Really Upset

[CGL]

This girl told me the following:

- Henry the 8th changed the entire Bible so he could have things his way and it's HIS version of the bible we have today.

- The Greek version basically said you're never gettin' into Heaven. And they changed it.... to say you can.

- When it got translated from Greek into Latin, all the Greek copies were burned

- 8 scholars put the Bible together

- A lot got taken out the Bible before you got the finished product. 800 extra books you dont even know about it went through the Cardinals and all that. They chose Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for the gospels. They considered the rest false

- Catholicism totally changed it's mind about the sending babies to hell thing.

Can some Christian please answer this.
I have been through tons, I've even tried to kill myself before. But this is the first time
I truly doubt my faith and I've never been so upset in my life.
Someone please help me with this.

(I know I've posted this in two different forums on this page, but this is an emergency,
mods', I hope you understand.)

God bless?

 

[sinneD]

I think you need to stop listening to her.

First, instead of allowing other's to tell you what the scriptures say, read them for yourself.

Also, there are great books on the history of the church, as well as the history of our scriptures, and how they were preserved for us today.

You need to be more discerning in who you listen to, and who you allow to influence your faith.

 

[snoochface]

Your friend has a lot of misinformation.

There are still plenty of copies of the original Greek and Hebrew texts. Many of the versions of the Bible that we have today, including the NIV, are translations from the originals. Nothing has been changed or taken out that changes the meaning of the original words.

I don't know where she is getting that the original Greek was burned or said you're never getting into Heaven. That's just patently false.

The texts that were excluded were left out not because they were "part of the Bible", but because they were deemed not to be the Word of God. Those texts are called the apocrypha. Just because someone wrote something about Jesus or God in the 1st century does not automatically make it the true Word of God.

One thing she got right is that Catholicism did "change its mind" about unbaptized babies going to hell. This was a very recent change, within the last year I believe. That particular doctrine does not undermine the truth of Christianity, though I personally think there are some things the Catholic church is somewhat confused about. They have the basics about Christ right though, and that's all that matters.

Do you have a pastor you can speak to about all of this? It is very dangerous to take as truth any, well, crap, that someone spouts off to you. You have to be able to verify the truth by researching it on your own, looking things up, talking to your pastor, etc. Anyone can tell you anything, but that doesn't make it true.

Your friend clearly has an anti-Christian agenda, and people who feel and think that way are the least likely to give you truthful information about Christianity. They are going to give you anti-Christian propaganda, likely information that they themselves have "heard" from someone else without bothering to verify any of it. Be careful of who you get your information from.

Pray for God to show you the truth and increase your faith. Remember that faith does not just come upon you magically. You increase your faith by knowing who and what you have faith in. You can know this by learning about God, reading his Word, and talking to him. The better you know God, the stronger your faith will be.

This girl told me the following:

- Henry the 8th changed the entire Bible so he could have things his way and it's HIS version of the bible we have today.

- The Greek version basically said you're never gettin' into Heaven. And they changed it.... to say you can.

- When it got translated from Greek into Latin, all the Greek copies were burned

- 8 scholars put the Bible together

- A lot got taken out the Bible before you got the finished product. 800 extra books you dont even know about it went through the Cardinals and all that. They chose Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for the gospels. They considered the rest false

- Catholicism totally changed it's mind about the sending babies to hell thing.

Can some Christian please answer this.
I have been through tons, I've even tried to kill myself before. But this is the first time
I truly doubt my faith and I've never been so upset in my life.
Someone please help me with this.

(I know I've posted this in two different forums on this page, but this is an emergency,
mods', I hope you understand.)

God bless?

 

[MoNiCa4316]

Hi CGL, I'm praying for you that you will hold on to your faith. The devil wants you to give up, but..remember that whatever you're feeling, faith is a choice. If you choose to believe, and reach out to God, there will come a time when your feelings will change as well, and your faith would become even stronger than before. I went through so much doubt last year, and maybe it's something we all have to go through to strengthen our faith.

About what the girl told you. I've heard some of this stuff before. But I've researched some of it, and a lot is based on hypothesis...they don't have any real proof for any of this! Some time ago I read a book called 'Case for Christ' by Lee Strobel, and it presents the evidence for Christianity...maybe if you want to, you can check it out sometime.
Don't take the girl's word for it; research it all from a Christian perspective, and you'll see that there are facts out there to back up our faith.

