Growing up in a Christian family that had me in a Southern Baptist church I was always one to believe that the Holy Bible is fully true. As I matured in life, mind and faith I began to recognize that the Bible was not necessarily true because my parents or a pastor claimed it was, but because God proclaimed its inerrancy Himself. Better yet, God is the author of history’s most incredible writings and knowing that He is the one infinite and perfect being in existence it is rather impossible to question His authority on the Bible. In the past few years I have really come to grips with my faith and devoted time each day to divulge in the Bible and it has caused me to really consider the fact that God so perfectly pieced together the Bible so His believers would not only have historical background behind the foundations of the Christian faith, but also instructions for how to be faithful and properly live a life that glorifies Him. In the Disciple’s Study Bible summary of the doctrine of Holy Scripture I latched onto the statement that claims that “God, the Holy Spirit, worked through humans to produce the authoritative Word of God” because it opened up my mind to a larger understanding of how God gave us scripture. By this I mean, it was in reading this that I genuinely recognized that the entire Holy Trinity was a part of authoring the Bible. God is all three of parts of the Trinity but He used Jesus to provide many wise and insightful statements as verbatim scriptures and the …show more content…
And ultimately He is the God that made scripture happen. In discussing God’s piecing together of such a massive work of
The Bible is read and interpreted by many people all over the world. Regardless, no one knows the absolute truth behind scripture. Walter Brueggemann, professor of Old Testament, wrote “Biblical Authority” to help people understand what he describes as six different parts that make up the foundation to ones understanding of scripture. He defines these six features as being: inherency, interpretation, imagination, ideology, inspiration, and importance. As Brueggemann explains each individual part, it is easy to see that they are all interconnected because no one can practice one facet without involuntarily practicing at least one other part.
First, Achtemeier highlights the difficulties that lie in these topics by asking popular questions that have led to debates that have lasted centuries or even millennia. Is it the case that inspiration lies in the authors who were chosen by God to record his word? Or is it only the content of Scripture that is inspired? All Christians agree that God is the ultimate author of the Bible, but what is not agreed on is the methods or system in which Scripture was recorded in the past. Achtemeier uses these questions and debates to lead into a discussion about the opposing stances on the views of inspiration.
It is widely accepted through the theological study of the Bible that the gathering and the selection of information included in the final compilation was an extensive and controversial process. Specifically, the events and movements that were influential in the recognition of the canonical books. According to Britannica, the canonical books are recognized as the quintessential corner stone of the New Testament, which also means that they are a foundational part of the current beliefs and practices of most of today’s Christians. Even more important is the process, culmination, and the compilations of events that lead to what Christians currently accept as the Word of God.
This quote by Gene Nowlin in his book The Paraphrased Perversion of the Bible summarizes the composition of the Bible. Throughout life, Christians grasp tightly to these words of God in hopes to inherit the Kingdom of God one day. In order to do this, they must study the Bible closely and apply it to their lives daily. Without the proper Bible, this may become a difficult task to accomplish. Although the various translations of the Christian Bible are exceptionally similar in their message, some have quite a few differences and perversions that set them apart from one another. Many of them even leave out several potentially important verses in their revision. These variations contribute to the justification of one translation being more reliable and accurate than the other versions.
When the Bible was written the concomitant influence was from God and the Holy Spirit. This view of the origins of Bibli...
Fundamental to the Christian faith is the concept that the God of the Bible is a personal and active deity. Empirical and biblical evidence specifically directs the diligent researcher to the irrefutable verification that the Bible portrays God as dynamically involved with His creation. Scripture expresses His love and desire is that all humanity comes to know Him (2 Pet. 3:9 [KJV]). Furthermore, the Bible teaches that the Christian believer has a vigorous and personal relationship with God through the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5, 8:26-28). The contemporary pastor equipped with holy doctrine and intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit, becomes a conduit to declare the message of Christ to the world.
