What do (or don't) you believe in the Bible?

[Hannah]

I am just curious to what degree people here believe in the Bible, and how seriously they take it?

I find it VERY hard to "pick and choose" what I believe in. I mean, if the story about Creation is made up, then maybe the prophecies about Jesus are made up too? Etc, etc.

I want to believe in everything in the Bible, but after a secular education, and against scientists who say they have the objective truth, it's not that easy.

So here is an attempt to check what people find it hard to believe in.

I do not mean to stir up any hard feelings and I do not judge or critisize people who look at this from a different angle than me. I am hoping for an honest opinon on what stories from the bible are less easy to believe in. If you think of something else which did not occur to me, please write about it in a comment!

"I find it hard to believe in..."

[Watchman]

I find it hard to believe that the Bible is the sum total of God's revelation to man. The scriptures themselves teach us that the Holy Spirit is our teacher...simply verbalizing (since I don't like the phrase, just sayin'!)

W

[keyzer soze]

well I find every single one of those "hard to believe in" since they are all miracles and I don't see miracles like that all too often... so for me it has become an "all or nothing" sort of thing because too much of the bible builds on the rest. I mean, if creation didn't happen like it says then a lot of the reasoning that Paul uses in his theology is faulty and based on fictitious stories. If Jonah didn't get swallowed by a fish for 3 days then I think Jesus believed in a lie. if Jesus was born of Joseph and not God then he is not the son of God.

if miracles and prophesies didn't really happen then the "God" of the bible Himself would say to NOT BELIEVE in the bible. these things happened so that we CAN BELIEVE they are from God.

the donkey speaking story does make me chuckle every time I picture it... luckily we have Shrek movies to help us make that a little more "believable"! LOL

[ChristianCoffee]

I spent a very long time trying to disprove the Bible so I could continue upon whatever road I wanted to. Eventually, God softened my heart, and spoke to me in a way I could understand. I have no issues with believing everything that is in the Bible. For me, there are only 2 questions: do you believe it all? Or do you pick and choose? The issue with picking what you want to believe is that then you are believing a different Gospel then what Jesus preached. If Jesus is whom He says He is (The Way, The Truth, and The Light), then I want to know and believe EVERYTHING He has said.

For myself, there is no question: it is all real.

[Brother Mark]

How about this option...

"I believe all the scriptures are true and accurate. But sometimes, I have difficulty submitting to and trusting in what God says."

[RollTide21]

well I find every single one of those "hard to believe in" since they are all miracles and I don't see miracles like that all too often... so for me it has become an "all or nothing" sort of thing because too much of the bible builds on the rest. I mean, if creation didn't happen like it says then a lot of the reasoning that Paul uses in his theology is faulty and based on fictitious stories. If Jonah didn't get swallowed by a fish for 3 days then I think Jesus believed in a lie. if Jesus was born of Joseph and not God then he is not the son of God.

if miracles and prophesies didn't really happen then the "God" of the bible Himself would say to NOT BELIEVE in the bible. these things happened so that we CAN BELIEVE they are from God.

the donkey speaking story does make me chuckle every time I picture it... luckily we have Shrek movies to help us make that a little more "believable"! LOL

It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Our Faith is based on the Gospel that Jesus Christ died for the sins of mankind and rose from the Grave for the Atonement of our sin. This is recorded plainly by the Gospels and that simple premise is what is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit when we receive Christ. Certain Truths accompany that Faith, naturally. The Virgin Birth, Jesus' Miracles, Death and Resurrection, etc. Those types of things accompany Faith in Christ in that they support the Gospel that He is the Son Of God.

As for the rest of the options listed, I believe most every one of them actually happened, but not because I feel like I MUST believe them. I just know that there is a God and, with the parting of the Red Sea, for example, He certainly chose the Nation of Israel as His people and...why WOULDN'T he have been able to perform this miracle? The 6 day Creation and Young Earth? Meh. Science seems to suggest otherwise, but, of course, God can do whatever He wants. I think God created the Universe, but I think it's much older than what YEC people think. If it is, it does nothing to change that I trust in the Truth of the Resurrected Christ. My Faith is in Jesus, not the Bible. ***Edit***To clarify that last statement: I do believe in the Spiritual perfection of Scripture. I just don't believe we must believe in a literal reading of all of the text.

[ChristianCoffee]

It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Our Faith is based on the Gospel that Jesus Christ died for the sins of mankind and rose from the Grave for the Atonement of our sin. This is recorded plainly by the Gospels and that simple premise is what is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit when we receive Christ. Certain Truths accompany that Faith, naturally. The Virgin Birth, Jesus' Miracles, Death and Resurrection, etc. Those types of things accompany Faith in Christ in that they support the Gospel that He is the Son Of God.

As for the rest of the options listed, I believe most every one of them actually happened, but not because I feel like I MUST believe them. I just know that there is a God and, with the parting of the Red Sea, for example, He certainly chose the Nation of Israel as His people and...why WOULDN'T he have been able to perform this miracle? The 6 day Creation and Young Earth? Meh. Science seems to suggest otherwise, but, of course, God can do whatever He wants. I think God created the Universe, but I think it's much older than what YEC people think. If it is, it does nothing to change that I trust in the Truth of the Resurrected Christ. My Faith is in Jesus, not the Bible.

