Jok

Well-Known Member
Jul 9, 2019
774
658
47
Indiana
✟42,261.00
Country
United States
Faith
Catholic
Marital Status
Engaged
The problem is that there is an increasing attack on the authority of the Bible, even amongst professing Christians. The main opposition to Creation Evangelists has come from Christians and pastors who hold to theistic evolution, or progressive creation as many call it. The sad thing about this is that we either accept the literal words of the Bible as authoritative in every part of it, or we treat it as just a religious book that has no authority over us at all. A gospel preacher would not be able to say to his listeners, "You must be born again" because without the backing of an authoritative Bible, they are just meaningless words. It also means that the Ten Commandments have no authority, and that "anything goes" in the way people choose to live their lives, and that they can be free to adopt any interpretation that suits them, and they can believe in a God they feel comfortable with. People will just choose their own standards of morality, fulfilling the Scripture:
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death" (Proverbs 14:12).
But to be made in the image of God is a state of conscious awareness. It’s a mental description not a physical one.
 
Upvote 0

Paul James

Well-Known Member
Apr 14, 2020
408
116
76
Christchurch
✟3,275.00
Country
New Zealand
Faith
Presbyterian
Marital Status
Married
Quite the reverse, the problem is that unless thinking, responsible adults take it upon themselves to properly understand the bible they will continue to believe anything some equally ignorant person in the pulpit tells them is true.
I think it is a mistake to generalise. The Bible was written clearly for people to understand what is actually there and not to try to read into what is not actually on the page in front of them. Good Bible teachers will support their teaching from the authority of the Scripture itself and not some "sub-text" interpretation of it.
 
Upvote 0

Tom 1

Optimistic sceptic
Supporter
Nov 13, 2017
12,212
12,526
Tarnaveni
✟818,769.00
Country
Romania
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
I think it is a mistake to generalise. The Bible was written clearly for people to understand what is actually there and not to try to read into what is not actually on the page in front of them. Good Bible teachers will support their teaching from the authority of the Scripture itself and not some "sub-text" interpretation of it.

People ‘just reading’ the bible are interpreting it according to whatever set of notions they have got used to hearing. Given the sheer breadth of resources on understanding the bible from the perspective of the people who wrote it, there is no excuse for continuing with that kind of on the fly re-interpretation.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jok
Upvote 0

Jok

Well-Known Member
Jul 9, 2019
774
658
47
Indiana
✟42,261.00
Country
United States
Faith
Catholic
Marital Status
Engaged
The Bible was written clearly for people to understand what is actually there and not to try to read into what is not actually on the page in front of them. Good Bible teachers will support their teaching from the authority of the Scripture itself and not some "sub-text" interpretation of it.
It wasn’t even an issue until the 19th century. That means you have to apply the principles of timeless truths to it, there’s no such thing as original intent to original audience because ToE was 1800 years into the future.
 
Upvote 0