c Copyright 1997, 1999, James Buckner. Permission is hereby given to reproduce and distribute this material in whole or in part in any medium, on condition that the reproductions not be sold for any form of consideration, and on condition that the author is duly cited as the source.
ANSWERS COPYRIGHT
c Copyright 2002, Candy Brauer. Permission is hereby given to reproduce and distribute this material in whole or in part in any medium, on condition that the reproductions not be sold for any form of consideration, and on condition that the author is duly cited as the source, and the web address of http://www.GenuineProfit.com/answers.html.
As per the above, please indicate James Buckner as the author of the questions in this text, and Candy Brauer as the author of the answers. This text may be freely distributed, but not sold, or distributed for profit.
Biblical Inconsistencies
1. Why does the evangelical church say there are no contradictions in the Bible when they are plainly there for anyone to see? (These are too numerous even to list a representative sample here. There are many books and monographs on this topic in the skeptical literature.)
ANSWER: You're incorrect. There really isn't ANY contradictions in the Bible. I've read it about a dozen times, and found not one. HOWEVER, there are contradictions in the NIV version of the Bible (The NIV's John 3:16 contradicts many passages in Old and New Testament), and most other modern translations. This is because most modern translations are translated from 5% out of approx. 5,000 ancient Greek texts. Not only do the 5% disagree with the 95%, but they disagree with each other.
Now, the King James Version doesn't have any contradictions in it. When I refer to the Bible, I mean the King James Bible, unless otherwise stated. The KJV Bible was translated from the 95% majority of the 5,000 ancient Greek texts.
When one comes across a supposed "contradiction", they are usually either:
a) misunderstanding the scripture
or
b) reading a NIV, or other modern translation
ANSWER: Again, you're incorrect. The Old Testament DOES talk about hell. In fact, the Old testament mentions "hell" approximatly 32 times. Pit is also another reference to hell, unless the context shows it to be differently interpreted. The New Testament mentions "hell" approximatly 23 times. So, as you can see, not only does the Old
Testament talk about hell, but it mentions it even more than the New Testament does.
ANSWER: Ah, you are misunderstanding Ecclesiasted 9:5-6. It says:
"For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun."
The context of this chapter is in the flesh, not the spirit. Of course a dead body in the ground knows nothing. Why, because their spirit is no longer in them. Furthermore, pay closer attention to the part of the verse that says 'for the memory of them is forgotten'.
The Bible always explains itself later. If you were to keep on reading, you'd get clarification:
"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Ecclesiasted 12:7
The person themself will be buried in the ground, and their brain will no longer work. They will not know anything, they are dead. BUT, their spirit is still alive, and returns to God, who gave it.
ANSWER: You are showing your neglect of studying the word of God using the Holy Spirit to guide you. But, I don't know your heart, so I don't know if you have the Holy Spirit. The Bible is not confusing. Our minds sometimes try to make it confusing, but really it isn't. God is the author of the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16), and, (you are correct) Satan is the author of confusion. If you are reading the Bible, and you find it confusing, it is either because:
a) you are not letting the Holy Spirit guide you
b) you have not asked your questions about certain scripture to the author of the scripture - God
c) the author of confusion is guiding you, instead of God's Holy Spirit
d) you are trying to make the scripture mean something that it really doesn't. AKA, you're trying to twist the Bible to mean what you want it to mean, instead of what it really means.
e) you're reading a NIV, or other modern translation.
Conclusion to this question:
If you're reading a NIV, or other modern translation, then I don't doubt that sections would appear confusing, and contradicting. For example, most new translations say that we are now free, then they say later that we are slaves to God. Confusing. The KJV does not say this. It simply says that we were slaves to sin, but made free by God, and now we are to serve God, NOT be a slave to him... A slave get's no wages for his service. A servent does.
Remember, the Bible was written by God, and the author of confusion is the devil, so if you're reading the KJV Bible, and find it confusing, then ask your questions to the author of the Bible, and leave the author of confusion alone.
ANSWER: Exodus 6:3 says:
"And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them."
The key in the above is "known". Sure, Jehovah/Yahweh is God's name, and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob called upon Yahweh. They knew that was His name, but they didn't know Him as that name. Yahweh/Jehovah means the Eternal, Self Existant One. Before Exodus 6:3, they only knew Jehovah as a name for God. They knew Jehovah as a covenant name, not a description of God Himself.
Let's take a look more into Exodus 6:7:
"And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians."
The above helps to explain what Exodus 6:3 is saying. They knew God's name was Jehovah, but they know Him AS Jehovah, on a personal basis. Exodus 6:7 says that now they will.
ANSWER: Exodus 34 is an overview. There is no reason to re-list all the 10 commandments, since they are thoroughly listed in Exodus 20, and Deuteronomy 5. The other commandments in that chapter, are also an overview of the other laws and commandments that God gave to Moses. These are the laws that fill up most of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
The laws listed in Exodus 34 cannot be the 10 commandments, because:
a) There are only 7 commandments listed in Exodus 34 after the the 2 tables of stone are mentioned.
b) The commandments listed in Exodus 34 are refered to as part of the covenant, not the 10 commandments.
c) The mention of the 10 commandments are brought up only when it mentions the 2 tables of stone.
d) Obviously, the 10 commandments were not the only parts of the covenenant given to Moses, for he was there 40 days.
e) In the New Testament, when someone asked Jesus a question about the Ten Commandments, He refered to the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5:
"Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother." -Jesus Mark 10:19
Notice in the above, that Jesus only lists the commandments that have to do with other people, not God. This is because the New Testament is the New Covenant. This is an entirely different topic, and if you have questions, I'd be glad to answer them.
ANSWER: Psalm 19:7 says:
"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple."
Hebrews 8:6-8 says:
"But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:"
Not only is the above not a contradiction, but they are talking about two different things. Yes, the old covenant was perfect, but there was one fault. That fault was NOT with the covenant itself, however. The fault was that in order for a person to keep a perfect covenant, they'd have to be perfect as well. Are we perfect? No:
"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4
Can anyone keep everything in the perfect law, perfectly. No:
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23
ANSWER: Well, I'd need more information, to know which accounts you are talking about. So, I will answer your question, with regards to the 4 gospel accounts.
First of all, of course each Gospel is going to give a different account, since each Gospel was written by a different person. But, the accounts being different, doesn't mean they contradict.
For example, Matthew is the only Gospel that gives the account of the first appearance to the women. Does this mean that Matthew contradicts the other Gospels? NO. It just means that Matthew thought it important to mention, while the other Gospel writers didn't.
In Luke we find the account of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Does this mean that Luke contradicts the other Gospels? NO. It just means that that gospel writer thought it important to mention, while the other Gospel writers didn't.
The appearance of Mary Madalene is not mentioned in Matthew and Luke. Does this mean that Matthew and Luke contradict the other Gospels? NO. It just means that that gospel writer thought it not as important to mention, while the other Gospel writers did.
Only the Gospel of John records the appearance of Jesus in the upper room, when Thomas wasn't there. Does this mean that John contradicts the other Gospels? NO. It just means that that gospel writer thought it important to mention, while the other Gospel writers didn't.
Matthew and Luke both talk about Jesus' birth, while Mark and John don't. Is this a contradiction? Of course not. Just different accounts by different people.
For example:
Timmy and Mike both witnessed the dog stealing an orange.
Here's Timmy's account:
"The dog took the orange, and ran down the street."
Here's Mike's account:
"The dog ran into my neighbor's back yard, took the orange, then chased his own tail, with the orange in his mouth, then ran down the street, heading south, towards K-Mart."
Do the above accounts contradict each other? Of course not.
ANSWER: It's called Human Nature. There is nothing incorrect, mistooken, or contradicting in the above.
For example:
Let's say that there were two blind men, who were friends. They were both out one day, taking a walk. Unfortunatly, they were both heading for a cliff, but didn't know it. Now, let's say you saw what was about to happen, so you ran over to the blind men to warn them. One took heed to your warning, and changed direction. The other chose not to believe you.
Why?
1.-Why is the Bible unclear about how to be saved? Is there anything more important that the Bible could communicate? Why is it ambiguous and contradictory on this subject?
