Why Do We Believe What We Believe?

[TRUTH over TRADITION]

The bible can become an idol for most folks.

Anything can become an idol.

The above statements hit home with me. I grew up in a christian-ish home, got into a private school and was brought up loving the Lord. By nature I am an analytical and sceptical person. I applied this to everything including my faith and in time I became devoted to knowing and understanding the scriptures. My goal was to be able to rightly divide the scriptures and to KNOW them backward, forwards, and sideways. I got to the point where if it wasn't scriptural, to me it wasn't Godly. God, righteousness, and everything worth anything was based on what the scriptures said or taught. The scriptures became a psuedo-deity to me and in time after finding holes and disparities in the biblical texts, I lost my faith in God because to me, God was born of the scriptures.

 

[Guest]

@TRUTH over TRADITION When the Holy Spirit dwells inside of you, scripture then becomes alive inside of you too; in your mind and in your heart. Because the Holy Spirit is from God, and God is alive in heaven. It wasn't godly or scriptural to you because the Holy Spirit wasn't dwelling inside of you. That's why they say either your ministry is based on religion or it's based on love. Religion is preaching without the Holy Spirit in you.

 

[Vaccine]

I can relate to being a skeptic and analytical. I was somewhat exposed to christianity growing up but I did not believe until I was in my late twenties. I held to evolution and the idea mad made up religion. Despite this I found grains of truth in scripture that, to me, defied a man-made god explanation. A major turning point in my life was based on the strength of passages in Deut., Leviticus, Job and the sayings of Jesus. Quarantine, buring clothes but washing bronze, springs in the sea, until heaven and earth pass away (entopy), I had no answers to those, other than there is indeed a God who communicates with people.
I believe in scripture because no man could have known all the things made known in them, there are truths about philosophy, psychology, law, science, relationships and life in scripture than man alone could have discovered thousands of years ago.
I believe in Jesus because the Roman historians wrote about him, yet did not have his body, but most importantly because of the things he said.
I love Jesus because he has been a friend of mine.

 

[Ryan]

Law is a poor and inaccurate translation as it looks at the law of God as being legislative, versus being parental.

Boy, did you hit the mark with this statement. When young Christians come into the church they are taught wrongly about the Law and why God gave it. Some churches say it's bad, some teach it so strongly without enough grace, that a young Christian is indoctrinated into angry, wrathful, God. Rather than a loving Father, that gave the rules of a peaceful, joyful, plentiful life. He didn't want to have to do that but they wouldn't listen. Churches need to teach the OT more, imo.

Amen.

If you look at legalism in this way it would be like forgetting Passover, and going straight to Mt. Sinai bypassing the Passover Lamb. That is legalism.

But most doctrine nowadays is just teaching the Passover Lamb, and the journey stops there forgetting they eventually moved onto Mt. Sinai.

The real story and the journey we are called to make is to have the blood of the Passover Lamb covering us, and moving onto Mt. Sinai because we have a Father who loves us and knows what is best for us. That is the ultimate parent.

Galatians and Romans make it clear that the New Testament believer is not under the law.

Romans 3 makes it clear that it's faith in the Lord Jesus through the imputation of 'the righteousness of God out side the law' that is at the heart of the believer's justification.

And Paul goes on to say as he knows there may be those who are confusing about what he is saying about the essence of the Torah, and just to make sure that nobody is confused or will distort what he is saying, he goes on to say:

3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

God forbid! How can that be any more clear? 2 Peter 3:16 is so prophetic saying Paul is hard to understand to the point of destruction. What is the only path to destruction in the bible? What is the only way one can be cut off from God? Could it be being obedient to God and his commandments? Would that lead to destruction? What is the only way that the people were destroyed? It was because they weren't following God's commandments. God's 6000 year old struggle trying to get his people to return back to his ways, and his ways only continue.

Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

How come you haven't visited me in the dispy thread? I thought you would of been one of the first ones in there defending it?

 

[farouk]

Amen.

If you look at legalism in this way it would be like forgetting Passover, and going straight to Mt. Sinai bypassing the Passover Lamb. That is legalism.

But most doctrine nowadays is just teaching the Passover Lamb, and the journey stops there forgetting they eventually moved onto Mt. Sinai.

The real story and the journey we are called to make is to have the blood of the Passover Lamb covering us, and moving onto Mt. Sinai because we have a Father who loves us and knows what is best for us. That is the ultimate parent.

Galatians and Romans make it clear that the New Testament believer is not under the law.

Romans 3 makes it clear that it's faith in the Lord Jesus through the imputation of 'the righteousness of God out side the law' that is at the heart of the believer's justification.

And Paul goes on to say as he knows there may be those who are confusing about what he is saying about the essence of the Torah, and just to make sure that nobody is confused or will distort what he is saying, he goes on to say:

3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

God forbid! How can that be any more clear? 2 Peter 3:16 is so prophetic saying Paul is hard to understand to the point of destruction. What is the only path to destruction in the bible? What is the only way one can be cut off from God? Could it be being obedient to God and his commandments? Would that lead to destruction? What is the only way that the people were destroyed? It was because they weren't following God's commandments. God's 6000 year old struggle trying to get his people to return back to his ways, and his ways only continue.

Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

How come you haven't visited me in the dispy thread? I thought you would of been one of the first ones in there defending it?

I reported it, that's why. The rules say, Don't engage in a thread that you have reported.

Re. the above post, Israel and the church are not distinguished.

Blessings.

 

[reba]

Personal battles are to be taken to PM. says the moderator


@Withheld what gives is my bad grammar

 

[ejected]

Whew. What gives?

 

[VirginShallConceive]

For this thread I would like to challenge each person to look inside of their own hearts and consider some of the closely helds beliefs you may have and ask yourself why it is that you believe as you do. Was you believe something that you developed through a vetting process, is there a methodology behind it, and have you ever questioned and tested it out?

I'll start with an example I know a lot of people have personalized and that is King James Bible belief. This is the idea that the KJV is God's AUTHORIZED version and all others somehow pale. Is this belief based in fact or is a misunderstanding of the facts?

Yes the authorized KJV is word of God and an attempt to improve on God's word can lead to all kinds of problems. I am not against other translations............... If we use the KJV we don't have such problems introduced as men attempts to "improve" the word of God.

I say, it is a clear misunderstanding of the facts. You provided a good example with the portion you quoted.

It's like, when people have read nothing but the King James Version, and the King James Version is their only source of Early Modern English, when they hear words like "Thy" or "Thou", they immediately associate those words with God. They can't help it. It's like that for me when I hear those words.

 

[The Light]

It's like, when people have read nothing but the King James Version, and the King James Version is their only source of Early Modern English, when they hear words like "Thy" or "Thou", they immediately associate those words with God. They can't help it.

This is so true! When leading public prayer in services, I feel subconsciously compelled to use words like "art" and "shalt." It's funny how the language has become 'holy' to a lot of us.
As for this thread, it is pretty thought provoking.

 

[Prycejosh1987]

For this thread I would like to challenge each person to look inside of their own hearts and consider some of the closely helds beliefs you may have and ask yourself why it is that you believe as you do. Was you believe something that you developed through a vetting process, is there a methodology behind it, and have you ever questioned and tested it out?

I believe what i do through proofs. The end is upon us, and life nowadays goes according to scripture.