Bibles R' Us

Ok.  I think I can go down this rabbit hole this morning.  We shall see.  It all depends on how you feel about the bible.  Was it written by man?  Or God?  Or a combination of both?

I grew up believing something like man was writing it but God was moving his wrist for him.  Kinda crazy.  But more along the lines of a gifted writer listening to the supernatural and writing down specifically what God wanted.  That the word of God is living.  You can read the same passage and all of the sudden one day it means something totally different to you.  You learn more and more about it.  This is true.  It does work that way.  You see it in a new light.  I've actually had this happen to me.

So a man, or in this case, quite a few.  Felt God calling them to write about their experience.  To write letters to groups of people helping them understand God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  They felt inspired by God to share what God has placed on their heart and mind.  Seems legit to me.

But then came the translations.  As of November 2014 the bible has been translated into 531 different languages.  To think that all the words all maintain their original meaning is dangerous.

Now, I am not discounting the bible.  I believe the bible as a collection of writings used to explain the history of christianity.  I believe much of it is metaphor and didn't actually happen.  This doesn't take away from the story or the relevance of the message.   In my opinion, to pick up the NIV, NKJV, NLT or any of the modern translations and take every word as it is written literally is foolish.  That's putting a lot of faith in the hundreds upon thousands of people who have translated this book throughout the years.  I have more faith that God will speak to me directly, than through the bible.  God is powerful enough to do that, right?

Here is where I am going.  Hundreds of thousands of people have written books since than also helping to explain and understand christianity.  We have bible bookstores full of them!  I bet if you'd ask all the writers who their inspiration was, they'd say God.  Just like the writers of the bible.  Are we to regard these books as we regard the bible?  I wonder if in 2000 years someone will take all these writers books and put the highlights into one big book?  Do you think those people in the future would trust it to be a work inspired by God?

Now....That all being said.  I think the Bible, read with care, can be beneficial to people.  I can't disprove God.  I can't prove God.  I can see signs that point to the possibility of a higher power, almost every day.  It's easy.  Almost to easy.  So if you find some peace and comfort in scripture, awesome.  If you use scripture to try to prove other people wrong and condemn people for their actions.....save it.  If you believe God is powerful at all, don't you think God will take care of that?

OH.  Happy Easter.