ANSWER: Again, you are showing your ignorance of the Word of God. There are no contradictions about this, or anything in the Bible. Since you didn't give specific scriptures of what you believe are contradiction, I will mention a few that you are probably alluding to:
John 3:16 says:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Romans 10:9-10 says:
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:9-10
BUT, Mark 16:16 says:
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
So, are you saved by faith, or by faith and baptism? If you re-read the above scripture, you find it's only by faith. Mark 16:16 says that whosoever is saved and baptised is saved, but whoever does not believe is not. Therefore, to not be saved, you just need to not believe. Simple. Obviously not everyone has the chance to get baptised after they are saved, take for example, the thief on the cross next to Jesus.
So, the above must be talking about something else. It is:
a) Baptism is a way you show your love for the Lord, by keeping his commands:
"If ye love me, keep my commandments." -Jesus John 14:15
A person can say they're a Christian, but are they?
"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." -Jesus Matthew 7:20
So, If you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, then you will start producing Christian fruits, because you become a 'Christian tree'. What are the Christian fruits? Keeping Jesus' commands. How do you find out Jesus' commands? By reading His word:
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" 2 Timothy 3:16
b) Mark 16:16 may not even be refering to water baptism, but the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If this is the case, then one cannot be saved, unless they accept Jesus, and the baptism, because you can only say that Jesus is Lord, if you have the Holy Spirit:
"Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." 1 Corinthians 12:3
Okay, another supposed "contradiction" you may be refering to, is the below:
Ephesians 2:8-9 says:
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast."
BUT, James 2:17 says:
"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone"
So, are you saved by faith, or by works? Well, re-read James 2:17. It only says that faith without works is dead. Does this contradict Ephesians 2:8-9? No. If you were to read further into James 2, you'd find verse 18b says:
"shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works."
So, we ARE saved by faith, and not by works. However, a Christian tree must bear Christian fruits, else it's not a Christian tree. So, faith without works is dead. Because we show our faith BY our works.
ANSWER: The answer to the above question answers this, but to reiterate...
Jesus said that 'by their fruits ye shall know them'. Jesus, in the Gospels, was teaching about Christian fruits. See Matthew chapters 5-7 for example. These are some of Jesus' commands. He said that if we love Him, we'd keep His commands.
Here's the cool part... Remember Ephesians 2:8-9? We are saved by GRACE. Therefore, when we screw up, and don't keep Jesus' commands, then:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
However, what if we forget to confess our sins to God? Not a problem:
"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:" 1 John 2:1
ANSWER: It's not neccesary. When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are dying to our sins, and becoming a new Creature. There's only one thing required for salvation, and that is
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:9-10
or, as the Gospel of John puts it:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
Whether we repent of our sins or not, is not of much constellation, because if we do the above then:
"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:11
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17
ANSWER: Because these are not vital to salvation. Baptism is simply one publicly professing their faith, and symbolically washing away their sins. The Lord's supper (communion) is a holiday- like celebration of the Lord's free gift.
These need not be explained any more in the Bible than they already are, because Christianity is not about traditions and ceremonies, it's about grace.
As for the discord among the churches.
a)What Bible version are they reading?
b)Do they belive the Bible to be the inerrant, non contradicting word of God?
Many "churches" are not of God. See Revelation chapters 1-3, for example. Pay special attention to the mention of the "Synogauge of Satan".
ANSWER: The book of Reveation is not "incomprehensible". To go into an in-depth study of the book of Revelation would be a book in itself. What are your questions specifically? I'd be glad to help you with them. As for Daniel being sealed, it's not. You are refering to the portion of Daniel that says:
"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Daniel 12:4
Obviously the book of Daniel is no longer sealed, because we are now running to and fro (airplanes, cars, etc) and knowledge is being increased (computers and internet, for example). Many of the things prophesied in Daniel are comming true in this very generation (see Daniel chapter 2, for example).
Furthermore, you said yourself that you find Daniel easier to understand than Revelation. Okay, they why not use Daniel to help you understand Reveation? Since they both talk of many of the same things. For example, Revelation 17:10 says:
"And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space."
Who are these seven 'kings'? Let's go to Daniel to find out:
Much of the book of Daniel was written when Babylon was the main world power. Daniel repeatedly prophesied that the main world powers after Babylon would be the Meads and Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, and the Revived Roman Empire (Daniel chap. 2, toes, iron mixed with clay. This is now, and getting worse, if you understand the prophecy.)...
Now, what where the big world powers before Babylon? According to the Bible, and agreed upon by archeology, they were Egypt, and Assyria.
So, who are the 7 kings/kingdoms mentioned in Revelation 17:10? 1 Egypt, 2 Assyria, 3 Babylon, 4 Medes and Persians, 5 Greeks, 6 Romans, 7 Revived Roman Empire.
ANSWER: It does. I will show you some of the places it does:
baptism
"I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost" -John the Baptist Mark 1:8
John taught people to repent of their sins, and be baptised. That baptism symbolized these people's sins being washed away.
"And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;" 1 Corinthians 10:2
Even the Israelites in the Exodus were baptized.
"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?" Romans 6:3
"For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." 1 Corinthians 12:13
"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Galatians 3:27
BAPTISM UNDER THE NEW COVENANT:
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.For he that is dead is freed from sin.Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:" Romans 6:1-8
CONCLUSION TO BAPTISM:
The Bible clearly states that the Israelites were baptized in their crossing of the Red sea. Before Jesus came, John the Baptist baptized people for the remision of sins.
After Jesus came, we are baptized as a public profession of Christ, and to symbolize our dying with Christ, and being raised a new Creature. Are Christians commanded to be baptized?
"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Galatians 3:26-27
Jesus said "if you love me, then keep my commands". We show our faith by our works, however, we are under the spirit of the law, not the letter, so if a situation arises where one cannot get baptized, such as the case with the theif on the cross, then we are still saved, if we did what Romans 10:9-10 says.
Spirit of the law:
"Who [refering to God] also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." 2 Corinthians 3:6
Oh, just as a quick note. In your questions, you said "adult baptism". There is no other. The Bible does not teach infant baptism. In order for one to be properly baptized, they must first have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
Soteriology
Well, depends on which definition of soteriology you mean. If you mean the one that is "The doctrine of salvation by Jesus Christ.", then you must be reading a different Bible than I am. Because not only does the New Testament speak of this, but so does the Old:
"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:3-5
If you mean the definition of soteriology which is "A discourse on health, or the science of promoting and preserving health." The Bible talks of that as well. Before science even knew what a germ is, the Bible has been inadvertantly teaching about it, and keeping clean. Even quarenteen. It's all in the Levitical Priesthood laws. The Bible even talks of exercise:
"For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." 1 Timothy 4:8
So, the Bible does not say that we are, or are not supposed to exercise. That is up to us. But, if we do exercise (I do), then we should note the great benefits we get from it, and remember that godliness profits us so much more by comparison.
The Bible even talks of how to eat healthy:
"For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:" 1 Timothy 4:4
So, the Bible does not say that we have to count how many grams of fat we eat. It simply says to be thankful to God for what we have received to eat.
The Bible even talks of vegitarians:
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth." 1 Timothy 4:1-3
As you can see, the Bible says that being a vegitarian is useless, since God has ordained meats to be clean and good. Vegitarians are one of the signs of the end times.
Christology
"The theological study of the person and deeds of Jesus."
The whole Bible is that. The most accurate source to learn about Jesus is via the Bible. Old and New Testaments.
Trinitarianism
"Believing or professing belief in the Christian Trinity or the doctrine of the Trinity."
The Bible is very clear on the trinity issue:
According to John 1, Jesus is the Word of God come in the flesh. John 1 also says that Jesus is God:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1
Jesus is known as Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man, or the Word, etc. The Holy Spirit is known as the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, etc. God is known as God, Father, Lord, etc.
To further prove the trinity, 1 John 5:7 says:
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
The trinity is even in the first three verses of Genesis:
Genesis 1:1-3 says:
"In the beginning God [there's God the Father] created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God [there's the Holy Spirit] moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said [there's the Word of God], Let there be light: and there was light."
satanology
"The study of Satan".
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." Isaiah 14:12-15
"Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more." Ezekiel 28:13-19
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" 1 Peter 5:8
"In whom the god [Satan] of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." 2 Corinthians 4:4
The word 'Satan' is in the Bible about 49 times. The word devil or devils is in the Bible about 106 times.
