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Is the christian bible God's word?

Starlight

Spiritual but not religious, new age and omnist
Is the christian Bible God's word?

If thats true.. Then divorce is bad.. many "modern" things is bad.. Are those who do not follow the Bible lost? Do God want us to follow the bible and dislike it if we don't? even though we are kind to other people?
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
My opinion is that the Tanakh - that is, the Bible without the Christian Testament - is the word of G-d; and yes - traditional religions don't tend to go easy on modern moral sensibilities. We're very conservative. I would argue that, according to my faith, being good most definitely counts, but doing good things because G-d wills it is better.
 
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Gargovic Malkav

Well-Known Member
I believe the Bible to be a book that can explain God's ways.
Some call that book God's word, but I also consider it God's word that the chair I'm sitting on retains the properties of a chair and doesn't randomly disappear or turn into a cloud of toxic gas or an Eiffel tower.
 

Starlight

Spiritual but not religious, new age and omnist
I believe the Bible to be a book that can explain God's ways.
Some call that book God's word, but I also consider it God's word that the chair I'm sitting on retains the properties of a chair and doesn't randomly disappear or turn into a cloud of toxic gas or an Eiffel tower.
So do you believe divorce is bad? The bible says so

Luke 16:18
“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
 

Starlight

Spiritual but not religious, new age and omnist
I think divorce is bad compared to a stable, loving relationship. But I think a forced relationship without love is worse than a divorce.
Do you agree with the bible or not?

I do not believe the whole Bible is God's word. So I disagree with many things in the bible. Do you believe the whole bible is God's word?
 

Brickjectivity

Turned to Stone. Now I stretch daily.
Staff member
Premium Member
So do you believe divorce is bad? The bible says so

Luke 16:18
“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
That's a terrible interpretation of what Jesus is referring to. You have to first go back and reference what he believes about divorce which is outlined in the Torah. What he's saying isn't that divorce is the sin. The Torah itself says that a man must divorce any wife he hates. Hate is the adultery to which Jesus refers. I think what he's saying is that in most cases the men caused the divorce by having hard hearts. You have to consider his basis which is Judaism, what divorce is for etc. Also he absolutely wouldn't reverse the law on any point, so while he says anyone who divorces has committed adultery it nevertheless doesn't mean he's abolishing divorce. We've tried to physically outlaw divorce, but all it did was bind people into hateful relationships. If a man hates his wife he ought to give her freedom from the marriage, however he has still committed adultery. What Jesus probably wants is for men to work things out if at all possible in the marriage. Its a different from reversing the eternal law.
 

Starlight

Spiritual but not religious, new age and omnist
That's a terrible interpretation of what Jesus is referring to. You have to first go back and reference what he believes about divorce which is outlined in the Torah. What he's saying isn't that divorce is the sin. I think what he's saying is that in most cases the men caused the divorce by having hard hearts. You have to consider his basis which is Judaism, what divorce is for etc. Also he absolutely wouldn't reverse the law on any point, so while he says anyone who divorces has committed adultery it nevertheless doesn't mean he's abolishing divorce. We've tried to physically outlaw divorce, but all it did was bind people into hateful relationships. What Jesus probably wants is for men to work things out if at all possible in the marriage. Its a different from reversing the eternal law.
If Jesus did not reverse the laws on any point, then christians today should not eat pig. Then christians today should keep the sabbath and all the jewish laws
 

Brickjectivity

Turned to Stone. Now I stretch daily.
Staff member
Premium Member
If Jesus did not reverse the laws on any point, then christians today should not eat pig. Then christians today should keep the sabbath and all the jewish laws
Jesus absolutely does not reverse the law on any point. Any. Point. He's a Jew though, and I'm a gentile not a Jew. He absolutely (my opinion) does not reverse the law for Jews. Can't.
 

Starlight

Spiritual but not religious, new age and omnist
Jesus absolutely does not reverse the law on any point. Any. Point. He's a Jew though, and I'm a gentile not a Jew. He absolutely (my opinion) does not reverse the law for Jews. Can't.
So the new laws of the new testament is only for gentiles?
 

