THE BIBLE - DIVINE REVELATION OR SUPERSTITIOUS MYTH
Wayne D. Leeper
This is a legitimate question that deserves honest consideration. There are, however, only three types of people who approach this question in an intellectually honest manner.
1. There are those who would maintain that there is no God. They are atheist who subscribe to the big bang theory and the theory of evolution. They have every right to this position and are intellectually honest enough to publicly state their position. Their opinion, even if disagreed with, must be respected as being intellectually honest and their belief should also be respected, not ridiculed.
2. There are those who believe that God does exist and did create the world and everything in it. They are call theist and, while believing in God, do not believe that the Bible is His inspired word but just another philosophy of man. While it is a very good guideline for life, it is not divinely inspired and therefore subject to human error and opinion. These people are also intellectually honest and forthright with their opinions and also deserve to be respected.
3. The final category of people who are intellectually honest are those who believe that there is a God who created our world and all that is in it and believe that the Bible is the inspired and inerrant word of God. They are called Christians and believe they must conform their lives to the teachings of the Bible if they are to have the rewards that are promised to those who love Jesus and keep his commandments. This category represents the vast majority of Americans.
Unfortunately, there is another category of people who are not intellectually honest and who, while claiming to believe in God and the Bible, want to bend its teachings to conform to their own preferred lifestyles. These people want to treat the Bible as a cafeteria plan where they can pick and choose what they want to accept and what they want to reject. This category of people are not deserving of anyones respect because they are intellectually dishonest and lack the intestinal fortitude to stand by their own stated convictions.
They can usually be spotted because of their propensity to focus on the love of God and Jesus for mankind. They believe that this love will cause God to overlook their lifestyles and accept them just as readily as he accepts those who strive to make obedience to His word their way of life. In the end they will find that their sinful lifestyle will only lead to their own eternal destruction. Furthermore, they like to claim that those who oppose their lifestyle are being judgmental and intolerant.
What they fail to understand is that it is not their fellow man who is judging them, it is the Bible and the God who inspired it. There are certainly passages of the Bible that are difficult to understand and there is no doubt that the Bible has been used to justify horrendous acts on the part of mankind. The fact that it has been misconstrued and misused, however, is the fault of man, not God, and in no way takes away from its truth and validity. Pointing out what God says to persons who claim to believe in God and the Bible is not bashing, it is an act of love and concern for others on the part of true Christians. The true Christian wants everyone to be saved and has been commanded by the Bible to go into all the world and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Today our nation is faced with serious division over several moral issues. The most current of these issues is the debate over homosexually and same sex marriage. If there is a God, and if the Bible is his inspired word then when it speaks to this topic it must be listened to and obeyed. There is absolutely no ambiguity to what the Bible teaches concerning homosexuality and, by extension, same sex marriage. Notice the two New Testament passages which directly address this subject and how simple and strait forward they are.
Therefore God gave them up to uncleanness, in the lust of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves .....For even their women exchanged the natural use for that which is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:24-32) (NKJ) [Emphasis added]
What is there about this passage that is difficult to understand? It is a condemnation of the homosexual lifestyle, whether practiced by men or women. It further states that those who practice these things are deserving of death. This death sentence will be required as the righteous judgment of God. I should hasten to add that this sentence will be pronounced by God at the judgment. It in no way gives us the right to condemn these people to death. The second passage that deserves our attention states:
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, Neither the fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. (I Corinthians 6:9-10)(NKJ) [Emphases added]
Notice two things about this passage. First notice the company into which God places these people who are having a committed and loving long term relationship. Second, notice the very clear statement that these people will in no wise be allowed to enter the kingdom of God. Ether a person will spend eternity in the kingdom of God or in the kingdom of Satan. There is no other way to understand these passages and it is the homosexuals who, through their chosen lifestyle, are condemning themselves to the kingdom of Satan for all eternity.
God loves every person who has ever dwelled on this earth and sincerely wants every one of His children in heaven for eternity. The fact that some choose not to go there takes nothing away from the love of God or the teachings of His word.
Finally, it is totally illogical to claim that God has created people who are genetically forced into a particular lifestyle then sentences them to eternal destruction for adhering to the lifestyle into which they were created. Homosexuality is not a defect of birth, but a matter of choice. Just because a person has a desire for something does not mean that he will not be punished for acting on that desire. We cannot blame God for our own shortcomings. Our prisons are filled with people who acted on their desires.
Every person has the God given right to decide for themselves whether the Bible is divinely inspired or just a myth created by the mind of man. Then if they are intellectually honest they will live their lives in accordance with their belief. Those who claim to believe in God and the Bible but want to treat it as a cafeteria plan have no right to expect that others will respect them or any hope that God will justify them.
If this nation wants to continue enjoying the blessings of God for ourselves and our posterity we must never allow the teachings of the Bible to be compromised and we must never allow immorality to be legalized.
