Bible Worship? (Torah, hell, prophet, theist, God)

[Tau]

It seems the words of dead men mean more to monotheists than those of the living.

We can argue about the validity of the Bible or the Torah or the Quran all day long...but to me it seems like your Gods have grown shells, imprisoned between the pages...

Is it not idolatry to declare a mere book God inspired and holy in it's own right?

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by Tau

It seems the words of dead men mean more to monotheists than those of the living.

They don't to me. The words of living prophets who speak to people of this age are essential to our understanding of any ancient writings. If I were going to war against an enemy and could choose to have at my disposal a collection of books on military strategi or a living military strategist who understood the enemy I was to be fighting, I'd take the living strategist over the collection of books any day. If I could have both, so much the better.

Is it not idolatry to declare a mere book God inspired and holy in it's own right?

I'm not sure why it would be idolatry to consider a book to be inspired. To consider that book to be a higher authority than its author, though, seems to me to be stupidity.

[Tau]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

I'm not sure why it would be idolatry to consider a book to be inspired. To consider that book to be a higher authority than its author, though, seems to me to be stupidity.

I should have added...'and utterly empirical'.

[Tau]

The lack of response is either due to the boring subject matter or the lack of ability to counter my statements.

[Heneni]

Originally Posted by Tau

It seems the words of dead men mean more to monotheists than those of the living.

We can argue about the validity of the Bible or the Torah or the Quran all day long...but to me it seems like your Gods have grown shells, imprisoned between the pages...

Is it not idolatry to declare a mere book God inspired and holy in it's own right?

Hello Tau

The men that wrote the bible are 'dead', but the one that interprets it is not. God.

God is not interpreted by the bible, the bible is interpreted by a living God.

Its god that makes the bible make sense, not the bible that makes god make sense.

Heneni

[MidnightBlue]

Originally Posted by Heneni

God is not interpreted by the bible, the bible is interpreted by a living God.

Its god that makes the bible make sense, not the bible that makes god make sense.

Then isn't the Bible superfluous?

If it doesn't make sense without god, and if you need god to understand the truths of the Bible, then what's the point of the Bible?

[Jayhawker Soule]

Originally Posted by Tau

The lack of response is either due to the boring subject matter or the lack of ability to counter my statements.

... or mild disdain for pedantic posturing.

[Heneni]

Originally Posted by MidnightBlue

Then isn't the Bible superfluous?

If it doesn't make sense without god, and if you need god to understand the truths of the Bible, then what's the point of the Bible?

The bible is about god. But god is the truth.The bible only attempts to put those truths on paper, but the understanding of the truth, is called revelation, and revelation does not come without the spirit of god revealing such.

The bible is usefull in the sense that it puts us on a road of discovering truths, but without the interpreter of these truths, god, the words in the bible will only remain words unless god reveals the meaning of it, which we call revelational knowledge, or some would call enlightenment. Enlightenment results in a change of character, simply reading the words in the bible results in knowledge, which can be unfruitfull and bring no change of character.

I do believe that it is possible to be enlightend or recieve revelational knowledge without the bible, yet it is what god uses often to bring revelational truths to us. Reading the bible will tell you stuff about god, but when the word become a revelation, god reveals himself to us. There are many other instruments that god can use to bring revelational knowledge or enlightenment.

Heneni

[sojourner]

Originally Posted by Jay

... or mild disdain for pedantic posturing.

I like your option.