The Bible, word of God or word of man?

Neostarwcc

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Ok this topic can get REAL blasphemous really fast so I'm going straight to the point. My intention is not to offend but to educate people on what the Bible truly is, the very innerant infallible word of God. Many evangelical Christians would not disagree with my statement.

However, a lot of evangelicals don't believe the word of God literally. Tell me, which is it? If its the Word of God than wouldn't the Bible be infallible and without error? Because, God IS infallible and without error! So why are topics like complementarianism or topics like creationism or topics like Eternal security or slavery or homosexuality or any divorce, or anger, or any other topics taken from the Bible, not only not believed, or even talked about but avoided like they're the plague? If you believe the Bible is the word of God, than these things HAVE to be true because they come from the very mouth of God! The Bible is not only true history but its also breathed out by the very mouth of God! If your god is against the Bible than its not really from the God who created the universe and everything in it!


All this being said I'm not saying these people aren't Christians or that they cannot be saved. Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. Salvation comes from God not man and its not our place to say who is saved and who isn't. As we don't save anyone or nobody saves themselves. Salvation is completely, 100% a work of God. How do I know? The Bible says so. How do we know Jesus loves us? The Bible tells us so. How do we know the will of God? The Bible tells us. The Bible, tells us everything we could ever know about God and about life. When Jesus was tempted by Satan he didn't use his own thoughts or inclinations. He didn't attack Satan physically he used the word of God against him. Why? Because the word of God is that, the very words of God.

Otherwise if you doubt even a single part of the word of God it's no longer the word of God but of man. Because God is perfect in each and every way.

Sadly I'm getting the feeling that only my reformed brothers and Sisters will fully agree with me. It shouldn't be that way. The word of God should be viewed and read the same way by all who believe in Jesus. For, how can you truly believe in one whose words you twist to get him to say what you want him to say? Why not just read God's words for what they truly are? God speaking to you.
 
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Abaxvahl

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Why not just read God's words for what they truly are? God speaking to you.

Many people are not doubting God or trying to substitute their own opinions in the place of God but are reading them for what they truly are and just disagree.
 
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Gregory Thompson

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Sadly I'm getting the feeling that only my reformed brothers and Sisters will fully agree with me. It shouldn't be that way.
Apologies, reformist theology came along late in the timeline, so it is inevitable that most people will not agree with you unless they subscribe to your view point.
 
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Hazelelponi

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Ok this topic can get REAL blasphemous really fast so I'm going straight to the point. My intention is not to offend but to educate people on what the Bible truly is, the very innerant infallible word of God. Many evangelical Christians would not disagree with my statement.

However, a lot of evangelicals don't believe the word of God literally. Tell me, which is it? If its the Word of God than wouldn't the Bible be infallible and without error? Because, God IS infallible and without error! So why are topics like complementarianism or topics like creationism or topics like Eternal security or slavery or homosexuality or any divorce, or anger, or any other topics taken from the Bible, not only not believed, or even talked about but avoided like they're the plague? If you believe the Bible is the word of God, than these things HAVE to be true because they come from the very mouth of God! The Bible is not only true history but its also breathed out by the very mouth of God! If your god is against the Bible than its not really from the God who created the universe and everything in it!


All this being said I'm not saying these people aren't Christians or that they cannot be saved. Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. Salvation comes from God not man and its not our place to say who is saved and who isn't. As we don't save anyone or nobody saves themselves. Salvation is completely, 100% a work of God. How do I know? The Bible says so. How do we know Jesus loves us? The Bible tells us so. How do we know the will of God? The Bible tells us. The Bible, tells us everything we could ever know about God and about life. When Jesus was tempted by Satan he didn't use his own thoughts or inclinations. He didn't attack Satan physically he used the word of God against him. Why? Because the word of God is that, the very words of God.

Otherwise if you doubt even a single part of the word of God it's no longer the word of God but of man. Because God is perfect in each and every way.

