Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts

The Bible - Divinely Inspired and Complete? Part I

Posted by feenx




Greetings dear ones!

Recently in an article posted on The Spirit Guide mention was made of a conversation in which judgment was passed because ones path and beliefs were not in tune with the Bible. As one brought up in a strict religious environment with the ultimate importance and life decisions placed on the Bible, I thought it would be a great opportunity to begin a series on the Bible.

In this series we will discuss the Bible as we know it today, the variety of translations, differences in these translations and people’s reasons for following the teachings in the Bible. This first set of information, though at times can be a little dull, will provide a crucial foundation for the information that will follow.

What is this information? Very simply put, with the aid of history one can see precisely where any inspiration from a higher power changed to what man thought was best in regards to the Bible. Did you know that the Bible as we have it today is incomplete? Yes in fact both for the Old and New Testament that there are many, many more writings. I will show you what these are, where they were found, by whom, when and why it was they were not included in the Bible canon.

First and foremost let me make two points perfectly clear:

1. All statements of fact WILL be backed up with reference(s) for you to research on your own. I would never purpose to present myself as some kind of independent “authority” on the Bible. Any knowledge I have of the subject is from my own reading, not my own ideas.
2. My official opinion of the Bible should me made clear, in all fairness, right from the beginning. I see the Bible simply as….INK ON PAPER. As such, like many books, there can be a wonderful message and statements of fact and/or wisdom. This does not mean however, like every other book, that it equals an unquestionable authority for living our lives.

Again, my opinions are not based on my own bias but rather as a result of the reading I’ve done and will be sharing with you.

SO, let’s give everyone some great, eyebrow raising questions to pose to your favorite pastor, minister, elder or priest :)

Where to Begin?

For thousands of years the Bible has been an authoritative source to man, spanning the globe, a collection of translations in a multitude of languages. Wars have been fought over it’s contents and teachings. People have been imprisoned, tortured and burned alive for displaying characteristics presumed to be the work of the Devil.



In the modern world ones interpretation of and practice of belief in the Bible has affected elections as well as served as a basis for central powers to take control of countries, to create and change laws.

Indeed, based on human history, the Bible has shaped, for good and for bad, peoples lives. Yes the very existence, actions and purpose of humankind is explained, instructed and judged all within the Bible.

What are some examples of human conflicts over religion, and hence the Bible? The first that comes to my mind is the Crusades . Other popular examples are the French Wars of Religion, the Reconquista , Catholics versus Protestants in England and my all time favorite World War II and the Nazi Bible.



Yes that’s right, Adolf Hitler who some believe was actually a Christian , re-wrote passages in the Bible to enhance his teachings of the Aryan agenda. When I first read of this, the question I asked myself is how could people actually follow and believe such teachings in this day and age? Anyone outside of Germany surely would see through such propaganda.

Well my friend, can you really say that throughout history there have not been other, similar changes made for similar reasons? Do you know, without question, the Bible sitting on your bookshelf right now has not been similarly tampered with? Did you in fact research, beyond the printing on the dust jacked of your Bible, how your particular translation came to be about and why it is better for you than another?

As we know it today, in the Western Christian world, the Bible consists of 66 writings, or individual books. There are 39 books which make up the Old Testament beginning with Genesis and ending with Malachi. The New Testament begins with the gospels named as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and ends with the book of Revelation.

Common translations include The King James version, the New International Version, the New Living Translation, the New American Standard , the New Revised Standard Version, Young’s Literal Translation and the New Jerusalem Bible. Less common, though mass produced, are the Book of Mormon, which Mormons use congruently with the Bible, and the New World Translation used by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Topic #1: The Bible - Divinely Inspired?

The first topic, and by far the most relevant to our discussion, is what about the Bible sets it as an authority? Such an authority that masses upon masses of people have used as their guide for living their daily lives?

