Hi Punk-o-rama:
Who we take literally as the Word of God is Jesus the Christ. HE is our final authority.
So who says that the bible is the authorative, revealed words of God? The Church does- but please understand something: The bible was written by the Church, for the Church. What we believe is that God has revealed Himself to us.
The entire Protestant movement has taken the bible and misused it. On one side you have the Fundamentalists who preach the bible at others, not realizing the words are for THEM to follow. Many of these essentially worship the bible, or even come to believe that the English version is sacred. :roll:
On the other you have the liberal Protestants, people who would treat the scriptures as a guide to be followed, so long as it doesn't conflict with our incredible contemprary wisdom. These are so full of themselves that they reject all the wwisdom of the ages, all of the advice and guidance of their mothers and fathers.
It is up to you, Punk-o-Rama, to decide how you will or will not receive the scriptures. If they are a faithful and true record of the men who walked with and learned from the man Jesus Christ, and if in fact He did rise from the dead, then these same scriptures can be trusted as a true witness of the One True God.
The scriptures are like a carpenter's square or a plumbline. When building your life, if you build according to the scriptures, your life will be stable and sound and true. There are many people who think they are building according to scriptures, but they ignore the obvious imperatives to humility and lovingkindness, and in their judgements build a life that is an ugly tar paper shack with neon lights flashing their own names.
Lastly, I recommend to you, if I might be so bold as to do so, without offense to you, that you do not engage the Fundamentalists in arguing about scripture. Rather, look very carefully at the gospels- not for Law, but for Wisdom and Truth. Don't try to overlay your views on contemporary social issues, but listen to and read timeless Wisdom from the Master.
Best regards
James