To put it simply, God wrote the Bible. He controlled every word that was written in it. Paul sums it up to say in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that God inspired the Scripture. Peter also agrees with Paul and adds in 2 Peter 1:20-21 that the Bible is the Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit and is extremely trustworthy. Yet, because of all this, God is not the only author. He used divine inspiration to get the men to write the text in the Bible. Peter talks about in 2 Peter 1:20-21 that the Holy Spirit inspired the men to write it. This does not mean that God gave the men ideas or overpowered them. God picked these men because of their traits, interests, and skills, and the Holy Spirit motivated them to write the Bible in their unique way. Because
Growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood as a kid sanctioned me to perpetually become aware that I was different from my neighbors. Through some social interactions with my friends in elementary schools, I quickly descried that my appearances, such as my hair, eyes, and nose was different from my peers. For instance, my hair was a lot darker than most of my peers’ hair and the texture of my hair was different from most of them. “Grow out your hair” were phrases that lingered throughout my childhood days, where I had my hair at a very short length. Throughout my childhood, I longed to try to be a part of the dominant group in society such as the Caucasians, but I did not do anything to be a part of the bigger group in society. Instead,
As a second language learner I have never expected myself to be a perfect writer throughout the semester. Even If English was my first language still, I would not be a perfect writer. It is not about first or second language, it is about how well I understand the learning objectives. Then organizing and writing with my own ideas and putting them in my paper. I am going to be honest, I am not good at English subject and English subject is my strongest weakness than the other subjects. In this paper I will discuss and analyze my own writing, reflecting on the ways that my writing has improved throughout the semester.
On the surface, "scripture" is simply the Latin word for "a writing" (8196). However, in a generic overview, "scripture" is a term used to designate texts that are revered in a sacred and authoritative nature (8194). In the reading, entitled "Scripture" from the Encyclopedia of Religion, William A. Graham (2005) examines the complexity and ambiguity with defining "scripture", a term that holds such great functional role within the history of religion (8194). Graham examines the development of the concept, written scriptures in contrast to oral scriptures, as well as the characteristics of a scripture and its role to the community. Ultimately, with primary texts being highly revered over others, favoured medium of expression, and the diverse literary genres attributed to scriptures, Graham
My Christian worldview is based upon the doctrinal truth that Jesus Christ is not just a master teacher, but that He is God. I am not willing to change that, but what I am willing to do is make adjustments or amendments or corrections to my worldview surrounding the foundational truth that Jesus Christ is God (Joh 1:1; 1:14, 10:30 KJV). I do not pretend to be an authority on all Scripture, but I do know that the one who is the authority lives in me and speaks to me and through me to others. The Bible speaks to me and tells me “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2Tim 3:16-17 KJV). I want to put emphasis on reproof and correction because the Word of God is so deep that there are things that my understanding is in part or in error. I thank God for the Holy Spirit who will not allow me to continue in error and makes a way for correction and reproof.
“Revelation is from God alone, scripture is from revelation alone, and preaching is from revelation and scripture”, this is what Karl Barth stated in one of his works, Church Dogmatics. This statement gives a glimpse in what Karl Barth, Emil Brunner, and C.S Lewis believe. Although within each work, they touch on semi-different topics, they all conclude that God’s word is uniquely and wonderfully made—no matter what the interpretation or the understanding behind the scriptures.
“Whether we are reading the Bible for the first time or standing in a field in Israel next to a historian and an archaeologist and a scholar, the Bible meets us where we are. That is what truth does” (Bell, 2005). The Bible is a testament of what has happened and what is happening. The Bible teaches us about our lives today through the meanings of its historical events. It is our interpretation of binding and loosing that broadens our awareness of God, allowing us to differentiate from Him and embody the image of Him.
Believe it or not, interpreters cannot fully grasp its mysteries without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. For the sake of clarity, the Bible states, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17), for it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them (2 Peter
Answering these questions is the purpose of this essay. I begin by arguing that the Bible cannot be adequately understood independent of its historical context. I concede later that historical context alone however is insufficient, for the Bible is a living-breathing document as relevant to us today as it was the day it was scribed. I conclude we need both testimonies of God at work to fully appreciate how the Bible speaks to us.