Baptist, Capitol City Baptist Church (CCBC)

LDS

Same. I attend a home bible study just like the first century Christians did.
The earth is God's footstool, no man can build God a "holy place" like most Church goers consider their commercial building lol.


Vouch.


Hai Andrew see you on Tuesday!

We study the bible in its context, taking into consideration the original languages (Hebrew&Greek) and realize that there is translational error and straight up forgery.
The word of God wasn't given in the English language people...
God has no denominations, we are all members of the body of Christ.
There is one true word of God, all else is man's worthless opinions and vain traditions.

This post was edited by ejbot on Apr 28 2010 02:23pm

I would love to know where you get your information. Have you heard of the dead sea scrolls?

This post was edited by Dune1 on Apr 28 2010 03:24pm

Ejbot and I are both Biblical and Theological students and it is a quite obvious fact that there are forgeries, misinterpretations, and translational error that come with the Bible. That is why there are hundreds of different versions of the Bible, because the text that is being translated is so old, and the culture in which it was written is so different, that even the simplest of words have completely different meanings. For instance, look at the books that Paul has written, the Epistles and Pastorals. Many scholars question their Pauline roots, which could mean that they are forged by either his disciples, or other people with their own agendas.

Who hasn't heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls and how are they relevant to the discussion? If anything, bringing up the Dead Sea Scrolls strengthens Ejbot's point, because they were found 50 years ago but date back 2000 years... They are not the only source for information on the Bible, I hope you know. Even to this day new information is being found through archaeology.

I have a bachelor's in music ministry, and a master's in biblical and theological studies.. so please don't push the "education" on me.

My point of the dead sea scrolls was not to show it as an only source of the bible, but as an accurate source to our modern day bible. You as a bible college student should know this. Within those scrolls were hundreds of tid-bits from the bible, and the entire book of Isaiah. From that book, it is 100% accurate with our modern bible with the exception of a few punctuation marks and spelling differences. So my point was... yeah.. our bible isn't as distorted as you like to think. You may ask "well that's just one book".. you're right. But if one book has been proven to be a replica from an ancient text.. why would any other book be different?

Also, do you really think God would allow the only form of his word to be full of "forgeries, misinterpretations, and translational errors" ? I don't think so. I think God has preserved the bible the way it is. Man has come a long and changed the meaning of scripture, but has not changed scripture.

This post was edited by Dune1 on Apr 28 2010 08:17pm

I will restate myself more clearly for you: If there are no translational errors then why are there different versions and interpretations of the bible? You do know that when a new version is created, scholars translate the Greek/ Hebrew/ Aramaic texts, right? They don't just take the NIV or KJV and supplement synonyms in for big words.

Also, I'm not questioning the legitimacy of the Bible, but that doesn't negate the fact that there are "forgeries, misinterpretations, and translational errors." My point still stands and is proven through my example of the Pauline Epistles and Pastorals. You act like those three things are some horrible. But, since you seem to know God's plan, it must be impossible that His intention was to have those forgeries or translational errors. Because what I was saying is that if Paul didn't write those letters, they are not legitimate (that was sarcasm.) Maybe God uses those misinterpretations and translational errors in a way that makes them contextually and culturally relevant. Do you deny that our culture and context is radically different than 2000 years ago?

I apologize if I come off as a jerk, but so did your first sentence. I can push my education if I feel lead to do so because it is my education. You can state yours as fairly as I did mine, but don't be a jerk about it.

This post was edited by ihavethesniffles on Apr 28 2010 11:54pm

I don't think he was trying to "push" his education on you. I felt he was giving in as background for everyone reading. I appreciated that he has spent a considerable time studying that information on his own (just like you), rather than just letting some preacher tell him the Bible is all perfect and Holy and running with that. Him stating his educational background helps others to understand he isn't just saying crap but has researched it.

A different interpretation, is not a translational error. There are SOOO many ways to interpret greek and hebrew within its' context. Greek and Hebrew is just that type of language. What you read, means something else to someone else. It's all about context. Even still, there are small changes in the text from one translation to another. ALL the translations agree when it comes to doctrinal text. The groups of people that translate these bibles do this for a living. They are experts in translation, and know what they are doing 10x more than you or I will EVER know. To say that you have it right, and they don't is a pretty big leap there.. Again, these are groups of translators. Not some Joe-Shmoe of the street trying to write what he thinks. I would also like to know what forgeries you speak of. I would love to see concrete evidence of any forgery that has been published in the Christian bible. I'm not talking about assumptions or heresay.. I'm talking about evidence. The fact is, there isn't any.

There is also no evidence of the forgeries in Paul's letters. Historians, scholars, scientists, etc.. Will ALWAYS try to discredit the bible and its' authors. That has been going on since the writings were first presented. If you question the authenticity of Paul's writings.. then you have to question the authenticity of the entire bible. Our culture is radically different than the culture 2000 years ago.. but what does that have to do with translating text the way it is written? Why would they leave some things that were part of culture then, but change others? Women speaking in church for example. Do you think that is part of our culture.. or theirs? They left it the way it was, because that was the way it was written. Society has changed the meaning of that text, not the translators. Some churches do not let women speak in church or have any role in church... while others allow women to be the lead minister.

Again, why would God allow his word to be distorted, misinterpreted, forged, etc..? God has preserved his text just the way it was written. To say he didn't or couldn't, is to say we have a weak God.

Also, this "cultural" changing of the text is a slippery slope. In 200 years when homosexuality and abortions are the norm.. will our bible be changed to fit the ideologies of the culture at the time? I doubt it.


I was not being a jerk about my education response. You guys just came in here sounding high and mighty. Like you have the perfect "denomination" and do things the correct way, and the only way. Then you spoke of your education as if you know what you are talking about, and I do not. I merely stated my credentials so that you know I am educated myself, not to boast in my achievements. If I came off harsh, it was not meant to be and I apologize.


Sorry for the wall of text.

i dont think any denomination has it right