Date:   12/23/2014 2:24:30 PM ( 10 y ago)
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URL:   https://www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=2226539

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It is the same debate over and over on this forum that gets a little tiring. Some of us believe in God first and foremost, and believe the Bible is simply a tool (one of many) that God uses to bring us to Him. Others on this forum (and Christians in general) believe the Bible is the literal Word of God and everything should be taken literally with little or no interpretation allowed (of course there is always some interpretation, so it is a bit foolish to think there is only one way to look at things). I am not saying you are one or the other, just saying the conversation gets a bit old.

I do believe the Old Testament is the teachings of God in ancient times, but they were the teachings for the people in those times and the words in them come through the point of view of ancient people. Therefore, their point of view and perception of who God was and what He was saying is skewed according to our world. That was actually not even what I really meant in my post. My point is that Jesus himself quoted scriptures from the Old Testament that do not exist in our old testament today, are you aware of this fact? Since this is the case (that the Old Testament doesn't contain all of the books in the form we have it, than what it contained at the time of Jesus), there is nothing particularly special about the specific Old Testament scriptures that we do have, compared to the ones that were lost (or purposefully eradicated by man). People think of the Bible as something that is solid and unchanging, whereas in reality it has gone through many changes throughout history.

Do you notice the God of the Old Testament is at times vengeful, jealous, and angry. Whereas, Jesus taught the the Gospel of love, kindness of grace. Is this because God changes? No, it is because man changes and as man changes, so does our relationship and understanding of God. So while I do believe in the God of the Old Testament, the negative characteristics that God seemed to posses are only a reflection of the state of the existence of man at that time and have nothing to do with our current state of existence. To them God appeared to be jealous, vengeful and angry because that was how they understood things, but I assure you it is not God Himself who is jealous, vengeful and angry. God the Father possesses no characteristics, except for those characteristics that man places on Him, because God the Father in His ultimate form is beyond all of existence. Therefore, although the Old Testament has a lot of great teachings, I do not need to accept everything that is written there, even if it was written by prophets, because it was for man at that time, not for now.

Jesus came and brought a new covenant for man, that is why I focus more on the New Testament; as man is more prepared, so more of the Gospel is understood.

I agree with you (and I believe I even wrote in my post) that everything necessary for the salvation of man is contained in the New Testament. And I completely agree with the salvation message of Jesus, and it is laid out so beautifully and simply, that anyone can understand it. But we still have to realize that these words are coming through imperfect men who understood God through their own lens of perception. So therefore, even the New Testament is not the Word of God. It is the word of man as man can understand the Gospel of Christ. Even a prophet of God, still receives only what they can perceive. Do you know what the Word of God is Refreshed? It has nothing to do with any words that are spoken or written. The word of God is the eternal Christ that has always existed from the foundation of creation. Christ is the Only Begotten Son, the First born that came into existence, the primordial sound, from which all of creation emanates.

'In the beginning was the Word. And the word was with God. And the word was God.'

I can certainly understand how people can think that the Bible is the Word of God, and I respect people that think that way. I don't think that looking at the Bible as the Word of God is a bad thing; that can be a great starting place as long as it brings you toward God. I think that having the Bible in print for all to read has brought so many people close to God and let them have the ability to read about the Gospel of Christ for themselves. But once you understand the true meaning of the Word of God, calling the Bible the word of God, really seems a bit silly. And I do not hold any reverence for the Bible itself or for the dogma of the Old Testament or the New Testament. I hold reverence for the people that the Bible teaches about.
 

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