Gargovic Malkav

Well-Known Member
Do you agree with the bible or not?

I do not believe the whole Bible is God's word. So I disagree with many things in the bible. Do you believe the whole bible is God's word?

I treat the Old testament to the Gospels as scripture. But the part that comes after it feels more like the personal opinions of the first people who call themselves Christians. I'm not sure yet what to make of the book of acts...

I also treat the Gospels as a continuation of the Old testament instead of a substitute.
 

Starlight

Spiritual but not religious, new age and omnist
I treat the Old testament to the Gospels as scripture. But the part that comes after it feels more like the personal opinions of the first people who call themselves Christians. I'm not sure yet what to make of the book of acts...



I did not understand what you mean with:

"But the part that comes after it feels more like the personal opinions of the first people who call themselves Christians"
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
Seems to me it is at most God's word as delivered through an intermediary - the human authors of the text. And it's gone through many more intermediaries with human translators and you, the human reading it and interpreting it. So there are lots of places for stuff to get lost along the way - it has undergone something like the game of "telephone" if y'all are familiar with that. Once the voices of the gods have passed through so many human heads and hands, things get lost. Any time a religious tradition relies on intermediaries between the gods and the practitioners, you've got to take the authenticity of your intermediaries on faith.
 

Gargovic Malkav

Well-Known Member
I did not understand what you mean with:

"But the part that comes after it feels more like the personal opinions of the first people who call themselves Christians"

What I mean is that I tend to treat that part as something that is not divinely inspired. I feel it puts too much focus on Jesus his person instead of the things he stood for.
 

Starlight

Spiritual but not religious, new age and omnist
I treat the Old testament to the Gospels as scripture. But the part that comes after it feels more like the personal opinions of the first people who call themselves Christians. I'm not sure yet what to make of the book of acts...

I also treat the Gospels as a continuation of the Old testament instead of a substitute.
Just forget it. Now i understand you ;)

You believe the 4 gospels is more God's word than the other books in the new testament. That makes sence since the other books in the new testaments is letters many early christians wrote to each others.. so more personal opinions like you said
 

SigurdReginson

Grēne Mann
Premium Member
If the bible is literally gods word, what do we make of the contradictions with itself such as jesus' two different family trees through joseph in Matthew and Luke? Also, why would anyone even care about those family trees if jesus was born via miraculous conception? There's also the matter of if the disciples stayed in jerusalem or went to galilee after jesus' resurrection in mark vs. matthew.

That's just off the top of my head. There are more than just those.

I understand the gospels relay accounts from different perspectives, but there's a difference between remembering things from different perspectives vs. straight up contradictions.

If that's gods word, what does one make of that?
 

PureX

Veteran Member
Is the christian Bible God's word?

If thats true.. Then divorce is bad.. many "modern" things is bad.. Are those who do not follow the Bible lost? Do God want us to follow the bible and dislike it if we don't? even though we are kind to other people?
The Bible was written by humans - quite a lot of them, over a long period of time, and translated and edited many times, between and after. So I think it would be foolish, and idolatrous, to then treat the words within it as though they had come from the mouth or mind of God. The Bible contains the God-related wisdom of a specific tribe of humans, and it is useful in that regard. But it does not contain nor reveal the mind of God. And the arrogance involved in presuming that it does, is very dangerous. Because to presume that God wrote the Bible is to then presume that God sanctions our interpretation of the words within it. And therefor sanctions our own minds and hearts. And there is nothing more dangerous than a man who believes that he is sanctioned by God.
 

Gargovic Malkav

Well-Known Member
Just forget it. Now i understand you ;)

You believe the 4 gospels is more God's word than the other books in the new testament. That makes sence since the other books in the new testaments is letters many early christians wrote to each others.. so more personal opinions like you said

Yes, the majority of the New testament being letters also plays a role in my reason for believing so.
 
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