What is in the Bible. Do you know?

Tart · Post by **Tart** » Fri Mar 08, 2019 12:44 pm

All too often people just assume they know god, and what Christianity is all about. Before i dived into the scripture i assumed I knew what people thought about God. I assumed I knew what was in the Bible. "Just be a good person, and the rest is legend". In fact, i was so confident in this thought that I knew everything i need to know, and would suggest to people I have read the Bible... That i know everything it's about.

It was the Bible that blew those misconceptions out of the water, and blew my mind.... I consider myself lucky I spent 6 months in solitary confinement, because I actually had the time to read the Bible....

But lets face it, the Bible is HUGE, and many parts are REALLY hard to get through. People give up, people dont read it, and lot of people dont think they even need to read it to understand God... In fact, im skeptical on some people in this forum, that claim they do study the Bible, and have read it, but really havent...

For these reasons I have narrowed down scripture to 3 books (totaling about 75 pages)... If you havent read the scripture, if its very long and you never read anyways, if you dont even think of reading it... Dont be quick to throw it away...

Here is the challenge for all those people... Pick 1 Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John), the Book of Acts, and the Romans Epistle... Read those 3 books and you will have a decent knowledge of Christianity... It is 75 pages...

This topic was sparked by trying to talk to my neighbors, which was suggested to have a Bible study... Read those 3 books, and come back and comment on what your thoughts are on each book...

A topic for debate... What is the inspiration of the authors? What is an explanation for these books? What do you think about each book? (Please be as detailed as possible, like by using quotes, or verses, trying to understand why he author wrote what he did, what was the inspiration, etc...)

JJ50 · Post by **JJ50** » Mon Mar 11, 2019 8:00 am

Many Christians read the Bible with rose tinted spectacles, and often interpret the verses to suit their own take on that faith. Revelation, for instance, is open to a myriad of interpretation some crazier than others. I wonder if its author was as high as a kite on alcohol or a substance which would be considered illegal here in the UK?

dio9 · Post by **dio9** » Mon Mar 11, 2019 12:27 pm

The bible like every other world scripture only points the way others have found God. Finding God is a personal experience through prayer and meditation which confirms through your own experience that what is written actually does point toward God.

PinSeeker · Post by **PinSeeker** » Mon Mar 11, 2019 12:51 pm

JJ50 wrote: Many Christians read the Bible with rose tinted spectacles, and often interpret the verses to suit their own take on that faith. Revelation, for instance, is open to a myriad of interpretation some crazier than others. I wonder if its author was as high as a kite on alcohol or a substance which would be considered illegal here in the UK?

Revelation is not a puzzle book, it is a picture book. To put it succinctly, it's a summation of the whole of history, past, present, and future (several times over, actually, and not woodenly chronological), and ends with Jesus return, putting death to death and redeeming His creation finally and completely. The sword of truth is His Word, which has always been and forever will be true.

Would love to (rationally) discuss with anyone any thing (or things) in Revelation. It's very, very misunderstood, even by so many Christians. Which is a shame, but should not be so; it's really not hard to understand at all. John himself says that in Revelation 1:3... all who read it and hear its words are blessed. So, having a prodigious IQ is not a prerequisite. In fact, that's probably the main hindrance to real understanding, because that's what gets people to over-analyzing and trying to make 1 to 1 correlations between details in Revelation and this or that in the world.

brunumb · Post by **brunumb** » Tue Mar 12, 2019 2:54 am

[Replying to post 13 by PinSeeker]

It's very, very misunderstood, even by so many Christians. Which is a shame, but should not be so; it's really not hard to understand at all.

Those statements are quite contradictory. If it is really not hard to understand at all, then why is it very, very misunderstood, even by so many Christians?

rikuoamero · Post by **rikuoamero** » Tue Mar 12, 2019 6:13 am

[Replying to post 13 by PinSeeker]

To put it succinctly, it's a summation of the whole of history, past, present, and future (several times over, actually, and not woodenly chronological),

. In fact, that's probably the main hindrance to real understanding, because that's what gets people to over-analyzing and trying to make 1 to 1 correlations between details in Revelation and this or that in the world.

