"for the bible tells me so"
"jesus loves me this i know/ for the bible tells me so...yes, jesus loves me/ for the bible tells me so."
i'm sorry, but that just isn't not good enough for me.
i grew up singing this song and thought of it as a wonderful little declaration of child-like faith. then one day, about five or six years ago it took on a new meaning to me. people all over the globe believe "because the bible tells them so". shouldn't there be more than that? if we're going to stake our lives and our eternity on a belief doesn't there have to be a better reasoning behind our point-of-view?
other peoples believe because the koran tells them so. or the pentateuch. or the apocryphah. or the book of mormon, or doctine and covenants. or the watchtower. just because it's written down doesn't make it truth. now, don't misunderstand me here. i believe. inherently and without a doubt i believe. but not simply because a book told me to do so. the bible, regardless of whether or not you credit it with any divine truth is a great guide to live by. jesus' teachings are still the highest moral standard set by anyone ever. i am discreditting the bible itself, i am questioning the veracity of those who only believe because they are told to do so by a book penned from four to two thousand years ago.
i'm sorry, but that just isn't not good enough for me.
i grew up singing this song and thought of it as a wonderful little declaration of child-like faith. then one day, about five or six years ago it took on a new meaning to me. people all over the globe believe "because the bible tells them so". shouldn't there be more than that? if we're going to stake our lives and our eternity on a belief doesn't there have to be a better reasoning behind our point-of-view?
other peoples believe because the koran tells them so. or the pentateuch. or the apocryphah. or the book of mormon, or doctine and covenants. or the watchtower. just because it's written down doesn't make it truth. now, don't misunderstand me here. i believe. inherently and without a doubt i believe. but not simply because a book told me to do so. the bible, regardless of whether or not you credit it with any divine truth is a great guide to live by. jesus' teachings are still the highest moral standard set by anyone ever. i am discreditting the bible itself, i am questioning the veracity of those who only believe because they are told to do so by a book penned from four to two thousand years ago.
posted by scøüpe at 11:48 PM
4 Comments:
i think you meant to say 'not discrediting the bible itself'...
but anyway, i agree that people need to be careful of why they believe what they believe. for one thing, as you pointed out, there are many versions of the bible, and most folks don't know the history of any of them. they just assume the one they were raised reading is the correct one.
besides that, i think many people who believe don't even believe because of the bible. they believe what their parents taught them, or their pastor or friends, without even checking what the bible actually has to say, and without struggling through it to seek their own understanding.
that's how (as darren is writing in his dissertation) many things that are not the gospel get attached to it and seen as infallible truth. like the whole pork & barrel strategy that occurs in government all the time. only with something much more important.
Well said, Masons (well, former and current). And it's not even just the "version" of the text - it's the whole historical context of each version, each language, each writer.
The Bible I carry around is the "Oxford Study Bible," which supposedly documents, via reams of footnotes, the socio-historical context of every single person, place, thing, or idea that readers may (or may not) hold dear. The thing I keep remembering, however, and cannot escape? I cannot read Aramaic, koine Greek, Latin, or Arabic, and I certainly can't entirely grasp the sociological/psychological mindset of the peoples writing/reading in the early days.
I'm always left with this: Think about things often. Read other people's thinking about things often. Trust. Love. Christ is real, God and the Holy Spirit: also real.
You're right. Blind trust is just that: blind, single-minded, and pointless. Certainly God wants to communicate with us, and I don't think that he created us to be no more than sheep, though he is the shepherd, etc.
I like Jenna's word the best: struggling. Someone once told me that they "respected the comfort" Christians find in their faith. I kind of laughed, and told them that it's comforting in some ways, but definitely not comfortable.
Good post. Glad you're back!
I want to comment, but don't have time right this minute as I have 5 kids with me right now and they want chocolate pie. I'll catch ya later though!!!!
FAITH:
Mental acceptance of and confidence in a claim as truth without proof supporting the claim.
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