The Bible even explains the start of many false religions, such as Satanism, Wicca, Witchcraft, Occultism, New Age, Zecharia Sitchen's 12th Planet, Thelema, Lucifarianism, etc:
"That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose." Genesis 6:2
The above mentioned verse is what the above cults base their beliefs off of. They believe that these Sons of God taught the truth, and wisdom to those who would listen. These Sons of God were believed by these cults to essentially be the 'wise ones', or 'watchers'. The old Gods. The Ancient Ones.
Of course, anyone who really studies the Bible, learns that the Sons of God in Genesis 6 are fallen angels, who are now known as DEMONS, or (more acurately) DEVILS.
"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Jude 1:6
"For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;" 2 Peter 2:4
Now, especially in Wicca, Witchcraft, and Satanism, they usually worship a god and godess. The god and goddess are known by vaious different names. In Genesis 10:8, we learn about Nimrod, which became known as a "Mighty One". This is another name for the gods of the above cults - Mighty Ones.
History shows that Nimrod married a woman named Semiramis. Later, Nimrod died. Archeological history is unclear as to how exactly he died. Anyhow, Semiramis comes up pregnant, claiming that she had not had sex, so this must be a type immaculate conception. Semiramis passes off her bastard child as the reincarnation of Nimrod. Nimrod then became deified, and known as Baal, Bel, Marduk, Molech, Pan, the horned god, Kernunnos etc. Semiramis, as well became deified, as Astarte, Ashtoreth, Isis, Diana, goddess, queen of heaven, great monther, Ceridwen, etc.
Nimrod and Semiramis are the god/goddess combo that the above mentioned cults worship. They are known under many different names. Semiramis, the goddess of Wicca, Witchcraft, Satanism, etc. usually has three phases to her, which corolate with the moon. (When the moon is mentioned in the Bible, it's usually with a negative, or satanic convocation. Especially in Revelation. Eg. 42 MONTHS, etc.) These three phases are a kind of pagan trinity. These cults have a symbol that has been in use for ages that depicts this. This is the symbol that is flashed all over the screen at the beginning of the TV show Charmed, and is the symbol on the popular New Age book called Aquiarian Conspiracy, and is the SAME symbol that is on the spine of most New King James Bibles. (NKJV Bibles talk with a lot of the cult's terminology.)
angelology
The word angel is mentioned in the Bible about 289 times. Need I say more?
nature of the afterlife
Are you kidding?
For starters, read Daniel 12, 1 Corinthians 15, Revelation 11:15-18, Ecclesiastes, etc.
eschatology
"The branch of theology that is concerned with the end of the world or of humankind."
Let's see here. There is a whole book dedicated to that. Revelation. Also, All the major prophets in the Old Testament also speak much of the end time.
fundamentals of the faith
Well, it's what the whole Bible is about, cover to cover. For starters, check out Hebrews 11 and James 2.
the standing of Jewish believers in relation to the Law
Well, that's talked about in depth in just about every one of the Pauline Epistles. Here's a few short examples:
"And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ." 2 Corinthians 3:13-14
the standing of Gentile believers in relation to the Law?
The answer is the same here as in the above.
"Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved." Romans 9:24-25
1. Why did the writers of the New Testament feel free to misquote and misinterpret the Old Testament and conflate verses?
ANSWER: They didn't, and they don't do that. However, in the NIV and other new Bible versions it appears as if they did, since the NIV et. al. changes the verse in the NT so that it is different than the ones in the OT. This is not the case with the KJV. 2. Why did the gospel writers use the Septuagint, an inferior translation of the Old Testament? Did the Holy Spirit fail to inspire them with the more accurate Hebrew text, the one accepted today?
ANSWER: The Gospel writers didn't use the Septuagint. They used the Masoretic texts, which is the most reliable text, with good reason. New Bible versions quote from the Septuagint, and translate from the Septuagint, of which I agree with you. It is indeed an inferior translation. However, the KJV stays true to the Gospel writers, and sticks with the correct, reliable Masoretic text. 3. Why did Matthew and Peter take Old Testament passages out of context to make them into prophecies, when they were never indicated to be prophetic by the Old Testament author (Acts 1:20 versus Psalm 69:25, for example)?
ANSWER: They didn't. In sorts, the whole O.T. IS a prophecy. Every bit of it is a foreshadowing, and often foretelling of Christ. Read the book of Hebrews to see what I mean, for starters. Now as for the scripture you cited.
Acts 1:20 says:
"For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take."
Psalm 69:25 says:
"Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents."
Psalm 69:25 is a Davidic/Messianic prophetic chapter. This is clearly picked up in the context.
Acts 1:20 is indeed in context with Psalm 69:25. Please re-read it again carefully.
ANSWER: You are mistaken. You are obviously reading a modern translation, because Mark 1:2 is mistranslated in the New Age Bible versions to say:
"It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way" Mark 1:2
The word that was translated Isaiah is NOT Isaiah. So, yes, you're right. This is a contradiction. But only in the New Age Bible versions. The trusty KJV, however, has no contradiction, for it is PROPERLY translated as:
"As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." Mark 1:2
ANSWER: Just because Enoch is not inspired scripture, doesn't mean that all of Enoch is wrong. I've read the apocraphal Enoch, and I can clearly see why it is apporcraphyl, but there are some true statements in it. These are brought to light and recongnition in God's Word. 6.-Why does Matthew quote a non-existent Old Testament prophecy (Matthew 2:23)? Was he using non-canonical writings, too?
ANSWER: Matthew 2:23 says:
"And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene."
One of the O.T. prophecies that Matthew is refering to, is Judges 13:5, which is of course part of the story of Samson. Compare Samson's conception, childhood, and whole life with that of Jesus. The Samson story is a foreshadowing of Jesus. The Jews understood this, as do many people who deeply study O.T. foreshadowings.
ANSWER: Zechariah 11:12 says nothing of a potter's field. It only says "And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver."
The prophecy that Matthew 27:9-10 is talking about, is indeed in Jeremiah 19:1-13.
ANSWER: He does. In fact, quite often. Here are a few examples, from hundreds:
Romans 6:23 and 10:9-10 --- John 3:16
Romans 8:11 --- John 16:7
1 Corinthians 16:22 ---Matthew 22:37
2 Corinthians 4:6 --- John 1:4-5
Phillipians 1:11 --- Matthew 7:17
Colossians 1:28 --- Mark 16:15
The very word 'Jesus' appears about 220 times just in the Pauline Epistles. The word 'gospel' appears about 70 times in the Pauline Epistles.
Jesus Himself spoke with Paul, so Paul knows what he's talking about. Furthermore, ALL of Paul's Epistles speak clearly of the teachings of Jesus.
ANSWER: Again, most of your questions are leading, and lead to incorrect assumptions. I have found the Bible very hermeneutically clear. The New Testament authors were not "loose" in their hermeneutics, that is another false assumption. Furthermore, none of the meanings or any words have ever been lost. (Except in the NIV and other new translations. They are all still perfectly intact in the KJV.) Not only does God want us to understand His word, but to help ensure we do, He has put in a built in dictionary. When you come across a word you don't understand, you don't need to go to a dictionary, I seldom do. Instead, read the context surrounding the word. If you still don't get the meaning, then read on. The Bible often re-explains itself later in that chapter or book.
The Bible must be read as a whole, for that's what it is. If you continue to read it piecemeal, it will continue to appear confusing. Not to mention that the NIV and other modern translations use bigger words, etc. For example, in one place where the KJV says "told", the NIV says "conscriputed". Yikes!
1. Why doesn't prayer work, when the Bible promises that it will (John 14:14, for example)?
ANSWER: John 14:14 says:
"If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."
Now, pay attention to the next verse. This is the key:
"If you love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15
This prayer promise is only for Christians. I discussed in earlier questions you asked, that in order for someone to be a true Christian, they must bear Christian fruits, else they are not a "Christian tree". In order for one to bear Christian fruits, one must love Jesus. If one loves Jesus, he will keep His commands. Faith without works is dead.
One of Jesus' commandments, is to submit to the Father's will. So, if you are a Christian tree, bearing Christian fruits, then anything you ask for in Jesus' name you will get, because it would be in accord with God's will...
"And he [Jesus] said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth." Luke 11:2
"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:" 1 John 5:14
Furthermore, in my Christian experience, I have found that every single one of my prayers have been answered. Many times they are answered in the way I desired, but sometimes the answer was just plain NO.