So it's a summation of the entirety of history...but don't bother trying to actually find any specifics in it...?

JJ50 · Post by **JJ50** » Tue Mar 12, 2019 7:12 am

[Replying to post 13 by PinSeeker]

As I have said before you can interpret Revelation, which very nearly didn't make it into the Bible, any way you want. You are interpreting it your way, which has no more credence that any other interpretation, imo.

PinSeeker · Post by **PinSeeker** » Tue Mar 12, 2019 1:32 pm

brunumb wrote: [Replying to post 13 by PinSeeker]

It's very, very misunderstood, even by so many Christians. Which is a shame, but should not be so; it's really not hard to understand at all.
Those statements are quite contradictory. If it is really not hard to understand at all, then why is it very, very misunderstood, even by so many Christians?

Oh, the statements are not contradictory at all. I mean, this is not the greatest analogy, but some folks can't get algebra, but that's not because it's terribly difficult, right? Why is Revelation misunderstood by so many Christians? For one or more of several reasons, a couple being (in no particular order):

1. relying on one's own understanding is a bad idea when it comes to understanding not just Revelation but any part of God's Word

2. some shy away from trying to understand Revelation because it does, on the surface at least, seem difficult -- similarly, regarding algebra, some just don't fancy themselves any kind of "math person" and instead focus their attention on history, or liberal arts, or some other subject

3. some (many, actually) are just poorly taught about the Word of God (again, whether we're talking about Revelation or any other part of the Bible) -- similarly, there are poor algebra teachers out there

4. Christians today are very often only exposed to one interpretation of Revelation, and since that's all they are exposed to (and very often the only one the teachers themselves have been exposed to) and they just buy it without weighing two differing interpretations against each other and critically evaluating one against the other

PinSeeker · Post by **PinSeeker** » Tue Mar 12, 2019 1:40 pm

rikuoamero wrote:So it's a summation of the entirety of history...but don't bother trying to actually find any specifics in it...?

Well, the trying is fine and good, but I would say that depends on what you mean by 'specifics.' In saying that, I'm not trying to be coy, or to "play with words," or anything like that. We could get into more detail than this, but generally speaking, rather than any one thing mentioned in Revelation having a one to one correspondence with any one thing in history (like Babylon really being Rome, or something like that), the correlation is one to many over the entire course of history. Again, if you want to discuss it further, let me know.

PinSeeker · Post by **PinSeeker** » Tue Mar 12, 2019 2:08 pm

JJ50 wrote: [Replying to post 13 by PinSeeker]

As I have said before you can interpret Revelation, which very nearly didn't make it into the Bible, any way you want. You are interpreting it your way, which has no more credence that any other interpretation, imo.

Well, three things to say here:

1. Sure, people can interpret Revelation any way they want, but that doesn't make his or her interpretation the correct one. You can say my interpretation has no more credence than any other, but you really have nothing to stand on in stating that because a.) you have no real idea what my interpretation is, and b.) you probably don't really have either a good hold on other interpretations of Revelation, or an understanding of your own, or both, to make any kind of thoughtful comparison. No offense intended, of course. But basically -- and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong -- you seem to be saying (as so many have said before) that "since there are so many interpretations, there isn't any correct interpretation." Which itself is merely an opinion.

2. Revelation itself was, early on, very widely accepted. Objections to Revelation came only later, and were limited, actually. And the objections raised were mostly because of misunderstandings of things contained therein, like the Millennium of Revelation 20. These heresies are still with us today and are still causing the same misunderstandings and objections.

https://www.michaeljkruger.com/the-book ... the-canon/

3. God was sovereign -- by the work of His Spirit in people -- in the putting together of the Biblical Canon, and has remained sovereign -- again, by the work of His Spirit -- in the maintaining of the authority and integrity of His Word.

brunumb · Post by **brunumb** » Tue Mar 12, 2019 5:29 pm

[Replying to post 19 by PinSeeker]

Sure, people can interpret Revelation any way they want, but that doesn't make his or her interpretation the correct one.

So, what criteria do you apply to determine definitively which interpretation is the correct one? How are those criteria applied to arrive at the conclusive decision?