Sadly I'm getting the feeling that only my reformed brothers and Sisters will fully agree with me. It shouldn't be that way. The word of God should be viewed and read the same way by all who believe in Jesus. For, how can you truly believe in one whose words you twist to get him to say what you want him to say? Why not just read God's words for what they truly are? God speaking to you.

Amen.
 
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Jay Sea

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Ok this topic can get REAL blasphemous really fast so I'm going straight to the point. My intention is not to offend but to educate people on what the Bible truly is, the very innerant infallible word of God. Many evangelical Christians would not disagree with my statement.

However, a lot of evangelicals don't believe the word of God literally. Tell me, which is it? If its the Word of God than wouldn't the Bible be infallible and without error? Because, God IS infallible and without error! So why are topics like complementarianism or topics like creationism or topics like Eternal security or slavery or homosexuality or any divorce, or anger, or any other topics taken from the Bible, not only not believed, or even talked about but avoided like they're the plague? If you believe the Bible is the word of God, than these things HAVE to be true because they come from the very mouth of God! The Bible is not only true history but its also breathed out by the very mouth of God! If your god is against the Bible than its not really from the God who created the universe and everything in it!


All this being said I'm not saying these people aren't Christians or that they cannot be saved. Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. Salvation comes from God not man and its not our place to say who is saved and who isn't. As we don't save anyone or nobody saves themselves. Salvation is completely, 100% a work of God. How do I know? The Bible says so. How do we know Jesus loves us? The Bible tells us so. How do we know the will of God? The Bible tells us. The Bible, tells us everything we could ever know about God and about life. When Jesus was tempted by Satan he didn't use his own thoughts or inclinations. He didn't attack Satan physically he used the word of God against him. Why? Because the word of God is that, the very words of God.

Otherwise if you doubt even a single part of the word of God it's no longer the word of God but of man. Because God is perfect in each and every way.

Sadly I'm getting the feeling that only my reformed brothers and Sisters will fully agree with me. It shouldn't be that way. The word of God should be viewed and read the same way by all who believe in Jesus. For, how can you truly believe in one whose words you twist to get him to say what you want him to say? Why not just read God's words for what they truly are? God speaking to you.
When the word was given by G-d it was his word. However can we be sure that tin transition it is so intact as to be infallible?? Ever played the whisper game passing message in whispers along a line and at end of line how accurate was the message. The experts acknowledge that translations are biased as from one language to another the translator made a choice. I have seen this happen when reading translated documents for building work where a wrong words were used for the context, or mistaken for another word with say another vowel because the original had a spelling mistake. That is why quoting verses is dangerous out of context of whole passage. It is not the words but the message and what did it mean for the original hearers in the context of their lives. Then in prayer and reflection perhaps we can say what it means for us. You can either listen to your priest or minister or you can read it and get the overall message of the struggles of the Jews to follow G-d's way and whatb they thought of him. Remember they are stories and they found G-d so awesome and thought themselves so weak that they even attributed their own victories to G-d. Ie. I do not believe G-d would kill anyone for even his people. (killing was all man's work and he will have to answer for it.)
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d taylor

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Here is a good example of people turning The Bible around to accommodated their beliefs in science over the Bible. Two literal account of events recorded in The Bible inspired by God.
-
Two accounts in the Bible that plainly state the sun moves. In each one the sun is the object that stops moving or moves backward 10 degrees. There is no getting around it, like many have tried in the past, but no it is the sun who is moving and is commanded to stop (and God heeded this command) and it is the sun, who God's promise to Hezekiah, to move the shadow back ten degrees (so the sun returned 10 degrees).



Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon;
And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”
So the sun stood still,
And the moon stopped,
Till the people had revenge
Upon their enemies.

Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.

-

And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.” ’ And this is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing which He has spoken: Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down.
 
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Clare73

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Ok this topic can get REAL blasphemous really fast so I'm going straight to the point. My intention is not to offend but to educate people on what the Bible truly is, the very innerant infallible word of God. Many evangelical Christians would not disagree with my statement.