ANSWER: Again, a leading question leading to a false assumptions. The answer? Christians ARE. We don't see it as much in the US, UK, and Canada, etc, because society looks down on healings, miracles, and demon possesion. Talk to missionaries who go to other countries, and you'd be amazed at what they've seen, and even done.
Furthermore, you must remember that it takes faith to allow God to perform miracles through you:
"And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." Luke 17:6
Also, remember that each Christian is a PART of the body of Christ, not the body of Christ itself. Therefore, we each have gifts from the Spirit, but we don't have each of the gifts, as Jesus did. Therefore, some of us can perform spiritual gifts of a certain type, more so than Jesus did, just as He prophesied. To see scriptures about the spirutual gifts, read 1 Corinthians 12 and 1 Corinthians 14.
1. Why have no prophecies been demonstrated to have been fulfilled? Why are many Old Testament prophecies too vague to be tested? Why are many Old Testament prophecies "yet to be" fulfilled? Why has it been impossible to demonstrate that the Old Testament prophecies were written prior to the events forecasted?
ANSWER: You have obviously not spent much time studying Biblical prophecy, or you'd see how silly this question is. The Bible prophecies are not vague, on the contrary, they're almost too descriptive. AND, ALL of the prophecies in the Bible have happened, except for the ones speaking of the end days, the tribulation, Jesus' second comming, New Jerusalem, the Millenium, and a few similiar others.
It would take hundreds of pages to go through each O.T. prophecy, and show you it's fullfillment, so I'm only going to go through a few:
"For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.
He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee." Ezekiel 26:7-9
"And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?
Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling;
they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee.
And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!
Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure." Ezekiel 26:14-18
Uh oh, it happened. Five centuries after this prophecy, it did. Hiel re-built Jericho. He lost his firstborn in the first foundation, and he lost his youngest in the gates.
And of course there are hundreds of messianic prophecies in the O.T. I assume you're familiar with those. If not, let me know, and I'll show you some of them.
"And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Matthew 24:1-2
This happened in AD 70, when Jerusalem was attacked. The temple was smashed to pieces, and the bricks were taken apart/separated so that they could get the gold out of them. However, there is still a part of one wall standing, showing that this prophecy still has a bigger fullfillment to happen in the near future.
"Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.
Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:
And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.
And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God." Ezekiel 36:16-28
This prophecy of the Israelites returning to their own land started happening in 1948. The rest of the prophecy is slowly taking place in this generation.
What's the next big event on the prophetic calendar?...
A 7 year piece treaty to be made in the middle east. [Daniel 9:27 and Revelation 6:2].
ANSWER: It DID happen. You need to study history more closely. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the coastal city of Tyre, and Alexander the Great destroyed the island city of Tyre. The coastal city of Tyre is used for fishermen to lay out their nets, just as prophesied, and the island of Tyre is still uninhabitable. 3. How can it be that Isaiah prophesied a temporary destruction of Tyre, while Ezekiel prophesied a permanent destruction (Ezekiel 26:14,21; 27:36; 28:19 versus Isaiah 23:13-18)?
ANSWER: Isaiah 23:13-18 says:
"Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste. And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing."
Again, remember that Tyre was a coastal and an island city. The island city is uninhabited, but the coastal city is habited. You need to keep straight which Tyre the prophecies are talking about. This can be gathered from the context surrounding the prophecy.
ANSWER: Ezekiel 29:11-12 happened 16 years after the fall of Jerusalem. 5. Why is so much of New Testament prophecy incomprehensible? Why produce a prophecy at all if it cannot be understood?
ANSWER: What is it that you don't understand? Prophecy isn't hard to understand, and certainly isn't 'incomprehensible'. You must study it the way you are to study the whole Bible. Hey, the Bible even teaches us how to study it:
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15
"Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. Isaiah 28:8-10
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:" Isaiah 28:9-10
"Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?" Mark 8:18
1. Why haven't any of the miracles recorded in the Bible been independently confirmed?
ANSWER: Many have been irrefutably proven via archeology and science.
For example:
-the walls of Jericho falling down FLAT
-Jonah and the whale
-Noah's ark
-Jesus' ascention (witnessed by at least 500 people)
-The Bible states that even nature itself proves God, via His creation. That in itself is a miracle.
ANSWER: Whoops, another false assumption. How do you know miracles don't happen today? Can you be everywhere at once, and see all,- all the time, to verify this? I know for a fact miracles happen today. In my walk with Christ, I have seen many. Here's one of them:
At the time, I was working in the shipping department of a technology company, in New Jersey. I lived in a 10 bedroom house, with many of the other people that worked for the company. We were all roomates.
Well, one of my roomates, named Pepper, had bad back problems. 20 years prior to the time we lived together, she got into a horrible car accident, which severely damaged her back for life. She'd be in constant back pain. There was no surgery that could be done for her, and pain killers hardly dulled the pain.
On her 'good days', she could walk around, with only the assistance of a walker. On 'bad days', she used a wheel chair to get around, but spent most of her time in bed. (At this time, she didn't work for the company, she was the wife of someone who did.)
Well anyhow, one day she was alone in the kitchen with her walker, and was going to listen to a music tape while she got some lunch. The tape was borrowed from a friend. It was a tape of Christian singer Twila Paris, and had many of her great hits on it. This is when things started to happen...
Pepper played the tape, but the only song it'd play, was "God is in Control". Pepper flipped the tape over, and it was the same song. She fast forwarded and rewinded, but only the same song would play. Finally it hit her. She realized God is indeed in control. Once she realized that, she heard a voice say "yes, I am".
While this was happening in the kitchen, I was upstairs in my bedroom watching TV. Then I got a knock on the door. It was one of my friends, standing there franticly saying that I had to go down stairs and see Pepper. Well, I thought that she had fallen, and that we were probably taking her to the hospital.
Nope. By the time I got downstairs to see what was going on, I saw her walker, but not her. I looked into the back yard from the kitchen door to see her running through the 2 acre yard. She's now healed, and is now one of the most hyper people I know. :-)
"Miracles don't happen today" is a lie from the pit of Satan. I know from many experiences. I know from witnessing healings, from having God literally talk to me, from casting out demons/devils, ect.
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." -Jesus Revelation 3:20
ANSWER: I am an evangelical Christian, and I don't recall not accepting miracle stories recoreded in ancient non-biblical works. Where did you get an idea like that? I'm glad to read/listen to them, and determine for myself if I believe them to be true or not.
However, the Bible holds credance over any other book, for it was written by God. Irrefutable evidence of this can be found at http://www.GenuineProfit.com/proof.html
1. Why is the authorship of most books of the Bible disputed? Why do many books of the Bible have no statement of authorship? Why are some books in the canon pseudepigraphical (lie about authorship)?
ANSWER: The authorship of most books of the Bible are NOT disputed among most scholars. Most of the books of the Bible do state their authorship. AND, NO books in the Bible lie about their authorship. Only some (many) of the non cananical appocraphyl books do this. About the books of the books of the Bible, again, go to http://www.GenuineProfit.com/proof.html the report at this website goes into this as well. 2. Why did the early church not revere the scriptures as Christians do today, so that they added interpolations and made emendations?
ANSWER: The early Catholic church did this, along with cults and possibly the Essenes. The manuscripts you are referring to, that have added 'interpolations and made emendations' are the Alexandrian manuscripts, such as the Vaticanus and Sianaticus. Unfortunatly, these are the manuscripts underlying the NIV, and most other modern translations. These Alexandrian manuscripts are only 5% out of the approximatly 5,000 ancient Greek texts. The remaining 95% is the majority text, which is where the Byzantine Textus Receptus came from. The Textus Receptus is where the KJV Bible was tranalated from. The Majority text has not been tampered with. That is part of why that is the text I trust. 3. Why hasn't the Bible been transmitted to us in perfect condition if it is so important and if God had his supernatural hand in it? Why did both Israel and the church add interpolations, emend, and conflate the texts?
ANSWER: The Bible HAS been transmitted to us in perfect condition, via the KJV Bible. God said:
"The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." Psalm 12:6-7
Of course, if you have a NIV, then Psalm 12:6-7 doesn't say this, even though it IS clearly in 95%+ of all of the approx. 5,000 ancient Greek texts. So, since the NIV and many other modern translations no longer contain that promise, where is the gaurentee that those will be preserved?
