This blog was inspired by an older cousin of mine. He made some statements a few days ago that I am sure go through a lot of people's heads. He does not believe the bible is really the inspired Word of God, but a mass of confused stories all put together by ordinary men. (not his exact words)
It is easy to be confused by the bible if you do not understand how to read it.
First of all, let me just say that it is obvious that I have no theology degrees, nor do I consider myself an expert in any way, shape, or form. What I have is 43 years of experience either listening to or having the bible read to me. I was a preacher's kid for the first 12 years of my life, and my dad has always been a spiritual influence on me. My husband is now my teacher as well as my fellow philosopher. I study the bible almost every day as well as read commentaries and devotionals by others. I particularly like to focus on those with a clear understanding of the history of biblical times and not just those trying to promote a specific religion.
One of the things my cousin pointed out has confused many. In Exodus 20:13, God clearly commands the Israelites not to kill. And yet, God expects them to kill their enemies to defend their territory. Is this contradictory?
In order to understand this (and most areas of the bible) we must take a look at history. There are a lot of wars throughout the old testament. The reason why is because people were not much different then than they are today. They were very territorial and constantly in a state of claiming land. It was truly an era of "kill or be killed" or be made into slaves. In most cases, the wars of biblical times were a matter of survival since they could not all live peacefully in separate countries. One nation wanted to rule them all.
If you are wondering why God seemed to choose one race over the other, it was not a race issue, it was a holiness issue. The Israelites chose to follow the ways of God's commands, while to others chose to spit in God's face and live demented and perverted lives. They were extremely brutal and loved to torture others. Some even believed in live human sacrifices, particularly of babies and children. God punished the Israelites within their own communities as well whenever they sinned. God may seem harsh sometimes, but don't all parents punish their children?
Which brings me to another point. There are a lot of laws and regulations in the old testament that seem to have ridiculously harsh punishments. Not all these laws were created by God. A lot of them were man-made. Read through the new testament and you will continually read Jesus' own words condemning the man-made laws. You can read more about that issue on this blog written by Mel: http://swordofthespirit77.blogspot.com/2015/12/understanding-new-covenant.html
There are other issues in the old testament that may seem contradictory to God's 10 commandments. In Genesis 38, Jacob's son Judah promised his daughter-in-law in marriage to his youngest son (after her first 2 husbands, his sons, died). He later changes his mind. Tamar tricks him by pretending to be a prostitute, Judah sleeps with her, she steals his signet, bracelets, and staff to later use as blackmail, and she becomes pregnant. Judah was going to have Tamar murdered for her sin, but she shows him his belongings, and realizes he is the baby's father. The hypocrite then changes his mind. My point is that this is just one example of very bad behavior. Many mistakenly believe that just because a story is in the bible that it is saying the behavior is justified. Of course not! The bible is a history book and it is telling us the history of those that lived during those times, the good, bad, and despicable behavior is all included. It is merely a statement of the facts, not a justification of sin!
Now let's explore some of the new testament that confuses people.
One of the ways people love to try and discredit the bible is by saying that it is inconsistent. One example is that Matthew 27 says that Judas Iscariot (the man that betrayed Jesus) hanged himself out of guilt. But Acts 1 (written by Luke), says that Judas died when he fell and his bowels gushed out. Big difference.
Consider this: Neither Matthew nor Luke were present when Judas died. What they are writing about was based on someone else's account. They were both told two different stories, and there were probably many legends going around concerning the man that betrayed the King of Kings. This does not mean one of them was a liar, or that we can disprove the whole bible, it simply means one of them unknowingly received the account of Judas' death from a false witness.
And, no, not all four gospels tell the exact same story the exact same way.
Now consider this: Talk to any police officer who receives four different witness statements at a crime scene, and they will receive four different accounts. One will say the suspect had blonde hair and was short, while another will swear he was tall with brown hair. No two people see or experience the same incidents exactly the same way. That does not make one of them a liar. My husband and I often see colors differently. He sees blue where I see green. He sees pink where I see orange. In our eyes, neither one is wrong, it is purely based on perception.
And, consider this as well: Ever play the game telephone? It's where you sit in a circle of say a dozen people. One person whispers, "Bees live in trees" to the person on his left, but by the time person #12 repeats the message he received, he will probably say something like, "Don't put cheese on my keys." The bible has been re-written and re-translated many, many times. Not every translation is going to be perfect. Even the original words hand-written on scrolls were often written by a scribe, not the actual writer. We will never know this side of heaven what the 100% exact translation should be. Plus the fact that oftentimes religions change translations to suit their beliefs. (but that's a topic for a whole new blog)
Another thing that so clearly confuses people is so-called Christian entertainment. The popular trend of the past several years has been making so-called biblical movies. They are so way far off base, that it is disgusting. There is nothing wrong with trying to fill in the gaps, but these movies go beyond mere gap-filling, they are blasphemous and confuse those that have never read the bible. My word of advice: read the book, skip the movie! (Here's more on that topic: http://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2016/03/exploring-christian-entertainment-part_24.html )
I hope some of this helps clear up a few things. Asking questions is a great way to better understand the bible. Don't take man's word for it (not even mine), do your own homework and really seek the Truth! Keep reading, keep studying, and pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit! He will help you understand.
You can read more on this subject on my blog titled, "The Power of the Word of God": http://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-power-of-word-of-god.html
