It depends on the books.
The thing about having an open minds is I am open to information. The more information I have the closer I believe I come to truth regarding the information I have contended with.
Being human is a funny thing. As you believe you know the “truth”, so do I. Just as you believe I am mislead regarding truth, I think the same way regarding what you believe.
How are we supposed to rationalize this? How can we know if what we know to be true is really true when everyone believes what they believe is true?
The only way I know is to learn everything I can about what ever it is and what ever persuades me is what I believe to be truth. The more information I know the less likely I am to be mislead, this is what I believe and why I support learning and then questioning what has been learned.
The problem I have with that is that books are written by man. They are theories, beliefs, concepts, and conclusions that MEN have come to, and thus, can only reach the barrier of human intelligence. I don't believe that humans are the most intelligent beings to ever exist, and thus, any "facts" presented by man are irrelevant to me.
Yes, I know, the Bible was written by man. Here's how I look at that.
First off, when reading the Bible I keep in mind that many things were written regarding SPECIFIC cultures of the times. The Bible states how we should treat slaves, making some unrational people jump to the conclusion that slavery is OK with Christians. It's not. The writers of the Bible were simply MEN writing of the culture of their times. It would take time to show them the error of this, and eventually, they did. So I don't necessarily take every word of the Bible to apply to me, because I wasn't in those situations that the individual letters were addressed to.
The center of my beliefs, and the core of Christianity, is based on Christ's teachings and his sacrifice. I believe the words of Jesus, because although he was a man, he was more than man. I cannot prove this to you with anything other than the faith in my heart. And that is really what humans in general fail to understand. Everyone wants proof of everything. There's got to be scientific evidence or something visible to prove a belief before they'll adhere to it. Christ doesn't want those kinds of people following Him, because they aren't truly trustworthy people. He wants us to follow Him of our own FAITH, and that faith can not be attained through viewing of evidence.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that no amount of evidence discovered by man is going to convince me that it is real "truth." You say that people alter words and hear only what they want to hear and have biased opinions and etc, and so I ask, who's to say that these scientists, researchers, authors, and whoever else out there who thinks they've disproven the Bible aren't motivated by the same things? Who's to say they aren't seeing what they WANT rather than what is true?
Fact is, if you or anyone else wants Christ's existence, testimony, and legitimacy to be PROVEN to you through man-made means, it's never going to happen. Seeing isn't believing, believing is seeing. I know it's a cliche, but for those of us who have whole-heartedly taken that leap of faith and put our trust in a God we cannot prove exists, we have been filled with what I can only call "the feeling" that tells is it's true. Any other Christian will echo that sentiment. It's a conviction of the heart that gives you peace when you've finally turned your life over to Christ. You know He's there, you know what He's done was in fact real, and you know the Bible to be his message to the world.
You say you are open to all information. Then consider the idea that man is not the most superior being in the universe, and thus, cannot comprehend the real truth any more than a dog can drive a car. Consider that, in light of that, man-made writings and research are limited because they are not conducted and written with the extra knowledge that such a higher understanding would've provided. It sheds new light on the inadequacy of man's "work" to prove themselves. And since we do not have that higher understanding, we must rely on faith.
I don't say any of this to try to convert you, so please don't get that idea. I simply am trying to explain why, to Christians, man-made works of writing, research, or even scientific theories mean nothing. Because they are just that - man-made, and while men are imperfect, God is not.
I hope I haven't been too confusing in my wording of this - I kinda jumped around topics in my head as I was writing. Please PM me if you'd like to continue this discussion.
