I would generally agree with you, however, what we call ‘The Bible’ today is a collection of letters/stories collected together, by men, and deemed as ‘THE’ bible.. by men.
One also can’t just follow exactly what is written in todays Bible without discernment, or there will be blood on the streets.
Ultimately, the Old Testament (in my view) is quite a mess. God seems very… fickle and petty?
However, in the New Testament, when Jesus walked the Earth… his message was clear, meaningful and is more foundational to a good life.
The Bible was written by the Apostles of Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit. You think they just wrote a bunch of letters, threw them in the trash for the catholics to find later?
And I'm saying it wasn't. There was no careless handling of the Word from the very beginning. From the church of Antioch, which began in 35AD, and is described in the Book of Acts, we have clear and undeniable sources for the texts that were used in the KJV and other Reformation translations. Polycarp was quoting chapter and verse from the finished work in 127AD.
Ultimately, the Old Testament (in my view) is quite a mess. God seems very… fickle and petty?
If you do a deep dive into Genesis 6 (the Book of Enoch helps with this greatly), a very different picture emerges.
Genesis 6:1-4
1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
So the sons of God AKA angels mated with the daughters of men, which resulted in the birth of giants and demigods. This act corrupted the DNA of mankind.
Genesis 6:5-7
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
The effect of man’s sexual immorality was staggering since it altered the race. The offspring of this union between human females and the fallen angelic beings were physical giants. These children were not fully human. They grew enormous in stature with great intellects and were called “men of renown.”
This cohabitation between humans and the spiritual beings was not isolated to a few individuals but became widespread throughout the earth.
This cohabitation was part of the reason God’s heart was grieved with mankind and triggered the flood as judgment to wipe out this corrupted race of humans. In modern science, the biologists would identify what happened to mankind as altering the human DNA.
The DNA of man was changed by this union and some men were no longer fully men. They were a hybrid.
9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
The Bible describes God’s selection of Noah in order to preserve mankind. Noah qualified because he was “perfect” in his generation. This does not mean he was a morally perfect human, but that he was genetically perfect in his lineage. He had perfect human DNA and was not corrupted by the sons of God.
This fickle and petty God, as you refer to him, waited until the last 8 purebloods were alive before He shut the doors of the Ark and destroyed the planet with the Great Flood.
Now, after the Great Flood, we discover there was a revival of the Nephilim. They settled in the land of Canaan after God promised that land to Abraham and his descendants. The tribes God ordered Israel to destroy utterly and completely were not fully human.
However, ‘The Bible’ as we know of today was compiled by men… AND there are MANY versions of it.
Amongst Christians, those who profess to follow Christ, there are constant arguments and debates on which ‘Bible’ is the correct.
So, unfortunately your assessment that the ‘Bible cannot err’ is not entirely true.. which Bible version are you referring to? KJV? New American? Apocrypha included? Coptic bible with Book of Enoch? … which?
There's ultimately 2 versions of the Bible on the planet.
On one side, you have the Hebrew Masoretic Old Testament and the Textus Receptus New Testament written in Koine Greek. These are the documents used to translate the KJV and the Geneva Bible.
On the other side, you have the Septuagint, a Greek Old Testament which was translated by Alexandrian scholars funded by Ptolemy II Philadelphus AKA Ptolemy the Great and a New Testament written in Classical Greek.
The modern copies of the Septuagint are largely based on the Alexandrinus, Sinaiticus, and Vaticanus texts. The Sinaiticus text was rediscovered in a convent waste paper basket located in Mt. Sinai and has been edited multiple times. The Alexandrinus gets its name because it was originally discovered in Alexandria, Egypt, relocated to Constantinople, and was given to Charles I, the Roman Catholic sympathetic King of England, and it's remained in the British library until the present. Vaticanus has been in the Vatican collection since at least the 15th century.
The real question is which version is correct? I choose the one that contains Acts 8:37 without a footnote.
NIV version of Acts 8:37 (The verse is actually missing)-
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Here is the chapter recording Philip's encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch, a devout Jew who is converted to Christianity. The eunuch sees some water and asks what hinders him from being baptized.
Acts 8:36
And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
In the NIV, the eunuch's question is never answered.
C’mon pops, you can’t be this clueless nor are you so blind that you can’t apply discernment or perhaps have a sound discussion without patronizing comments?
This type of thinking compliments the likes of ‘extreme Muslim jihadist’, don’t you agree? Agree with your view of the holy text, otherwise belittlement is the answer. Foolish.
My point stands sir, the ‘Bible’ as you know it, or whichever version you prescribe to, has been debated over a thousand times, over the centuries.
Ah yes, the Norman Geisler, perhaps you should look into his history eh? You might find out some interesting facts… doesn’t mean his writings are bad, but perhaps context is good in this case.
Either way, why disparage me? I follow Jesus, why the attack? Did I attack you? Did you somehow read my reply/comment as an attack on you, or the faith?
If you truly see my comment as ‘bad faith’, perhaps you should reconsider all your interactions with both Christians (all denominations) and also non Christians… how then perhaps can you spread the Good News if you treat them like me?
I would generally agree with you, however, what we call ‘The Bible’ today is a collection of letters/stories collected together, by men, and deemed as ‘THE’ bible.. by men.
One also can’t just follow exactly what is written in todays Bible without discernment, or there will be blood on the streets.
Ultimately, the Old Testament (in my view) is quite a mess. God seems very… fickle and petty?