Just think...some people, like Thomas and Stephen and Paul, were skeptics before the Resurrection...but afterwards, they became great followers of Christ. The only explanation for this is that they actually saw the risen Christ, because they wouldn't worship Him if they knew He was dead. And they wouldn't die for their faith, yet they did.

Here's what we have...
2000 years of changed lives, testimonies, revelations, miracles, martyrs, etc. ......people have seen the risen Christ! even today...(check out: http://www.angelfire.com/mo3/jeffleslie/)
Your own testimony and experience.
The Bible.
The Holy Spirit.

vs.

one person, who probably got her opinions from some biased book or website.

If someone had actually disproved Christianity, trust me everyone would have known by now, and there wouldn't be so many Christians.

Do you know how many obstacles Christianity has faced since it's beginning? The Roman Empire, various governments and political systems, powerful philosophies, etc, have all tried to tear it down...the devil himself! Because our fight is of course against him, not against any people. And what is the result? It is bigger and stronger than ever before! The Bible tells us that the Church would endure to the end, and that is exactly what is happening. If 2000 years hasn't done anything to Christianity, then the present arguments against it would also prove to be powerless. They haven't been able to destroy Christianity, don't let a few words destroy your faith.

God bless.

 

[radhead]

Basically, Henry VIII was around during the sixteenth century. However, we have biblical manuscripts dating from the second century.

 

[TheOrthodoxOne]

This girl told me the following:

- Henry the 8th changed the entire Bible so he could have things his way and it's HIS version of the bible we have today.

- The Greek version basically said you're never gettin' into Heaven. And they changed it.... to say you can.

- When it got translated from Greek into Latin, all the Greek copies were burned

- 8 scholars put the Bible together

- A lot got taken out the Bible before you got the finished product. 800 extra books you dont even know about it went through the Cardinals and all that. They chose Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for the gospels. They considered the rest false

- Catholicism totally changed it's mind about the sending babies to hell thing.

Can some Christian please answer this.
I have been through tons, I've even tried to kill myself before. But this is the first time
I truly doubt my faith and I've never been so upset in my life.
Someone please help me with this.

(I know I've posted this in two different forums on this page, but this is an emergency,
mods', I hope you understand.)

God bless?

Brother, remember that those who hate God will share with you whatever it is that they themselves use to uphold their unbelief. Your faith is to embrace God. Theirs' is to deny Him. I also want to encourage you(as an earlier poster did) that through times of intense doubt God will show Himself to triumph and your faith in Him will become more and more solid. Believe me! Christianity is true! There is nothing that any man can say, that Christianity must hide from. Do not be afraid. Put all of your trust in Him. And take the sound advice of those who you know care about the state of your soul and spirit. Peace be with you.

-David

 

[R3quiem]

This girl told me the following:

- Henry the 8th changed the entire Bible so he could have things his way and it's HIS version of the bible we have today.

- The Greek version basically said you're never gettin' into Heaven. And they changed it.... to say you can.

- When it got translated from Greek into Latin, all the Greek copies were burned

- 8 scholars put the Bible together

- A lot got taken out the Bible before you got the finished product. 800 extra books you dont even know about it went through the Cardinals and all that. They chose Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for the gospels. They considered the rest false

- Catholicism totally changed it's mind about the sending babies to hell thing.

Can some Christian please answer this.
I have been through tons, I've even tried to kill myself before. But this is the first time
I truly doubt my faith and I've never been so upset in my life.
Someone please help me with this.

(I know I've posted this in two different forums on this page, but this is an emergency,
mods', I hope you understand.)

God bless?

First of all, before you jump to conclusions about something someone has said, learn about the opposite point of view first.

Second of all, there is some truth that people picked and chose what went into the Bible- but this happened a LONG time before Henry 8. However, we have some very, very old manuscripts that discuss Christianity, so old that they were written around the same time as many books of the New Testament.
-Supposedly the oldest existing non-canonical manuscript we have about Christianity is the Didache. It's basically a short handbook for Christians, that was authored very early on in Christianity's lifetime. It is not known exactly when it was made, but is often believed to have been created as early as 50-60 A.D. It may be good to read or learn about it, finding it on google is quite easy.

Thirdly, if the original text said it was impossible to get into heaven, then why would Jesus bother coming down to tell us? Why would he come down to teach so many lessons on morality, if there was no point? Think about it logically.

I hope you find the answers you are looking for.

