundamental 1? Do say on, Stormy....
