Rev. Erudite Redneck, B.S., B.S., M.A., M.Div.

ER, why do you feel the need to constantly tear down and undermine the authority of the Word of God?

Oh, I already know the answer to that question.

Never mind...
 

Acts 9:5

"And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."
 

Because the "authority of the 'word of God,' " as you put mean it, is based on fear and superstition and has been used for centuries to abuse people.

What diod you *think* was my answer, since you "already know"?

Anyone who feels persecuted by this discussion is feeling their superstition challlenged and their fear pricked, so to speak.

I'm trying to get people to think. I'm sorry it's so dang painful for some people. :-)
 

The superstition I mean has nothing to do with believing in the miracles in the Bible. But then, whether one believes miracles occurred or not has little to do with one's relationship with God.

I'm talking about the idolatry of Bible worship, and the superstition surrounding how it should be seen, and treated, and the deliberate confusion perpetuated between the Word of God, the Logos, mentioned in John 1:1 and the colloquial nickname for the Bible, "the Word of God." They are not the same.

Oh, and I'm always pretty dismissive of any interpretation of any verse from the Bible to make it seem to refer to the Bible, since the Bible didn't exist when any verse in the Bible was written! Gah!
 

Tug, you seem to be a seeker. Here is a current book from a Bible scholar that started his career at 18 in Moody Bible Institue. He is a believer, but has explored the "history" of the Bible and what happened after churches and governments got their hands on it.
Honestly, it is worth while.

Misquoting Jesus : The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why

The Review:
The popular perception of the Bible as a divinely perfect book receives scant support from Ehrman, who sees in Holy Writ ample evidence of human fallibility and ecclesiastical politics. Though himself schooled in evangelical literalism, Ehrman has come to regard his earlier faith in the inerrant inspiration of the Bible as misguided, given that the original texts have disappeared and that the extant texts available do not agree with one another. Most of the textual discrepancies, Ehrman acknowledges, matter little, but some do profoundly affect religious doctrine. To assess how ignorant or theologically manipulative scribes may have changed the biblical text, modern scholars have developed procedures for comparing diverging texts. And in language accessible to nonspecialists, Ehrman explains these procedures and their results. He further explains why textual criticism has frequently sparked intense controversy, especially among scripture-alone Protestants.....

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060738170/qid=1147350600/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8242828-7659841?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

This a book for general consumption. If you want to go into details there are others available.
 

I think I've seen that. If it's the one I'm thinking of, he's not quite dispassionate enough to suit me -- although I'd read it, and I'd recommend ANY serious discussion on the matter to anyone who dares to use God's greatest gift to humanity: the mind.

Note the new book atop my What I'm Reading list to the left. You may beed to refresh. The Rubenstein book.

Couldn't bear to consider it when it came out, Now I can.

I begrudge NO ONE for clinging to the old ways. I DO begrudge anyone who insists that all Christians must do so.
 

"why do you feel the need to constantly tear down and undermine the authority of the Word of God?"

Undermining the authority of the Word of God OR undermining the authority of those who claim to have "GOD's EXCLUSIVE TRUTH! (tm)"?

Great link, ER, says this Christian-for-the-last-33-years. One can have faith in God's word without worshiping the Bible.
 

MY GOD'S BETTER THAN YOUR GOD,
MY GOD'S BETTER THAN YOURS,
MY GOD'S BETTER CAUSE HE HAD THE POWER TO HAVE THE TRUE WORD WRITTEN AND SUSTAINED FOR 2000 YEARS,
MY GOD'S BETTER THAN YOURS!
 

Do what?
 

1. My faith is based on nothing less than Jesus's love and righteousness.

2. A wiccan would probably be allowed to speak. All voices may be heard. Then, we'd talk about it, as the Holy Spirit "convicted," blessed and instructed those who He willed, in His way, in His time. We're into freedom that way.

That reminds me of a story I heard years ago, and I don't know if it's true. A buhnch of Satanists were supposed to be planning to "crash" a Bill Graham Crusade. Some people wanted to be able to kick their butts. Some wanted to call in the state police to keep them out. Others had other ideas.

Bro. Graha, itr is said, or some of his field lieutenants, perhaps, opted for a truly biblical response. As the Satanist entered, they were surrounded by people who welcomed them with love and offered to pray with them; they did not respond with anger, or in fear.

They resisted evil, and it, in the form of the intruders, turned and left without incident.

Oh, and I reject none of the Bible. I accept it for what it is: the inspired legacy of Christian believers who have gone before, as they tried, despite the limits of their knowledge of cosmology, geology and other realities, to explain their hard-to-explain holy encounters with God and Christ.
 

Brain glitch. Misquoted lyrics:

Sub "blood" sted "love."

But, ooooh, we could have a good time talking about substitionary atonement! Maybe another day.
 

I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' Name
 

When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace
 

In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil
 

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my Hope and Stay
 

When He shall come with trumpet sound Oh may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne
 

What atonement, dude? What could mankind possibly do to require atonement, redemtion?
 

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
 

dd said: "I've got to learn to preview before I post!"

It would be better if you thought first before you post.

More dd: "...did a whole heck-of-a-lot-of-good!"

Ah, another fully satisfried Ozarka College student. The benifits of "higher education" are remarkable. I'll let Dusty know you think his place has 'grade inflation'.
 

ER:....substitionary atonement

Bring it on, let's talk!
 

Hoo hoo. Not until I get this paper done. That's a big ol' kettle of (loaves and) fish(es)!
 

I saw this post the same night as my weekly Bible study.

We happened to be studying Matthew 27, in which the scripture makes reference to a verse in Jeremiah. Only the verse referenced is not in Jeremiah. It's in Zacheriah. Later manuscripts make the correction.

With originals no longer available, errors in transcribing were bound to occur, it seems.

Tug, I respect your views, but I just don't see discussing the issue of biblical inerrancy as tearing down the word of God.

I do believe the Bible is the authoritative and reliable word of God. That seems a completely separate matter from inerrancy.
 

After all, the quiz posted here is from Mainstream BAPTISTS -- not Mainstream Atheists. :-)