Wayne D. Leeper
This is a legitimate question that deserves honest consideration. There are, however, only three types of people who approach this question in an intellectually honest manner.
1. There are those who would maintain that there is no God. They are atheist who subscribe to the big bang theory and the theory of evolution. They have every right to this position and are intellectually honest enough to publicly state their position. Their opinion, even if disagreed with, must be respected as being intellectually honest and their belief should also be respected, not ridiculed.
2. There are those who believe that God does exist and did create the world and everything in it. They are call theist and, while believing in God, do not believe that the Bible is His inspired word but just another philosophy of man. While it is a very good guideline for life, it is not divinely inspired and therefore subject to human error and opinion. These people are also intellectually honest and forthright with their opinions and also deserve to be respected.
3. The final category of people who are intellectually honest are those who believe that there is a God who created our world and all that is in it and believe that the Bible is the inspired and inerrant word of God. They are called Christians and believe they must conform their lives to the teachings of the Bible if they are to have the rewards that are promised to those who love Jesus and keep his commandments. This category represents the vast majority of Americans.
Unfortunately, there is another category of people who are not intellectually honest and who, while claiming to believe in God and the Bible, want to bend its teachings to conform to their own preferred lifestyles. These people want to treat the Bible as a cafeteria plan where they can pick and choose what they want to accept and what they want to reject. This category of people are not deserving of anyones respect because they are intellectually dishonest and lack the intestinal fortitude to stand by their own stated convictions.
They can usually be spotted because of their propensity to focus on the love of God and Jesus for mankind. They believe that this love will cause God to overlook their lifestyles and accept them just as readily as he accepts those who strive to make obedience to His word their way of life. In the end they will find that their sinful lifestyle will only lead to their own eternal destruction. Furthermore, they like to claim that those who oppose their lifestyle are being judgmental and intolerant.
What they fail to understand is that it is not their fellow man who is judging them, it is the Bible and the God who inspired it. There are certainly passages of the Bible that are difficult to understand and there is no doubt that the Bible has been used to justify horrendous acts on the part of mankind. The fact that it has been misconstrued and misused, however, is the fault of man, not God, and in no way takes away from its truth and validity. Pointing out what God says to persons who claim to believe in God and the Bible is not bashing, it is an act of love and concern for others on the part of true Christians. The true Christian wants everyone to be saved and has been commanded by the Bible to go into all the world and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Today our nation is faced with serious division over several moral issues. The most current of these issues is the debate over homosexually and same sex marriage. If there is a God, and if the Bible is his inspired word then when it speaks to this topic it must be listened to and obeyed. There is absolutely no ambiguity to what the Bible teaches concerning homosexuality and, by extension, same sex marriage. Notice the two New Testament passages which directly address this subject and how simple and strait forward they are.
Therefore God gave them up to uncleanness, in the lust of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves .....For even their women exchanged the natural use for that which is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:24-32) (NKJ) [Emphasis added]
What is there about this passage that is difficult to understand? It is a condemnation of the homosexual lifestyle, whether practiced by men or women. It further states that those who practice these things are deserving of death. This death sentence will be required as the righteous judgment of God. I should hasten to add that this sentence will be pronounced by God at the judgment. It in no way gives us the right to condemn these people to death. The second passage that deserves our attention states:
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, Neither the fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. (I Corinthians 6:9-10)(NKJ) [Emphases added]
Notice two things about this passage. First notice the company into which God places these people who are having a committed and loving long term relationship. Second, notice the very clear statement that these people will in no wise be allowed to enter the kingdom of God. Ether a person will spend eternity in the kingdom of God or in the kingdom of Satan. There is no other way to understand these passages and it is the homosexuals who, through their chosen lifestyle, are condemning themselves to the kingdom of Satan for all eternity.
God loves every person who has ever dwelled on this earth and sincerely wants every one of His children in heaven for eternity. The fact that some choose not to go there takes nothing away from the love of God or the teachings of His word.
Finally, it is totally illogical to claim that God has created people who are genetically forced into a particular lifestyle then sentences them to eternal destruction for adhering to the lifestyle into which they were created. Homosexuality is not a defect of birth, but a matter of choice. Just because a person has a desire for something does not mean that he will not be punished for acting on that desire. We cannot blame God for our own shortcomings. Our prisons are filled with people who acted on their desires.
Every person has the God given right to decide for themselves whether the Bible is divinely inspired or just a myth created by the mind of man. Then if they are intellectually honest they will live their lives in accordance with their belief. Those who claim to believe in God and the Bible but want to treat it as a cafeteria plan have no right to expect that others will respect them or any hope that God will justify them.
If this nation wants to continue enjoying the blessings of God for ourselves and our posterity we must never allow the teachings of the Bible to be compromised and we must never allow immorality to be legalized.