However, a lot of evangelicals don't believe the word of God literally. Tell me, which is it? If its the Word of God than wouldn't the Bible be infallible and without error? Because, God IS infallible and without error! So why are topics like complementarianism or topics like creationism or topics like Eternal security or slavery or homosexuality or any divorce, or anger, or any other topics taken from the Bible, not only not believed, or even talked about but avoided like they're the plague? If you believe the Bible is the word of God, than these things HAVE to be true because they come from the very mouth of God! The Bible is not only true history but its also breathed out by the very mouth of God! If your god is against the Bible than its not really from the God who created the universe and everything in it!


All this being said I'm not saying these people aren't Christians or that they cannot be saved. Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. Salvation comes from God not man and its not our place to say who is saved and who isn't. As we don't save anyone or nobody saves themselves. Salvation is completely, 100% a work of God. How do I know? The Bible says so. How do we know Jesus loves us? The Bible tells us so. How do we know the will of God? The Bible tells us. The Bible, tells us everything we could ever know about God and about life. When Jesus was tempted by Satan he didn't use his own thoughts or inclinations. He didn't attack Satan physically he used the word of God against him. Why? Because the word of God is that, the very words of God.

Otherwise if you doubt even a single part of the word of God it's no longer the word of God but of man. Because God is perfect in each and every way.
Sadly I'm getting the feeling that only my reformed brothers and Sisters will fully agree with me. It shouldn't be that way. The word of God should be viewed and read the same way by all who believe in Jesus. For, how can you truly believe in one whose words you twist to get him to say what you want him to say? Why not just read God's words for what they truly are? God speaking to you.
Satan continues to assault the word of God written through fallen nature, unbelieving mankind, the culture, the disobedient, the blasphemers, unbelieving "scholars," the mockers, the scoffers, etc., etc., etc., who continue to grow in number and have their influence.

Not to mention the besotted interpretations of prophecy today totally in contradiction to authoritative NT teaching, having no qualms about denying NT teaching for the sake of their fancies.
 
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The Liturgist

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We really need to stop referring to the Bible as the Word of God, because in the Bible, the Bible is referred to in the New Testament as Graphe, meaning Scriptures. We should call it the Holy Scriptures. Calling it the Word of God is dangerous and confusing, not because it is not wholly divinely inspired throughout, but because the Word of God is Jesus Christ (John 1:1-18). Everyone needs to stop and read the first chapter of the Gospel According to John, which is obviously talking about Jesus Christ, and not the Bible.

Referring to the Bible as the Word of God is not the only way to convey the same semantics as what is intended; one could say the Words of God, and that would avoid confusion with our Savior in part, but furthermore, it would mean the same thing if we simply called the Holy Bible the Divinely Inspired Scriptures, acknowledging that they are the heart of the Christian religion and the primary means of revelation we have access to two thousand years after the actual Word of God - Jesus Christ, ascended into Heaven.
 
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The Liturgist

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Here is a good example of people turning The Bible around to accommodated their beliefs in science over the Bible. Two literal account of events recorded in The Bible inspired by God.
-
Two accounts in the Bible that plainly state the sun moves. In each one the sun is the object that stops moving or moves backward 10 degrees. There is no getting around it, like many have tried in the past, but no it is the sun who is moving and is commanded to stop (and God heeded this command) and it is the sun, who God's promise to Hezekiah, to move the shadow back ten degrees (so the sun returned 10 degrees).



Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon;
And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”
So the sun stood still,
And the moon stopped,
Till the people had revenge
Upon their enemies.

Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.

-

And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.” ’ And this is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing which He has spoken: Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down.

This is a completely erroneous reading and has the effect, every time it is repeated, of causing an unwarranted stumbling block for potential converts to Christianity. It has been established - scientifically proven, that the world is round and that outer space exists. In the time of Christ, it was understood by Jews and Greeks and Romans and Persians alike that the world was round. So this sort of argument is extremely unhelpful.
 
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The Liturgist

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Satan continues to assault the word of God written through fallen nature, unbelieving mankind, the culture, the disobedient, the blasphemers, unbelieving "scholars," the mockers, the scoffers, etc., etc., etc., who continue to grow in number and have their influence.