The KJV is preserved. Glory be to God.
1. Why is the Mosaic injunction against false prophets ignored in the canon? Deuteronomy 18:20-22 should disqualify Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Jonah, Jesus, and Paul.
ANSWER: Deuteronomy 18:20-22 says:
"But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him."
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Johah, Jesus, and Paul all pass both of these features, therefore they are indeed prophets of God. (Except for Jesus. He IS God.)
ANSWER: The only church disputing the Canon in general is the Catholic church. Without the approcrapha, they'd have a harder time doing most of their heathen practises which are against Canonical scripture.
The Canon is complete, and accurate. Here's some reasons showing why and how:
a) There is evidence showing this in the report found at http://www.GenuineProfit.com/proof.html
b) Everything in the Canon ancient manuscripts are in the original languages of Hebrew Aramaic, and Greek.
c) The appocrapha has obvious errors, and often times lies about the author of the book in question.
d) Jesus and the appostles never quoted from the appocrapha, like they did with the Canon. (The exception is the book of Enoch, and Jasher. Both of these true books are lost, and were not inspired by God. However, they did have some accurate information in them. There are supposed copies of Enoch and Jasher around, but they're severly corrupted, at best.)
e) The 5% minority texts carry some of the appocrapha, while the majority of the 95% majority do not.
ANSWER: The Canon has been directly revealed by God. see http://www.GenuineProfit.com/proof.html for starters. As for voting on the Canon, that was the only way to get the Catholic Jesuits out of the way. They were infiltrating the Christians, and posing as Protestants, in trying to get the appocrapha into the Bible. Proof that none of the appocrapha is Canonancal is in the answer to the previous question. 4. Why is so much of New Testament doctrine revealed through the use of occasional letters instead of in systematic books written, authorized, and canonized specifically to define Christian doctrine? Why didn't God deliver these himself, as he did the Law to Moses? Maybe this explains why the Old Testament Law has more clarity than the New Testament doctrines. Why did God leave the writing of systematic theologies to modern, uninspired writers, who cannot agree with one another?
ANSWER: The New Testament was written by God, just as the Old. God DID tell/inspire the New Testament writers what to write. God was on the earth for 30+ years. For at least 3 years He taught the disiples. Also, Jesus/God Himself, spoke directly to Paul, the author of most of the Epistles.
As for why the New Testament has many Epistles, so what? That's how God decided to have the New Testament, I see no problem or conflict with that.
1. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, why did God lie about what the outcome would be (Genesis 2:17), while the serpent told the truth (Genesis 3:5,22)?
ANSWER: Genesis 2:17 says:
"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
God was telling the truth. Adam and Eve spiritually died at that point. That is why everyone is born spiritually dead to this very day. In order for one to become spiritually alive, they must be born again. See John chapter 3.
Therefore, Satan lied, when he said that they wouldn't die. For they certainly did. First spiritually, then later, physically.
ANSWER: I'm a woman, and have looked into this. They are not. There are women prophets in the Bible. There's even a woman judge. However, you must remember that in the Garden of Eden, the woman was the one who partook of the fruit first, not man. However, if you read carefully, you'll find that Adam was right there with Eve when this happened. Did he do anything to try to stop it? No. He just stood by, and watched what happened, then ate the fruit himself. Therefore, since Eve was the one who took control of the situation, and screwed up royally, woman's punishement is for man to be the ruler instead. (This is, in my opinion, more of a punishment on men than women.)
"But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." 1 Corinthians 11:3
ANSWER: It's not. Most of the Old Testament is addressed to human beings. 'He' is a gender neutral word, (except when shown different in context, of course) just as 'mankind' includes 'womankind' as well. 4. Why does the Bible condone slavery?
ANSWER: It doesn't. In fact, the word 'slave' only appears in the Bible 2 times. In both instances, neither one condones slavery. Here are the ONLY two places in the whole Bible where the word 'slave' appears:
1.- "Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?" Isaiah 2:14
and
2.- "And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men." Revelation 18:13
It's obvious that number 1 is not condoning slavery. As for number 2, the city that has these slaves was destroyed. That's definatly NOT condoning slavery.
Now, the word 'slavery' appears in the NIV 174 times, when the Hewbrew word means 'servant', not slave. Why did NIV and other modern translations use slave? Well, not because that's what the Hebrew said. It's usually because they are trying to pass copyright law, which states that the work has to be significantly different than a previous one. Those modern translators/publishers etc, want their $$$ money. The KJV is not copyrighted, therefore is translated without financial gain in mind.
There is a BIG difference between a slave and a servant:
According to http://www.dictionary.com:
slave - One bound in servitude as the property of a person or household.
servant - One who is privately employed to perform domestic services.
So, a slave is bound, usually does not have a choice of being a slave, and receives nothing in return for their hard (often cruel gruelling) work.
A servant, on the other hand, is one who is usually employed by choice, and receives something in return for their services rendered.
The Bible condones servitude, since the person gets paid in return. It does not even once condone slavery. Only the errant, corrupted NIV and other modern translations commit that heresy.
ANSWER: You are not taking the scriptures in context. Let's take a look at them now:
Numbers 31:14-18 says:
"And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.
And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves."
That was incredibly merciful, to save the virgin women alive, for they all did abominable things, and deserved to die, at the very least. These people worshiped Baal (Balaam), and tried to lead Israel to do it too. Do you know what constitutes Baal worship? Temple prostitutes, and sodomites. Each woman had to be a temple prostitute at least once in her life, regardless if she wanted to, or not. She did not have a choice. But wait, this gets MUCH worse. Baal worshippers sacrificed babies to their false Baal god.
Thousands and thousands of jars have been unearthed by archeologists showing the remains of these poor infants. Baal worship is like Satan worship, and other cults. It draws you in, if you let it, and the further in you get, the more you get fooled. Demons/devils come into the picture, and you've had it. Unless you turn to the truth, you're lost.
These people were given many opportunities to turn away from their fornication, homosexuality, rape, infant murder etc, and they did not, so just like Sodom and Gomorah, they were to be destroyed. Only virgin women were to be saved, because since they were virgins, that means they had not yet partook in the temple rites, therefore, were not as tainted by Baalism, and more likely to convert to Judiasm.
Deuteronomy 20:16-17 says:
"But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:
But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:"
Same reason for this, as the reason gave above. Often it was commanded that nothing be left alive, including cattle and such. This is partially because these people also often worshipped animals, and may have commited beastiality, which obviously taints that animal as well as the person.
ANSWER: The Bible does indeed condemn poligamy.
"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Genesis 2:24
In fact, the Old Testament even specifically says that even kings are only to have one wife. "Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold." Deuteronomy17:17
Having more than one wife is what got David in trouble via the whole Bathsheba incident, and losing a child. Having more than one wife is what eventually turned Solomon to whoring after other gods, such as Baal. In fact, Solomon's having multiple wives is what lead to the cause of the twelve tribes of Israel to separate into two houses. The house of Israel, and the house of Judah.
The New Testament says in quite a few places that men are only to have one wife. For example:
"Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband." 1 Corinthians 7:2
ANSWER: Lot truely had a righteous heart in this situation. He was willing to give up his own flesh and blood for the sake of the two angels. He stepped out in faith. Truly beautiful. By the way, the crowd didn't get Lot's daughters, did they? If you disagree with God, who's wrong. Answer? You are. 8. How can Christians say that the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion is based on Judeo-Christian ethics when Deuteronomy 13:6-10 and 17:2-7 flatly contradict this?
ANSWER: The first amendement was written by a Christian. If you read the Federalists Papers, which is the commentary to the constitution, then you find that the writers of the Constitution were meaning in the context, that there be no single CHRISTIAN church state denomination. This is what was meant, and is the spirit of the law. 9. How can being mauled by a bear possibly be a just punishment for name-calling (2 Kings 2:23-24)? Doesn't this contradict God's own edict of "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth?"
ANSWER: First of all, the Bible does not say that being mauled by a bear was a punishment. It only says that the punishment was 'being punished'. The fact of the bear attacking the kids, could have been nothing but they're being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. God allowed this to happen for some reason. The Bible does not tell us what reason, other than the children being in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, God knows the past, present, and future, AND, He knows what's in our hearts. He may have foresaw that these "children" (which were likely men in their 20's) would be the cause of hundreds of deaths, if they were to survive. 10. Why is faith - believing something for which there is no evidence - a virtue?
