Can you be a Christian and NOT believe the Bible? (genesis, prophecy)

[Alpha8207]

Originally Posted by kawgpz550

Do you think that someone can go to a revival...the message was AWESOME and this person gave his/her life to Jesus. Ok, the person is now SAVED (This is totally TRUE, the person accepted Jesus and has salvation...by this alone).
Now...Should this person pick up a Bible and read it and BELIEVE IT now that they are saved?

I guess, in a word, I'd say yes BUT it isn't a requirement for salvation. I mean, look, the first four books of the New Testament are where Eternal Life is shown and magnified. The bulk(not all) of the rest either points to the One in those books are deals with growth, maturity, prophecy, and warnings of false teachers and ways of the world.

That being said, kawg, I have a hard time with any believer saying "I'm a Christian but I don't believe the Bible." The reason I can make both these statements in the same post is one is from a salvation perspective and the other is from a position of establishing one's witness and being able to effectivlely convey the gospel. If you tell someone "I'm a Christian, but I don't believe the bible. But I do believe in Jesus. Here, let me open my bible and tell you about Him." Huh?? See the problem there?

So the answer, IMO, to the OP question of "If it's possible to be a Christian and not believe (all) of the Bible", I'll still say yes.

Is a Christian hurting their witness and, consequently the Kingdom, by saying they don't believe the Bible? And should a Christian believe the Bible? And, if I think a Christian is wrong when they say they don't believe the Bible? Yes to all those too.

And for the record, I believe it all. The wild stories, the tales of my Savior, and warnings and promises of His return. I take it all. I know (I think I know) how to balance the Old Testament against the New, and I know my Redeemer lives.

[Alpha8207]

Originally Posted by dncngrl1964

Hey Alpha
I am not at all upset about your opinion
I just find it hard to believe that a person or persons could translate a piece of work and not goof up somewhere
Like I said, I believe in the message and the basic concept completely
but to take it exctly as it is printed doesn't seem right
What if those things I listed before DID happen

I'm so glad I didn't offend you.

Here's what I think regarding all the translations of the Bible.

You have to want to know what the message being conveyed is from every single verse. I think there are problems with the translation of the KJV. I think there are problems with the translation of the NIV, NASB, NKJV, ASV, CSV, etc...you see the point.

Not major problems, just word association and cultural meanings etc. In other words, if I tell you I think you're 'cool', something is lost in translation when you take that to an African language. It can be done. It can be conveyed. But it must be carefully scrutinized to do so.

THAT BEING SAID, I don't think the problems of the KJV are the same as the NIV are the same as the NASB are the same as the ASV etc. So, what am I saying? I think the so called problems are miniscule to the 'big picture'. And I think if one really wants the message of the bible, one simply needs to take a verse and hold it up against 2 or 3 translations, and get the thought coming from it.

"So Alpha, I need to sit down with 3 to 6 Bibles and read them simultaneously?" Absolutely not! Any of the aforementioned translations will do just fine on their own for personal study and growth. However, if you are going to enter a forum and have discussions with Christians and non-Christians, you should take that responsibility very seriously. What if you misrepresent the Kingdom of God and drive people farther away or give them a sense of unfounded security that simply doesn't line up with Scripture.

[dncngrl1964]

I believe you completely
and that's not where my "issue" if you want to call it lays (lies)

an analogy
someone gives you an original of some (Idon't know) a story
you make a copy of it for your friend
he likes it too and then makes a copy of it
who then makes a copy of it and so forth
by the time it goes down the line
the copy isn't as clear as it was in the beginning
you can still basically read the story but some parts are blurry

I just think that when the translations were made from language to language they should have gone as far back to the original as possible instead of making a copy of a copy

Like the word "cool" you mentioned in greek it is one thing but maybe the greek word for cool translates to something else in latin and then the latin word for the greek word for cool translates to something completely different in english
again as I have said before
With all my heart and soul I believe the concept of the book
just have issues with the possibilties of mistranslations

[ted08721]

So has anyone here ever hear of the " Jesus Seminar " It's a very interesting study that is on going. It is made up of many experts in the field of religion. From conservative to liberal thinkers. They discuss and vote on each passage in the new testament on how accurate it is. A simple google search will bring up alot of info. on this study.

[dncngrl1964]

Originally Posted by ted08721

So has anyone here ever hear of the " Jesus Seminar " It's a very interesting study that is on going. It is made up of many experts in the field of religion. From conservative to liberal thinkers. They discuss and vote on each passage in the bible on how accurate it is. A simple google search will bring up alot of info. on this study.

wow thanks Ted I think that may be something that I would be truly interested in seeing

I just want to know the truth
I think that's what we all want
It didn't bother me so much until they started talking about the dead sea scrolls and how they may be possible missing scriptures and that some contradicted what the bible stories said
Those scrolls are originals they have to hold SOME creedance
It's just when the bible was written those scrolls were not with the rest of the ones used
maybe they were supposed to be

[ted08721]

Originally Posted by dncngrl1964

wow thanks Ted I think that may be something that I would be truly interested in seeing

I just want to know the truth
I think that's what we all want
It didn't bother me so much until they started talking about the dead sea scrolls and how they may be possible missing scriptures and that some contradicted what the bible stories said
Those scrolls are originals they have to hold SOME creedance
It's just when the bible was written those scrolls were not with the rest of the ones used
maybe they were supposed to be

I think we all want the truth. But what may be the truth for me, might not be the truth for the next person

[Miss Blue]