 

[rejectreality]

I must agree with everyone so far. I also would stop listening to this person. Henry 8th had nothing to do with the bible. Perhaps your friend is misinformed, as Henry broke from the Catholic church so as he could grant himself divorces. That however, is a different discussion for a different time. Has your friend ever read the Greek Version?? And if so, how did she do it, since according to her, all of the Greek texts were burned. I hope I don't need to address the obvious problem with these two arguments. I don't know the exact number, nor does anyone else, but more than 8 scholars put the bible together. Were the other writings about Jesus' life false? Probably not. It is correct that many writings didn't make it into the final product that is the Bible as we know it, but that is because whomever assembled it, didn't think we'd need to read 250 different writings saying the exact same thing. The Gospels made it over the rest, as they were written by those closest to Jesus. I can't comment on the remark about Catholics, so I'll leave that to someone more versed in Catholicism than I.

Please don't read into any one person's thoughts on the bible. Don't take what I just wrote as absolute fact without error. As with all things, get several points of view, pray, and listen for God to tell you the truth. He is truth. His word is truth. If you can trust in no other thing, trust in that.

God bless

 

[Treasurer]

Hi CGL,

- Henry the 8th changed the entire Bible so he could have things his way and it's HIS version of the bible we have today.

June 28, 1491 - January 28, 1547 (He was king from April 22, 1509 til his death; he was the king over England).

The council of Nicea (took place during the reign of Emporer Constantine) 325 AD. And from what I have read this counsel was done for the purpose of doctrine (what does the christian church believe) which was as another stated where the Nicene Creed was established. (at least 300 bishops from all over took place in this, except for Brittian -which was the first assembly since the counsel in Jerusalem by the apostles on what would be expected of the gentiles).

The first bible we have was from the counsel of Rome in 382 AD, the books chosen from that time have not changed and they are still in the same order.


- The Greek version basically said you're never gettin' into Heaven. And they changed it.... to say you can.

Actually the greek version is still in existance, very old manuscripts still remain. The reason it was in Greek was due to the fact Israel was under control of the Roman Empire (however, it was Alexander the Great who made Greek the universal language- kinda like English is pretty much the universal language today).

There are also other new testiment books written in Coptic by the Christians in Egypt. Still today they have a Coptic bible.

You know what I do, I take a look at the old testiment with the new testiment. Because the new will not contradict the old, it was meant for Jesus to fulfill God's promises to the world thru Abraham. And God had told the Gentiles in his land, who took on the faith and beliefs of his chosen children, not to think of themselves as second class citizens, they were a part of his promise to- thru faith.


- When it got translated from Greek into Latin, all the Greek copies were burned

As stated before, there are still Greek manuscripts (originals) today, preserved. Now Greek to Latin was done because the most common language became Latin- it became the Vulgate or common language bible, which the translaters used the best texts they could find including in Hebrew when available.

So no they didnt burn them, they used them as their guide. (Greek was merely a dying language).


- 8 scholars put the Bible together

I would say over the course of putting together the scriptures, and they wanted it to be as accurate as possible when translated into another language, that it took a team of experts. People who could read both the original and that of the translation. (Even in just one of the bibles I have today their were more than 8 people).

There is no way that is a possibility.


- A lot got taken out the Bible before you got the finished product. 800 extra books you dont even know about it went through the Cardinals and all that. They chose Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for the gospels. They considered the rest false

Read about this. Decide for yourself what you believe. I have looked at a lot of left out books. Some I feel are not inspired by God. And some are questionable, from a believers standpoint. (They had good reasons for leaving many out. They used time frame as a reference as to its validity. I mean they in fact are still a book, but it is more like fiction verses non fiction. Because there is no way for them to have been witness to the events they were writing about. And some of the books, like the lost books of Eden, are akin to fables). So anyways like I said, look them up and decide for yourself.


- Catholicism totally changed it's mind about the sending babies to hell thing.

This topic I dont know much about. Just keep this in mind, God is fair and just. And we dont always know what is fair and just. For who can understand or know the mind of God? His ways are higher than our ways, his thoughts higher than ours.



My prayer for you is that God will give you the knowledge and understanding you desire. And thru this that he might use what you have learned to help others.

God Bless

 

[jive4005]

CGL... I say amen to many of the above posts. You really DO need to read and research for yourself.
May I suggest a book? It is one that has done so much for me in my maturity in Christ (and in self).

THE WISDOM OF JAMES ALLEN by Laurel Creek Press (easy to find). It gave me the proper mindset to grow and understand... towards truthful things.

God bless you indeed. Most people just wallow along in life. I'm glad to see He gave you a passion for Jesus and Truth. Glory!

His,
Rev J