ANSWER: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things not seen". Hebrews 11:1 You'll see it when you believe it. Guaranteed. 11. Why is rational skepticism a vice? If Christianity is true, won't the truth hold up under scrutiny? Shouldn't the church welcome and promote rational skepticism as a way of confirming and spreading the faith when people see that it fails to undermine Christianity? Why isn't skeptical literature studied and refuted in Sunday School classes?
ANSWER: I agree. I am a Sunday School teacher, and I teach my children how to "defend" Christianity, following the biblical instruction to do so:
"make full proof of thy ministry" 2 Timothy 4:5c
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ." 1 Peter 3:15-16
1. Why do Moses, Ezra, Jesus, and Paul all disagree on marriage and divorce? Moses allowed divorce, Jesus disallowed it and also allowed it, Paul allowed it, and Ezra actually commanded it to appease God (Ezra 10). How is an honest Christian supposed to know what to do in this area?
ANSWER: No, actaully they all work together. Let's look at a few scriptures about divorce, and I'll show you what I mean:
"When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house." Deuteronomy 24:1
"It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery" -Jesus Matthew 5:31-32
So, how do we reconcile these two? Jesus explains, and suddenly it all makes sense:
"The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery." -Jesus Matthew 19:3-9
ANSWER: You're reading too much into it. First of all, the term "lots" only appears in the New Testament about 7 times. And, every single time it was mentioned, except for one, it was talking about the gaurds that cast lots to see who would get Jesus' clothing durring the crusifying of Christ.
Now, the only other time "lots" is mentioned, is in Acts Chapter 1, when the disciples were casting lots, to determine which person should replace Judad Iscariot. First of all, they knew that it was between two different men, but they did not know which man GOD wanted. So, they prayed that God would control the lots, and the lot would fall on the man of whom God wanted.
Don't base your beliefs off of just one verse taken out of context. This is how many cults get started.
ANSWER: The Bible provides VERY good information about all of the above. You are not making your conclusions in this question from the Bible. You are making them from Churches. That is a grave mistake. It is not up to the churches to teach us everything in the Bible. It's up to us to read it for ourselves.
Here's what the Bible says about them:
ABORTION - See Genesis 1:26; Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17; Psalm 139:14-16; Isaiah 49:15; Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 127:3; Luke 1:41; Galations 1:15
DIVORCE - See Deuteronomy 22:19; Matthew 19:8-9; Malachi 2:16; Matthew 5:31-32; Mark 10:11-12; 1 Corinthians 7:10-11
WAR - See James 4:1-3; Matthew 5:9; Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; 1 Peter 2:13-14; Isaiah 2:4
CHURCH DISIPLINE - See Romans 12:5; John 14:21; Revelation 3:19; 1 Corinthians 11:16-34; 1 Corinthians 14:28; Acts 5:1-10; Acts 15:7-12; 1 Corinthians 5:11-13; 1 Corinthians 6:11 1 Corinthians 6:1; There are issues regarding Church disipline in each of Pauls Epistles. Here, I only gave you a few general ones. Since you did not give any specific example of what area of Church disipline you are looking for, I just gave you general scripures.
LENDING AND BORROWING MONEY - See Exodus 22:25; Deuteronomy 23:19-20; Psalm 15:5; Isaiah 24:2; Deuteronomy 15:2; Deuteronomy 15:6; Deuteronomy 15:8; Deuteronomy 24:20; Deuteronomy 28:12; Pslam 112:5; Luke 6:34-35
1. Why does the Bible teach that the sky is a solid dome of transparent material with water above it? (The water poured through the "windows of heaven" to cause Noah's flood, and then presumably poured off the edge of the disk-shaped earth into the abyss.)
ANSWER: Simple. The Bible does not say that. It says:
"And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day." Genesis 1:6-8
Firmament: "The region of the air; the sky or heavens.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. --Gen. i. 6.
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament. --Gen. i. 14.
Note: In Scripture, the word denotes an expanse, a wide extent; the great arch or expanse over our heads, in which are placed the atmosphere and the clouds, and in which the stars appear to be placed, and are really seen."
A.K.A, the firmament is the atmosphere. However, archeological and other scientific evidence points that before the flood, there used to be a vapor canopy in the firmament. This could be part of the scientific reason, as to why people lived longer before the flood. There was much better shielding from cosmic and sun rays, than there is today. When the flood hit, part, or most of the flood waters came from the firmament crashing down to the earth.
Don't read someone's interpretation of the Bible, read it for yourself. Would you rather read man's opinion of God's Word, or God's Word itself?
ANSWER: The very word stripe only appears in the Old and New Testament about 20 times. Not once do any of these occurances refer to a striped goat. The reference is always to stripes via whipping and scouraging. The scripture you are refering to does not even say this. It says:
"I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire." Genesis 30:32
This in no way contradicts modern genetics. There have been MANY situations throughout time, and throughout the world, when two white goats have speckled offspring. This gene is carried in a recessive gene, and when certain genes in certain parents unite, it can become a dominant gene. In fact, this instance actually supports genetics.
ANSWER: What's so scientifically impossible about any of the things you mentioned?
THE CREATION NARATIVE:
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1
"And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:" Ephesians 3:9
If it were possible for you to have perfect integrity, then could you not say "chair", and a chair would 'fall out' of your mouth? We do not have perfect integrity. God does. God said, and it became. Scientifically, this is impossible for any human to do. Humans are not perfect, nor do they have anything close to perfect integrity. God does.
NOAH'S DELUGE:
What's hard to understand about this? There used to be a vapor canopy in the earth's atmosphere, in a similiar layout to o-zone. One day, a cataclysmic event happened, and the canopy came crashing down. Uh oh, a flood. This is no more unscientific than an earthquake or tornado.
A SOLID DOME OVER THE SKY:
Since the Bible does not teach this, what can I say?
EARTH SUPPORTED BY A FOUNDATION:
Nope. Just the opposite. While science used to teach that the earth was held up by Atlas, or an Elephant, or turtles, etc, the Bible has always been proclaiming the the earth hangs on nothing:
"He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing." Job 26:7
The word "foundation" only appears in the Bible about 84 times. 21 of those times, the words 'earth' and foundation' are in the same verse. When refering to the foundation of the earth, the Bible says:
"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding." Job 38:4
When you build a house, you first put in a foundation, then build the house. Does this mean that the house is supported ONLY by the foundation, and nothing else? Does it float around in outer space on nothing but it's foundation? Of course not. The foundation is built in the earth. When a person says "I built my house on a strong foundation", there is no need for them to mention "and this strong foundation was built here on earth". That is obvious.
You are reading things into the Bible that are not there. Does the Bible really say that the earth is supported by a foundation? No. It simply says that when the Lord created the earth, he laid out a foundation. Just like building a house. The earth's foundation is the earth's core, and up, - to the surface of the ground.
NOTE: the words 'foundation', 'earth', and 'support' appear NO WHERE in the Bible in the same verse.
ANSWER: The Bible teaches in various places to look around, creation itself proclaims God. That is absolutly correct. Science has NEVER been able to contradict this. Evolution has been disproven. There is no proof whatsoever for the Big Bang Theory, and as for the Seed theory, not one iota of solid evidence. Yet, evidence is all around us, proving creation. For example, the human eye. Amazingly complex. Could not have happened via evolution.
Evolution teaches that the eye first developed from a freckle. The freckle then became sensitive to light, then started being able to see. That is almost as absurd as the evolution teaching that we all evolved from a rock (premordial soup)!
Yet, archeology is constantly unearthing artifacts that mesh perfectly with the Biblical account. Flood deposits are found all over the world, which could only have happened from a flood of great catastrophy, - the great flood of Noah.
The raised beachlines by the Red Sea bear witness to the separating of the Red Sea durring the exodus.
There are heaps of evidence proving the biblical account of creation (such as other ancient writings, like the Babylonian creation story), and not one iota showing otherwise. Just because you can turn on the Discovery channel any night of the week, and hear them talking about what occured millions of years ago, as though it was fact, does not change the fact that it cannot be proven that the earth is older than 6,000-10,000 years. Adam was created mature, and so was the universe. This is why many scientific readings point to the earth seemily being older than it actually is.