I understand about your faith being in Jesus, Tide. I truly do. But I would like to use 2Tim 3:16 to explain why the entirety of scripture is true.

It states: All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right (New Living Translation)

That one verse clearly states all Scripture. Not just parts of it, or most of it. All of it.

The way to be transformed is to have knowledge of God, which is revealed in His Word. Jesus stated "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light. None may come to the Father but by me."

King David in the Old Testiment tells us to "Meditate on the Word of God daily"

If the entire Bible is the Word of God, should we not accept it as fact? We accept the Risen Christ as fact because it is written there. We accept the Flood, the Tower of Babel, King David and Goliath. We believe Jesus called 12 "regular" people to follow Him. We believe that one of them betrayed Him with a kiss. We believe He died and rose again, and that He will return.

I do not want to create dissension, but what I do wish to point out is that while your faith is correctly placed in Jesus, I am guessing that the main reason why is because you have read about Him in the Bible. So how can you state that while your faith in Jesus is complete, you do not necessarily have faith that the Bible is all true? I am not referring to young/old earth, pre/mid/post trib, but I am speaking of the entire Bible being the inspired Word of God.

Or maybe I am just misunderstanding you.

[Watchman]

I noticed someone had trouble with Balaam's donkey speaking. I agree...if only the Democrats would shut up!

[Liquid Tension]

I noticed someone had trouble with Balaam's donkey speaking. I agree...if only the Democrats would shut up!

Great!! Now I need to get a towel to wipe off the soda I just sprayed all over my monitor.

[Watchman]

Great!! Now I need to get a towel to wipe off the soda I just sprayed all over my monitor.

Sorry about your monitor...sometimes the truth causes spraying.

[andrew_no_one]

I believe everything written in the Bible unflinchingly.
Note: I DO feel that people are prone to “explain” what the Bible says and in so doing pollute the message. Therefore, I put great emphasis on prayerful self study.
“Extra-biblical” teaching is of no use nor value to me.

[Luke34]

Once again, the fallacy that anything that literally happened is "the truth" and anything that did not literally happen is "a lie." Anything that literally happened is to be "believed" and everything else is, again, a "lie." People really, really need to get over this idea.

EDIT: I should have read the second page; Jemand already said it better (and at more length) than I did. Hooray for Jemand, again!

[Youssarian]

I guess you could say that the beginning and ending of the Bible are what I'm currently questioning, but everything in between I certainly believe.

Although I've been a Young Earth/6 Day Creationist most of my Christian life, recently I've begun to question just how literally Genesis 1 should be interpreted. I can understand the reasoning for both sides of the argument. I still need to do independent research to see which side holds more water.

As for Revelation. A lot of the prophecies can be said to have happened in the past, and maybe that's what John was talking about when he wrote the words. I do believe that many of the prophecies have yet to happen, though.

Concerning Balaam's donkey... the only part I find weird about that is that, when the donkey spoke to him, he spoke back as though it were a fellow human! I dunno about anyone else, but if I was riding a donkey and it started talking, I would high tail it very quickly. Talking donkeys is not normal...

[Haramis]

I consider questions about perfect literal accuracy to be something the Pharisees would be very concerned about. Jesus? Not so much. The Pharisees were very, very nit picky about little details and missed the big picture. The big picture is all Jesus focused on.

To me, asking about whether there were really exactly two of every animal on the planet on the Arc is irrelevant to anything that affects my life.

I see apologetics as nothing more than a stumbling block. I have older family members who left the church because they were taught that you either have to passionately believe that Goliath was over ten feet tall or else every word of the Bible is wrong and Christ's ministry was a lie. When a binary option is offered like that, some go with option two.

I think of the Bible as a tool to bring me closer to God. Some stuff has no personal value to me, so I don't spend much time worrying about it. Did Samson kill 1,000 men with a jaw bone? I don't care about the body count. God protected him in a situation that he couldn't have handled by himself. Since it's a miracle, of course he could kill a thousand men. But maybe he killed no one and it was just using it as a literary device to convey the concept of God's guidance. That's the big picture. The details don't matter so much.

[Youssarian]

I see apologetics as nothing more than a stumbling block. I have older family members who left the church because they were taught that you either have to passionately believe that Goliath was over ten feet tall or else every word of the Bible is wrong and Christ's ministry was a lie. When a binary option is offered like that, some go with option two.

As a budding apologist, that first sentence caught my eye. I only agree to a certain extent. Your post is full of examples where apologetics were used wrongly. Yes, apologetics often involves focusing on the small details. But to say it's a stumbling block? I would argue the very opposite; apologetics is part of what helped me keep my faith a few months ago when I was teetering on the brink of agnosticism. Apologetics can be considered a stumbling block when you are forced to believe a detail irrelevant to the message of the Gospel, which is basically what I feel you are saying in this post. I will argue in favor of every word of the Bible, but if Goliath is ten feet tall and someone feels the need to insist he was only nine feet tall... well, if he's a fellow Christian then I won't try to force him to change his opinion on it. If he's an unbeliever then there's really no point in trying to change his mind in the first place. I once had a friend, who was a fellow believer, that could not accept the fact that people actually lived to be over 900 years old. While part of me wanted to challenge her on that statement, I refrained. I mean, if we're wrong on these non-key points, we'll get corrected eventually. In the afterlife, if nowhere else.