Not to mention the besotted interpretations of prophecy today totally in contradiction to authoritative NT teaching, having no qualms about denying NT teaching for the sake of their fancies.

I agree entirely (except I wish you would call it the Holy Bible or the Divinely Inspired, or God-Breathed, Scriptures, to avoid confusion with Jesus Christ).

One particularly bad example of prophecy is the idea of the Rapture as envisaged by John Nelson Darby in the 19th century, which has become inordinately popular among non-denominational Christians and which many people now incorrectly assume is the only valid Christian eschatology, propped up by works, such as the King James Study Bible, which advances various doctrinal opinions which are in complete opposition to the sophisticated theology of the Church of England at the time of the accession of King James, who commissioned the KJV to be the new Bible for the Church of England.
 
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Ceallaigh

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This is a completely erroneous reading and has the effect, every time it is repeated, of causing an unwarranted stumbling block for potential converts to Christianity. It has been established - scientifically proven, that the world is round and that outer space exists. In the time of Christ, it was understood by Jews and Greeks and Romans and Persians alike that the world was round. So this sort of argument is extremely unhelpful.

One can simply see from anything that's been launched into space with a camera, that the Earth is round. Unless one wants to insist that all the imagery has been faked as part of a grand conspiracy.
 
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The Liturgist

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One can simply see from anything that's been launched into space with a camera, that the Earth is round. Unless one wants to insist that all the imagery has been faked as part of a grand conspiracy.

Indeed. And one can book an Antarctic cruise, which I’ve done, and I have also been blessed with the opportunity of high altitude flight in a particularly famous aircraft earlier in my life, so I have seen the globe of our Earth.

That, plus the fact that with a telescope or the naked eye in some cases, we can see the International Space Station, and also the efficiency of the Great Circle Route, should be all the proof anyone needs.
 
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fhansen

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Ok this topic can get REAL blasphemous really fast so I'm going straight to the point. My intention is not to offend but to educate people on what the Bible truly is, the very innerant infallible word of God. Many evangelical Christians would not disagree with my statement.

However, a lot of evangelicals don't believe the word of God literally. Tell me, which is it? If its the Word of God than wouldn't the Bible be infallible and without error? Because, God IS infallible and without error! So why are topics like complementarianism or topics like creationism or topics like Eternal security or slavery or homosexuality or any divorce, or anger, or any other topics taken from the Bible, not only not believed, or even talked about but avoided like they're the plague? If you believe the Bible is the word of God, than these things HAVE to be true because they come from the very mouth of God! The Bible is not only true history but its also breathed out by the very mouth of God! If your god is against the Bible than its not really from the God who created the universe and everything in it!


All this being said I'm not saying these people aren't Christians or that they cannot be saved. Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. Salvation comes from God not man and its not our place to say who is saved and who isn't. As we don't save anyone or nobody saves themselves. Salvation is completely, 100% a work of God. How do I know? The Bible says so. How do we know Jesus loves us? The Bible tells us so. How do we know the will of God? The Bible tells us. The Bible, tells us everything we could ever know about God and about life. When Jesus was tempted by Satan he didn't use his own thoughts or inclinations. He didn't attack Satan physically he used the word of God against him. Why? Because the word of God is that, the very words of God.

Otherwise if you doubt even a single part of the word of God it's no longer the word of God but of man. Because God is perfect in each and every way.

Sadly I'm getting the feeling that only my reformed brothers and Sisters will fully agree with me. It shouldn't be that way. The word of God should be viewed and read the same way by all who believe in Jesus. For, how can you truly believe in one whose words you twist to get him to say what you want him to say? Why not just read God's words for what they truly are? God speaking to you.
The problem isn't with the errancy of the bible; the problem is with the errancy of man. Plausible interprations often vary greatly simply because we're limited in our understanding: we weren't "there" when the author penned the words; we don't always know the intention. Cuople that with the fact that the bible wasn't formed to begin with as a sort of clear and exhaustive catechism with all teachings systematically defined and categorized, etc, and the potential for human error is inevitable.
 