You better take a look at your resources of information, they're obviously flawed.
1. Where is the justice in punishing us for Adam's sin? The Bible itself says that children will not be punished for the parents' sins (Deuteronomy 24:16). Furthermore, if God really created Adam not knowing either good or evil (Genesis 3:22), how could such a harsh and enduring punishment as death for Adam and all his descendants possibly be just? Our secular courts are more just than God when they show mercy on people who cannot distinguish between right and wrong, such as children and the mentally handicapped. And why isn't this doctrine of original sin found anywhere in the Bible except in Paul's writings?
ANSWER: Alright, let's take this one by one.
YOU SAID: "Where is the justice in punishing us for Adam's sin?"
MY REPLY: There is none, and that's not what happened. When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they contracted a spiritual disease. This "disease" is hereditary. But Glory be to God, there is a cure. The cure is found in Romans 10:9-10. I've been cured, and so can you.
YOU SAID: "Furthermore, if God really created Adam not knowing either good or evil (Genesis 3:22), how could such a harsh and enduring punishment as death for Adam and all his descendants possibly be just?"
MY REPLY: Well, I guess you could say that God was trying to 'save Adam from himself'. Quite merciful, if you ask me. Adam contracted a "disease" called sin, when he disobeyed God. This disease will progress, and get worse and worse, if not kept under strict, Godly check. Just as a person who contracts Aids eventually dies, so do people with this sin disease. If a person with Aids never died, then they'd eventually be in perpetual torture. Same with a sin diseased person. It just gets worse. If one administers the cure, found in Romans 10:9-10, then even though they still have some effects of the disease, they are eased of the 'pain and discomfort', and the disease left is really just after effects. Essentially, the person has gone into remission, and may have occasional slip ups, but nothing more.
Furthermore, what's wrong with the punishment being death? Who are you to decide that that is horrible? I find it merciful. If you're trying to say that the Creator of morals is immoral, then wouldn't that make you niave, to say the least?
YOU SAID: "how could such a harsh and enduring punishment as death for Adam and all his descendants possibly be just?"
MY REPLY: How could it not be? The wages for sin is death. Sin is sin to God. There are no varying degrees. No matter how you look at it, you are still worshipping yourself, instead of the one true holy God:
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." James 2:10
YOU SAID: "Our secular courts are more just than God when they show mercy on people who cannot distinguish between right and wrong, such as children and the mentally handicapped."
MY REPLY: Of course. Earthly judges judge that which is carnal. God judges that which is in the heart, and what is spiritual. See Hebrews Hebrews 3:12; Hebrews 4:12, Romans 8, and Galatians 5.
YOU SAID: "And why isn't this doctrine of original sin found anywhere in the Bible except in Paul's writings? "
MY REPLY: It is. It's in Genesis 3, and James 2, for starters. It's in every book of the Bible, Old and New Testament.
ANSWER: On the contrary, this is quite just. It's the only way, and could only work if Jesus is God Himself, which He is. (1 Timothy 3:16, 1 John 5:7, John 1:1, etc.) Perfection demands perfection. That which is not perfect cannot survive being in the true, unaltered presence of God, hence, cannot fellowship with Him, or be where He is. Yet, God wants to fellowship with us:
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9
So, since all are sinners, due to the "spiritually hereditary" sin disease, the only way for someone to appear in the presence of God, is to appear sinless. There is only one way to do that, and that is to have the covering of sinless blood. The only way to have that covering, is to plead the shed blood of Jesus. In order to do that, we must follow the clear instructions in Romans 10:9-10 while we're still here alive on this earth.
ANSWER: This is only possible with God. There is power in the blood. There is life in the blood:
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." Leviticus 17:11
Only sinless blood can take care of this. The only sinless blood is Christs/Gods.
Sinless blood is the covering of our sins. Forgiveness doesn't cover sins - they're still there, hence, still an eventual spiritual problem.
ANSWER: The Bible says when we pray, we are to pray in alignement with God's will, not our lusts, and covetousness. Jesus gives us a blue print for a prayer, when He gives us the Lord's Prayer, which says:
"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." Matthew 6:9-13
Jesus said this is how we should pray. In the layout of the above prayer, we see that we are to praise God, ask our petitions, (in alignment with God's will), ask forgiveness if needed, and help, then give praise before closing.
What is the use of prayer? See the below:
-To worship and give God praise - Acts 16:25
-Do you see a therapist, or know someone who does? My therapist is God. - Isaiah 28:29
-Prayer is a tool to use in spiritual warfare (of which, my friend, you are indeed in the midst of) - Ephesians 6:10-18
-To give God thanks - "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Philippians 4:6
-Supplications "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;" 1 Timothy 2:1
-There are many more reasons to pray, and uses, but the most important is to confess to the Lord that you've accepted Him as Lord and Saviour, as laid out in John 3:16 and Romans 10:9-10.
The Bible says that whatever we ask in Jesus' name we will get, BUT only if it is in alignment with God's will. What's wrong with that? If we prayed that our neighbor die a tortorous death, should we get our prayer? NO!
ANSWER: Whoops, you've been reading the NIV again, haven't you. Jehovah's Witnesses don't believe in the trinity, so their Bible is twisted around, to support their beliefs. Their Bible serously strays away from what the ancient texts say. Unfortunatly, the NIV, and other modern translations are falling into the same boat. Yes, read the NIV, NASB, NWT (Jehovah's Witnesses New World Translation), and other modern translations, and you'll be confused as heck about the trinity. However, read the uncorrupted KJV, and you'll be 100% clear.
John 1:1 says of Jesus:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Jesus is God's word in the flesh.
1 John 5:7 says:
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
There is only one God, but there are three aspects of God, just as there are three aspects to us humans. We have a body, soul, and spirit, therefore, and in a smaller sense, we are all a trinity. God's trinity is God the Father (God), God the Spirit (Holy Spirit), and God the Son (God's Word made flesh). So, we have God the entity, God's spirit, and God's soul, which is His Word manefested in the Flesh as Jesus.
You can even see the role of the trinity in the creation, right in the first three verses of Genesis chapter 1:
"In the beginning God [ENTITY] created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God [SPIRIT] moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said [WORD], Let there be light: and there was light."
ANSWER: Well, I think a better question, is "why did God create us". The answer is found in Revelation 4:11:
"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."
Do you have any children? What will you say to them, if they ask "why did you have us? We are but a speck in this vast universe. Why care about us?"
Question is, why not?
ANSWER: Again, your source of information is obviously flawed. I suggest you quit following after the religion of Human Secularism, as promoted by the television, most school text books, and today's society, and look into for yourself. Read the (KJV) BIBLE! Look into archeology. It proves the Bible constantly. Irrefutable proof? Okay, for starters, go to http://www.GenuineProfit.com/proof.html , then, check out http://www.yfiles.com .
Irrefutable proof? Okay, what the heck. ;-) here's some for you:
I have written a book called Hidden Wisdom. In it, I provide amazing irrefutable proof. Below is an excerpt:
Chapter One
Hidden Wisdom
He found the glasses in the dresser drawer next to the bed in his motel room. He hesitated putting them on. There was a strange allure to those glasses. He brought them near to his face...
He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. -John 12:40
He hit his fist hard against the wall. He did not want to be blind anymore.
He put the glasses on: the glasses that make the blind see. Yet they weren't glasses, they were the sword of truth: the sword of the Spirit.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: -Eph. 6:17
Chapter Two
The Sword Of The Spirit
Thousands of ancient manuscripts have been found. These manuscripts contain the key to hidden wisdom. These ancient writings contain 66 books, which were written by more than 40 authors. Most of these writers did not know each other, nor did they even live in the same generation. Yet amazingly, these 66 books fit together into one big, inerrant, non-contradicting truth. Together they form the Sword Of The Spirit.
These 66 books are also known as scripture. How could these 40+ scripture writers know about the hidden wisdom, and how to write it?
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: -2 Tim. 3:16
These 66 books of the sword of truth divide into two covenants: The first covenant, and the second covenant.
The first covenant has been preserved, protected, and copied throughout thousands of years by a people called the Masorets. The Masorets were under strict rules when they copied the manuscripts. They were to say each letter aloud before they wrote it, and there had to be a certain amount of letters per line and per page. Each character of each finished page had to be counted. If the count was off by even one character, then the whole page would be discarded, and would have to be written all over again.