2 Timothy 3:16 (New International Version)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

2 Timothy 3:16 (New World Translation)
All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness,

2 Timothy 3:16 (King James Version)
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

2 Timothy 3:16 (Young's Literal Translation)
every Writing [is] God-breathed, and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for setting aright, for instruction that [is] in righteousness,



What is listed above is a very simple basis and example of one idea, that of divine inspiration. In fact in ONE sentence it is declared as fact that an entire body of work the composition of which spanned many years and had many different writers ALL comes from God. By that very statement it is asserted that all scripture is above reproof, above question and is to be viewed as nothing less than the very voice of God. Who are mere humans to ignore such a force?

Though followers of the Bible agree that it is infallible, their actions show otherwise. How many Christian denominations are there in world? Certainly more than I can name off the top of my head, yet they as Christians all believe in Jesus Christ as their savior, hence their salvation is a result of their unbreakable faith in him. They read the same Bible, yet come to different conclusions on practice. Why is this?

Unfortunately not all verses in the Bible are as clear in content as 2 Timothy 3:16. Just take a few minutes to peruse the book of Revelation and this will be abundantly clear. In addition the age old debate of accuracy of translations and application of the Bible has caused many to leave churches, or even start their own.

In the above examples you can see very MILD examples of this. Take for instance the difference in the phrase, “profitable for teaching,” as referenced in the Young’s Literal Translation and “profitable for doctrine” as used in the King James version.


Dictionary.com defines the root word of teaching, teach, as “to impart knowledge of or skill in; give instruction in.”

Dictionary.com defines doctrine as “a particular principle, position, or policy taught or advocated, as of a religion or government: Catholic doctrines; the Monroe Doctrine.”

Imagine if you only had access to the King James version and instead of seeing the Bible as a device meant to teach, it was a tool of religious or governmental policy. Certainly that is a quite a contrast, affecting your life, based on a single word.

The King James version of the Bible contains approximately 783,137 words.
(as a comparison Tolstoy’s epic War and Peace contains approximately 560,000 words.) Therefore, strictly speaking in a numbers sense, that is 783,137 possible variations from one translation to the next. As we saw above, even a difference in a single word can cause a different meaning for the reader.

So then, not only does one scripture tell the reader they are reading the words of God, but it also can either be the difference between teachings and policy.

Surely one of your questions is similar to mine. How can the contents within a book certify that same book as authoritative? E.g. If J.K. Rowling asserted that the Harry Potter series was not actually a work of fiction but instead a true account of a real person, would you believe her? Or instead would you want outside opinions and proof to show what the truth really is?

So then why do the masses take the Bible as inspired by God? What is contained within the Bible, not just what religious leaders say, that convinces them it is from God?

This will be the topic of the next article in the series. We will see examples of scriptures claiming divine inspiration, as well as examples from other sources, outside of the Bible giving similar information, yet that are not viewed as divinely inspired.

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Spiritual and Religious Beliefs

Posted by feenx

Greetings!

Recently a good friend and I got on the topic of religious and spiritual beliefs. She had recently “fallen away” from the beliefs she was raised with, non denominational Christianity. I asked what she believes now, here’s her reply:

I'm still in a holding pattern as far as my beliefs. I would like to think there is something bigger out there and sometimes well alot of times I send a prayer out because it does give me a peace of mind. It's almost like I give the worry away by sending it out in a prayer. and I believe it is important to love all people no matter your differences. Kindness of heart and humility. I am always on a path of growth and recognize that others are to. I try in every situation to handle in a good way, in a loving way. I try to be more conscious of Mother earth and recycle. So I guess those are some of my main beliefs. I guess more rules to live by. But I don't define my spirituality by a denomination. I enjoy reading about Buhdda and his lessons because I feel they hold the true meaning of love and not judgement. I dunno.


What do you believe?

My beliefs were not summed up so briefly, and still felt that I had not yet scratched the surface. Perhaps I need to work on being a bit more brief. Here is my reply:

Well I believe that there is a higher power, however as humans in this existence we have not come to a place to know this higher power and develop the relationship that most label as a relationship with God. What humans feel that they equate that with is a spiritual relationship with themselves, and the rest of humanity.