However, in the New Testament, when Jesus walked the Earth… his message was clear, meaningful and is more foundational to a good life.
My approach;
Understand that Christ is the Way, The Truth and The Life.
Thus to follow Christ is to live your life on The Way, which is the path of Truth.
Or to seek Christ in all things is to seek Truth in all things.
And that to judge but only with righteous weights and measures.
You should read about the Essenes. They were the original followers of The Way, of whom John the Baptist and Jesus himself were members.
Well said!
Amen to that.
The Bible was written by the Apostles of Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit. You think they just wrote a bunch of letters, threw them in the trash for the catholics to find later?
That isn't what he is saying; he is saying that it has been manipulated by men since it was written.
And I'm saying it wasn't. There was no careless handling of the Word from the very beginning. From the church of Antioch, which began in 35AD, and is described in the Book of Acts, we have clear and undeniable sources for the texts that were used in the KJV and other Reformation translations. Polycarp was quoting chapter and verse from the finished work in 127AD.
The catholics are liars like their father.
KJV is crap.
The Geneva Bible is most authentic English translation.
It’s what the Pilgrims brought to America.
KJV was state propaganda and has many differences from the Septuagint.
No, the Bible is far more than just a bunch of letters from the Apostles, obviously you must know this no?
If you do a deep dive into Genesis 6 (the Book of Enoch helps with this greatly), a very different picture emerges.
Genesis 6:1-4
1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
So the sons of God AKA angels mated with the daughters of men, which resulted in the birth of giants and demigods. This act corrupted the DNA of mankind.
Genesis 6:5-7
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
https://www.defendproclaimthefaith.org/DaysNoah.htm
Genesis 6:8-9
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
The Bible describes God’s selection of Noah in order to preserve mankind. Noah qualified because he was “perfect” in his generation. This does not mean he was a morally perfect human, but that he was genetically perfect in his lineage. He had perfect human DNA and was not corrupted by the sons of God.
This fickle and petty God, as you refer to him, waited until the last 8 purebloods were alive before He shut the doors of the Ark and destroyed the planet with the Great Flood.
Now, after the Great Flood, we discover there was a revival of the Nephilim. They settled in the land of Canaan after God promised that land to Abraham and his descendants. The tribes God ordered Israel to destroy utterly and completely were not fully human.
Well, let’s circle this back to my comment about the Bible.
The Book of Enoch is not part of the Bible the majority Western and Eastern Christians use, nor is it canon.
Thus my point of the Bible, which was decided upon by many dudes, over the centuries, what is included and not.
I get your point though.
We're all traced from one of Noah's sons if the Bible is true.
taps forehead
I agree with you, God cannot err.
However, ‘The Bible’ as we know of today was compiled by men… AND there are MANY versions of it.
Amongst Christians, those who profess to follow Christ, there are constant arguments and debates on which ‘Bible’ is the correct.
So, unfortunately your assessment that the ‘Bible cannot err’ is not entirely true.. which Bible version are you referring to? KJV? New American? Apocrypha included? Coptic bible with Book of Enoch? … which?
There's ultimately 2 versions of the Bible on the planet.
On one side, you have the Hebrew Masoretic Old Testament and the Textus Receptus New Testament written in Koine Greek. These are the documents used to translate the KJV and the Geneva Bible.
On the other side, you have the Septuagint, a Greek Old Testament which was translated by Alexandrian scholars funded by Ptolemy II Philadelphus AKA Ptolemy the Great and a New Testament written in Classical Greek.
The modern copies of the Septuagint are largely based on the Alexandrinus, Sinaiticus, and Vaticanus texts. The Sinaiticus text was rediscovered in a convent waste paper basket located in Mt. Sinai and has been edited multiple times. The Alexandrinus gets its name because it was originally discovered in Alexandria, Egypt, relocated to Constantinople, and was given to Charles I, the Roman Catholic sympathetic King of England, and it's remained in the British library until the present. Vaticanus has been in the Vatican collection since at least the 15th century.
The real question is which version is correct? I choose the one that contains Acts 8:37 without a footnote.
NIV version of Acts 8:37 (The verse is actually missing)-
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%208:37&version=NIV
King James version-
Acts 8:37
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Here is the chapter recording Philip's encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch, a devout Jew who is converted to Christianity. The eunuch sees some water and asks what hinders him from being baptized.
Acts 8:36
And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
In the NIV, the eunuch's question is never answered.
Very interesting, thanks for writing all that. Great signposts for me to go dig further.
C’mon pops, you can’t be this clueless nor are you so blind that you can’t apply discernment or perhaps have a sound discussion without patronizing comments?
This type of thinking compliments the likes of ‘extreme Muslim jihadist’, don’t you agree? Agree with your view of the holy text, otherwise belittlement is the answer. Foolish.
My point stands sir, the ‘Bible’ as you know it, or whichever version you prescribe to, has been debated over a thousand times, over the centuries.
Ah yes, the Norman Geisler, perhaps you should look into his history eh? You might find out some interesting facts… doesn’t mean his writings are bad, but perhaps context is good in this case.
Either way, why disparage me? I follow Jesus, why the attack? Did I attack you? Did you somehow read my reply/comment as an attack on you, or the faith?
If you truly see my comment as ‘bad faith’, perhaps you should reconsider all your interactions with both Christians (all denominations) and also non Christians… how then perhaps can you spread the Good News if you treat them like me?
Foolish.