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The Liturgist

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The problem isn't with the errancy of the bible; the problem is with the errancy of man. Plausible interprations often vary greatly simply because we're limited in our understanding: we weren't "there" when the author penned the words; we don't always know the intention. Cuople that with the fact that the bible wasn't formed to begin with as a sort of clear and exhaustive catechism with all teachings systematically defined and categorized, etc, and the potential for human error is inevitable.

Indeed, this is why we have to rely on the interpretations of the Early Church Fathers that survived both the test of time, and the ecumenical councils, in order to get a clear picture of the Apostolic kerygma.
 
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fhansen

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Indeed, this is why we have to rely on the interpretations of the Early Church Fathers that survived both the test of time, and the ecumenical councils, in order to get a clear picture of the Apostolic kerygma.
Yes, the teachings of the ancient churches as well should shed light. We throw the baby out with the bath water when we exclude the historical experience and understandings of the church altogether from our source of understanding. But interpretations that have survived test of time don’t seem to impress all equally by any means.
 
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d taylor

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This is a completely erroneous reading and has the effect, every time it is repeated, of causing an unwarranted stumbling block for potential converts to Christianity. It has been established - scientifically proven, that the world is round and that outer space exists. In the time of Christ, it was understood by Jews and Greeks and Romans and Persians alike that the world was round. So this sort of argument is extremely unhelpful.

Go preach these science lies to another. The Bible exposes the lie, too bad christians simply will just not believe God's inspired word.
 
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The Liturgist

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Yes, the teachings of the ancient churches as well should shed light. We throw the baby out with the bath water when we exclude the historical experience and understandings of the church altogether from our source of understanding. But interpretations that have survived test of time don’t seem to impress all equally by any means.

Indeed; they are enough for Orthodox, Catholic and traditional Protestant Christians, particularly those who are not beholden to Luther or Calvin or even John Wesley, who I really greatly admire* to the point of following their theology even when it contradicts with what Calvinist theologians started referring to as the consensus patrum. The problem that Luther and Calvin faced was that the Western Church had become overly dependent on Augustinian theology, via Anselm of Canterbury, which was partially mitigated by Thomas Aquinas**, whose systemic theology, while not perfect, was a great accomplishment, exceeded in its time only by the spectacular breakthrough in describing the mystical theology of St. Symeon the New, that we see in the works of St. Gregory of Palamas.

However, Luther and Calvin did not have as much immersion in the writings of the Greek and Syrian fathers as would have been preferable, and there were several Latin fathers who just were not read as much as they should have been from the Dark Ages even into the 19th century in the Western church; had they wanted to get to the consensus patrum, they should, in my opinion, have focused on the Patristic corpus starting with St. Ignatius of Antioch, and continuing with St. Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, St. Athanasius, St. Cyprian of Carthage, St. Athanasius, St. Isidore of Seville, St. Hilary of Poitiers, St. Ephrem the Syrian, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. John Cassian, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory Nazianzus, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. John Chrysostom, Theodore of Mopsuestia, St. John Cassian, St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Vincent of Lerins, St. Severus of Antioch, St. Jacob of Sarugh, St. Maximus the Confessor, St. Isaac the Syrian, and St. John Damascene. However, they had no way of even knowing that, since many of those authors had become obscure by the 16th century, and some were erroneously regarded as heretics, such as St. Severus (even today, many people consider him a heretic, but the Theopaschite Christology of the Chalcedonian and Oriental Orthodox churches and the full ramifications of the concept of Hypostatic Union we find in St. Cyril and in Chalcedon, are largely based on his work; indeed, he was the author of the great hymn Ho Monogenes, which features in both the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox liturgy, and which I regard as a creedal hymn on a par with Te Deum Laudamus, which was much beloved by Luther).