I believe we, as a human race, are all connected. It is essentially like a switchboard, that though we all have our individual buttons, we are all connected the same. As such, we have the choice whether to connect to what is beyond that switchboard, or to each other. Some choose to do, some don’t.

I believe that what people feel as spirituality, when they have that innate sense within them that feel is the hand of God, it is actually the divine within themselves, and the connection with others that they are feeling. Based on Jesus’ teachings, same with Buddha just different cultures (in fact there are many that hold that Jesus and Buddha were essentially the same type of beings, those that had completed their path) the gnostics taught that what Jesus was referring to was actually to open and get in touch with that piece of divine in all of us, and that doing so would bring gnosis (knowledge). That knowledge then leads to further enlightenment as you begin a relationship, of sorts, with your higher self. Imagine human spirituality as an onion. The Sunday churchgoers and “Jesus saves” enthusiasts, spiritually speaking, are in the kitchen chopping onions. When their eyes water they equate that to being touched by Jesus or God. In reality that is simply the first layer, and if they choose to keep peeling away those layers what they would eventually find at the core...is themselves.

The potential once this core is found is limitless. Human potential is beyond what even so called experts can fathom. We use a fraction of our brains, in comparison to the universe and the earth itself, humans are infantile. One of the biggest downfalls of humans is their arrogance.

George Lucas made a wonderful point about this in an interview I recently saw. He said if you take human progression and put it on a scale, from the earliest humans to now, he equated it at starting from 1, until now being at say about 5. People look back and see all the progress made and feel good about themselves at much of a higher being they are now, that much closer to 10. Except...the scale goes to a million.

Lucas said that the “cave men” thought they knew it all. When that wheel was invented well then that was all they needed. Humans now think they know it all.

I feel that people look back and see the steps they’ve taken, and because the steps are so far beyond what earlier man could’ve imagined, well than that must mean humans are getting close to their full potential. What is a human full potential? No one knows. We let our minds settle on what is a full potential simply because someone tells us that’s as far as we can go, or because no one has gone any farther. Both of which are futile arguments.

E.g. Christopher Columbus. The entire world, including all of it’s best minds, KNEW the earth was flat.
E.g. The Earth. Years ago, humans KNEW the Earth was the center of the universe.
E.g. Science. Years ago scienctists KNEW there was only three dimensions. Now they’ve discovered what, upwards of 11 I believe.

So why are humans so stubborn to keep believing that this current form, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual is the best they can accomplish? Well...because they’re humans. And as much potential as there is, right now that’s all it is, potential.

I believe there will come a time when the current way of operating will no longer work. That a change in how humanity operates will be forced, whether it’s wanted or not. Many will be receptive to this. And many wont.

Those who are receptive of this will begin to, or continue to peel away those onion layers. As they humans as a whole will begin to change, and with that change will come better understanding, better knowledge, and true enlightenment.

Once that happens, call it what you want, nirvana, nothingness, a spirit life....whatever label you want. But certainly not the end of existence. In fact, I would venture to say that humans understanding of say nirvana will be completely different at that point.

The way I see it, right now humans are looking for a diploma thinking they’re about to graduate, and they merely just got out of kindergarten. They are looking to answer questions, such as why am I here, what is my purpose, where do we go when we die, is there a supreme, divine, authority in the universe...all of which are excellent and valid questions. But they’re asking them with the physical and spiritual minds of a kindergartner. They are neither ready nor willing to yet accept the reality of the cosmos, which they are a part of.

I believe, in short, that in time that will change. And the definitions of “faith” and “beliefs” will be re-written.

So you asked me what I believe in. I believe in me. I believe in you. I believe in the collective, and the energy it maintains. And because it’s a collective and not a single unit, that means choice.

So I believe in my choice, and I believe in your choice.

I would like to open up a discussion about each individuals beliefs. What are they, and why?

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