This is a good thread, because there is no condemning one another in it. Therefore, I will post. I am a christian, as I hope some of you know. I base my christianity upon the examples and the words of Jesus in the Gospels. I believe the epistles and the acts of the apostles were written for the people of that day. They were just coming to believe that Jesus was the son of God. It was a tremendous burden to witness to the Jewish that the person they just crucified was the son of God. Likewise it was next to difficult trying to change the pagans beliefs who had followed the belief of many gods for thousands and thousands of years, before there were any scriptures written down. Before the invention of writing history was oral, handed down by word of mouth, and added to and subtracted over time. There was no one there at the time of Genesis, exodus, etc to write down or televise the events..In my opinion, God did inspire the early writers to write down what they knew in their own words so that the people of that time could understand. I don't think the world was created in a literal 7 days (but I believe God created the world) I don't believe the Adam and Eve Story(but I believe God created mankind.) The point I try to make is that I believe in the important things that God wants me to know. I know what is in the bible, but I can't quote scripture to argue anyones belief if it differs from mine, and I VERY SELDOM DO.

[dncngrl1964]

Originally Posted by blue62

This is a good thread, because there is no condemning one another in it. Therefore, I will post. I am a christian, as I hope some of you know. I base my christianity upon the examples and the words of Jesus in the Gospels. I believe the epistles and the acts of the apostles were written for the people of that day. They were just coming to believe that Jesus was the son of God. It was a tremendous burden to witness to the Jewish that the person they just crucified was the son of God. Likewise it was next to difficult trying to change the pagans beliefs who had followed the belief of many gods for thousands and thousands of years, before there were any scriptures written down. Before the invention of writing history was oral, handed down by word of mouth, and added to and subtracted over time. There was no one there at the time of Genesis, exodus, etc to write down or televise the events..In my opinion, God did inspire the early writers to write down what they knew in their own words so that the people of that time could understand. I don't think the world was created in a literal 7 days (but I believe God created the world) I don't believe the Adam and Eve Story(but I believe God created mankind.) The point I try to make is that I believe in the important things that God wants me to know. I know what is in the bible, but I can't quote scripture to argue anyones belief if it differs from mine, and I VERY SELDOM DO.

Oh dear heavens Blue that was way better than I was trying to convey
but that's it in a nutshell

Amen God bless you

[kawgpz550]

Originally Posted by Alpha8207

I guess, in a word, I'd say yes BUT it isn't a requirement for salvation. I mean, look, the first four books of the New Testament are where Eternal Life is shown and magnified. The bulk(not all) of the rest either points to the One in those books are deals with growth, maturity, prophecy, and warnings of false teachers and ways of the world.

That being said, kawg, I have a hard time with any believer saying "I'm a Christian but I don't believe the Bible." The reason I can make both these statements in the same post is one is from a salvation perspective and the other is from a position of establishing one's witness and being able to effectivlely convey the gospel. If you tell someone "I'm a Christian, but I don't believe the bible. But I do believe in Jesus. Here, let me open my bible and tell you about Him." Huh?? See the problem there?

So the answer, IMO, to the OP question of "If it's possible to be a Christian and not believe (all) of the Bible", I'll still say yes.

Is a Christian hurting their witness and, consequently the Kingdom, by saying they don't believe the Bible? And should a Christian believe the Bible? And, if I think a Christian is wrong when they say they don't believe the Bible? Yes to all those too.

And for the record, I believe it all. The wild stories, the tales of my Savior, and warnings and promises of His return. I take it all. I know (I think I know) how to balance the Old Testament against the New, and I know my Redeemer lives.

Thanks Alpha...I agree with you 100%. The Bible is not necessary for salvation, but I would think it would/should be necessary reading for any believer.
I think that a lot of people that disagree with the Bible, may not have read much on their own, but have drawn their conclusions from other Bible skeptics. O own a "Comparative Study Bible". It has King James Version, NIV, Amplified and New American Standard. Sometimes if I do not understand something I have read, I pick up the "Comparative" and read the other versions for clarification, but I have really NEVER seen anything that contradicts. They are all worded differently, but the meanings are all the same...but then again, I haven't read the WHOLE Bible in all FOUR versions
I guess I can understand why people are skeptical of the Bible, since it was written by man, however, I think that goes with another area of "faith". I guess where my confusion lies is that people that believe and TRUST God and believe that God can DO ANYTHING have a hard time believing the burning bush, the staff that turned into a serpent or even, yes, a talking donkey.
I've read other posts where people say that a relative spoke to them before crashing, or a "voice" told them not to walk down the dark street etc. But then so many find it hard to believe what the Bible says...
I hope that clarifies my position a bit more.

[Alpha8207]

Originally Posted by kawgpz550

Thanks Alpha...I agree with you 100%. The Bible is not necessary for salvation, but I would think it would/should be necessary reading for any believer.
I think that a lot of people that disagree with the Bible, may not have read much on their own, but have drawn their conclusions from other Bible skeptics. O own a "Comparative Study Bible". It has King James Version, NIV, Amplified and New American Standard. Sometimes if I do not understand something I have read, I pick up the "Comparative" and read the other versions for clarification, but I have really NEVER seen anything that contradicts. They are all worded differently, but the meanings are all the same...but then again, I haven't read the WHOLE Bible in all FOUR versions
I guess I can understand why people are skeptical of the Bible, since it was written by man, however, I think that goes with another area of "faith". I guess where my confusion lies is that people that believe and TRUST God and believe that God can DO ANYTHING have a hard time believing the burning bush, the staff that turned into a serpent or even, yes, a talking donkey.
I've read other posts where people say that a relative spoke to them before crashing, or a "voice" told them not to walk down the dark street etc. But then so many find it hard to believe what the Bible says...
I hope that clarifies my position a bit more.

Absolutely...and we agree!!