I also am of the view that the Counter Reformation in the Roman Catholic church was largely successful. In addition to regarding as saints certain post-schism, pre-Avignon figures such as St. Bruno, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and St. Dominic Guzman, as well as the founders and many members of the Trinitarian and Mercedarian orders, which as you may recall were originally founded to ransom Christians abducted by Muslim pirates in North Africa, I also am comfortable regarding as saints the likes of St. Charles Borromeo, St. Philip Neri, St. Alphonse Ligouri, and Pope St. Pius X.

*Interestingly, the Eastern Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia venerates Jan Hus and Jerome of Prague as saints and martyrs, and I feel of the other really prominent Protestant theologians from the Reformation until the 19th century, the only two who are certainly worthy of veneration as saints are John and Charles Wesley, although I think a case could also be made for Archbishop Laud and, even more likely, King Charles I, who I am inclined to regard as a martyr, because I am inclined to regard Oliver Cromwell not only as a tyrant and usurper but as a heretic. I believe the Anglican Church, or at least the Episcopal Church USA, has liturgical commemorations for all of the above, along with more recent Protestant saints such as the hieromartyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

** I do love the Summa Theologica however; I am inclined to regard it as one of the five great works of systemic theology, the others being The Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith by St. John Damascene, Calvin’s Institutes, Karl Barth’s epic Church Dogmatics, and the works of various Russian Orthodox theologians such as Orthodox Dogmatic Theology, by Fr. Michael Pomazansky, translated into English by Fr. Seraphim Rose, and after that fashion, The Teachings of the Orthodox Church by Rev. Michael Azkoul, who I believe is either Greek or Antiochian Orthodox, which is slightly more sectarian than Pomazansky; there are several brilliant Russian works which have sadly not been translated
 
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The Liturgist

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Go preach these science lies to another. The Bible exposes the lie, too bad christians simply will just not believe God's inspired word.

They aren’t lies; I have witnessed it myself! I have seen the curvature of the Earth and the International Space Station. You could too. And scripture does not refute that.

Furthermore, if one interprets the Bible in a way that contradicts observable fact, which is hard to do, but possible, then one needs to change their interpretation.

Finally, Jesus Christ is the infallible Word of God; the Bible is the collection of God-breathed holy scriptures which describe Him.
 
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Clare73

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We really need to stop referring to the Bible as the Word of God, because in the Bible, the Bible is referred to in the New Testament as Graphe, meaning Scriptures. We should call it the Holy Scriptures.
Would not the God-breathed (theopneustos) Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16) be the word of God?
Jesus calls Scripture the word of God in Mark 7:13, and "his word" in reference to the Scriptures in John 5:38-39, as does Hebrews 4:12.
Calling it the Word of God is dangerous and confusing, not because it is not wholly divinely inspired throughout, but because the Word of God is Jesus Christ (John 1:1-18).
Yes, the NT presents the Word of God incarnate (John 1:14), the word of God spoken (Luke 5:1), and the word of God written (Matthew 19:4-6).
Would that not make them all a sound Biblical practice?
Everyone needs to stop and read the first chapter of the Gospel According to John, which is obviously talking about Jesus Christ, and not the Bible.

Referring to the Bible as the Word of God is not the only way to convey the same semantics as what is intended; one could say the Words of God, and that would avoid confusion with our Savior in part, but furthermore, it would mean the same thing if we simply called the Holy Bible the Divinely Inspired Scriptures, acknowledging that they are the heart of the Christian religion and the primary means of revelation we have access to two thousand years after the actual Word of God - Jesus Christ, ascended into Heaven.
 
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Clare73

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Indeed, this is why we have to rely on the interpretations of the Early Church Fathers that survived both the test of time, and the ecumenical councils, in order to get a clear picture of the Apostolic kerygma.
But they do not survive the test of truth. . .the one at the core of the gospel (Galatians 1:6-9), salvation through faith, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9), and justification apart from works (Romans 4:5, 3:21, 28).

Getting the gospel wrong makes the early church fathers inadequate to me.
Their inadequate understanding has to color/affect their focus, etc.
 
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