There are other texts of the first covenant kept throughout the years, such as the Septuagint. The Septuagint was not preserved and copied under the same guidelines as the Masoretic text, and was actually a translation of a Hebrew text into the Greek language.
The second covenant has also been accurately preserved throughout the years. There have been approximately 25,000 ancient manuscripts found. Approximately 5,000 of them are written in Greek, the original language of the 2nd Covenant. These approx. 5,000 ancient Greek manuscripts agree with each other 95%. The Textus Receptus, which is from the Byzantine texts, is what is in agreement with 95% of all 5,000 or so ancient manuscripts found. The remaining 5% are Alexandrian manuscripts, such as the Sianaticus and Vaticanus.
Imagine: Around 5,000 Greek manuscripts found! The only other ancient text with the most manuscripts is Homer's Iliad, and that only has 649 manuscripts. Ever heard of The Gallic Wars? Whoops! That's only based off of 10 ancient texts.
As for any of the other "sacred writings", such as the Book Of Mormon, the Koran, and others, none of them have anything close to the ancient manuscriptural qualities and quantities as does The Sword Of The Spirit. In fact, they don't even come close to even Homer's Iliad, which of course doesn't come even close to The Sword Of The Spirit.
The sword of the Spirit, which contains the key to hidden wisdom has been kept and preserved for thousands of years. This sword of truth has been translated into different languages, including English.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
-Jesus Matt. 24:35
Chapter Three
The Sword Of The Spirit Teaches Many Scientific Truths That Science Has Just Discovered In The Last Couple Hundred Years
-Science used to teach that the earth is flat. Yet, since circa 740BC-680BC the Sword Of The Spirit has been teaching that the earth is round:
" It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:" Isa. 40:22
-For Years, science didn't know that the atmosphere has weight. Yet, The Sword Of The Spirit has been saying so since circa 2000BC.
"To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure." Job 28:25
-Before Science discovered that there are paths in the seas, The Sword Of The Spirit has been saying so since circa 1020BC-970BC
"The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. " Psalm 8:8
-While science was teaching that the earth is being held on the back of an elephant, turtle, or man, The Sword Of The Spirit has been teaching that the earth hangs in outer space since circa 2000BC.
"He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. " Job 26:7
[Notice that the above also talks about an empty space in the north. This has recently been discovered by science via the Hubble telescope.]
-Before science discovered the Second Law of Thermodynamics, The Sword Of The Spirit has been telling about it since circa 610BC-430BC
"Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: " Psa. 102:25-26
-Before science ever knew what germs, bacteria, and quarenteen is, The Sword Of The Spirit has had it written since circa 1444BC
"All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be." Lev. 13:46
-Before science ever knew what the hydrologic cycle is, or how it works, The Sword Of The Spirit has been explaining it since circa 977BC.
"All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again." Ecc. 1:7
-Before Science even understood the significance of blood, The Sword Of The Spirit has been saying that the life is in the blood, since circa 4004BC.
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood" Lev. 17:11a
-Long before Science discovered that the blood clots the best in a person's life when they are eight days old, The Sword Of The Spirit has been telling us this is so, since it's first covenant taught that all baby boys were to be circumcised on their eighth day of life.
"And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed." Gen 17:12
-Science used to teach that the only part that women played in child conception, was to carry the child. It was thought that if a man were to spill his seed in mud, it could also produce a baby, if the conditions were right. However, since circa 4004BC, The Sword Of The Spirit has been teaching that women too, have seed (ovum).
"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Gen. 3:15
-The Sword Of The Spirit also teaches that humans and animals have different types of flesh.
"All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds." 1 Cor. 15:39
-The sword of the Spirit also teaches an answer to something that is still baffling scientists. Scientists still can't figure out what keeps an atom together. According to all known laws of physics, the atom should fly apart, not stay together. The Sword Of The Spirit has the answer as to not only how the atom stays together, but how all things consist. The answer is contained in Col. 1:16-17:
"For by him [Jesus] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist."
While science is trying to convince people that we got here via evolution, The never wrong Sword Of The Spirit says about them:
"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. " Rom. 1:22-23
There are much more scientific proofs in the sword of the Spirit, the above is just a tinysampling.
Chapter Four
The Sword Of The Spirit Is Historically Accurate.
Not only is this amazing, perfectly preserved Sword Of The Spirit scientifically accurate, it is also historically accurate.
The Sword Of The Spirit records many things of history, exactly as archeology has shown the events to happen...
Here are a few examples:
-The garden of Eden:
"And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates." Gen. 2:10-14
Archeological evidence points that the most likely site where Eden was, is 12 miles south of Ur, in a place called Eridu. Many ancient Babylonian texts also agree on this, as does the location that The Sword Of The Spirit gives.
-Noah's Ark
"And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat." Gen. 8:4
There is a huge mass in the mountains of Ararat, which fit the dimensions given by The Sword Of The Spirit of Noah's Ark. The only way to get to this thing, however, is on foot, and it is located in a very treacherous place. However, many photos have been taken of this object from airplanes flying over it. There has also been an expidition to it once, it which a wood sample was taken from the ark. It was dated to be about the same age as when the flood hit.
-The Separating Of The Red Sea:
"And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided" Ex. 14:21
The above says that the sea was held back by a wind. Raised beaches in the area of the Red Sea indicate that at one time, the sea used to extend further than it does now. When it did, it's possible that a steady wind could lower the level of the water, and create a land bridge. It's likely here that God, however, produced such an eastern wind, that the sea became walls on either side of the produced land bridge.
-The Falling Of The Walls Of Jericho:
"So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city." Josh. 6:20
An archeological dig in 1929-1936 discovered that the walls of Jericho did indeed fall down flat, as the above account says.
-Jonah And The Fish:
"Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." Jo. 1:17
There is a Whale Shark which has a history of "accidentally" swallowing humans whole, and vomiting them up, still alive, later. This event has been recorded to have happened to several men.
-Jesus' Tomb:
"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." Matthew 28:6
Jesus' tomb is believed to be at the foot of the hill He was crucified on. A tomb has been found, which fits the description and location that The Sword Of The Spirit gives. Go visit that tomb, and you'll find that the body of Jesus is indeed no longer there.
-Jesus' Ascension:
"And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God." 1 Cor. 15:4-9
Many of those witnesses have written their account of this event. Much of text of these records are in existence today, and some of them are inerrantly recorded in the Sword Of The Spirit.
Chapter Five
The Sword Of The Spirit Has A Mathematical Checksum
In the late 1800's to the early 1900's there was a Russian Mathematician named Ivan Panin. Panin was not only a mathematician but an expert in many ancient languages, including Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. These are the languages that the sword of the Spirit were written in. All of these languages have something interesting in common: None of them have numbers. Instead, when someone wanted to write a number in these languages, they'd write the letter that had the numerical value of the number they wanted to express. Ivan Panin knew about this, as does anyone who understands these languages.
Panin started reading from the ancient manuscripts of the sword of the Spirit, and discovered something amazing. In the below report you will find a mathematical checksum that miraculously appears in the ancient manuscripts of the sword of the Spirit. This checksum has never been refuted, and has never been found in any other writing anywhere. (NOTE: This is not the Equal Letter Distancing Bible Code.)
THAT GOD,
THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS,
DID (In Fact) WRITE THE 66 BOOKS
OF THE HOLY BIBLE.
SECTION 1
PREFACE
"Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain." I CORINTHIANS 3:18-20
This being the fourth printing of this report, we have modified the content by the addition of more information we have been able to develop through the past few years. You will now find the first phenomena that was discovered which "led" us to the full Bible discovery. We have also developed phenomena that shows that God selected the Books of the Books of the Bible, not man as claimed by many.
The original report was written solely as a "FACT SHEET" to be given to agnostic or atheist "intellectuals" by believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to literally show in the "scientific" methods of proof that the arguments they wish to make with believers are not with the believers, but are, IN FACT, with the AUTHOR of the BIBLE.GOD. It was designed to stop "attacks" on believers who believe on faith and do not have the "intellectual" ability to discuss matters with intellectuals who have pre suppositions that there is not (or there may not be) a God.
We have directed copies of the report to over 500 of the best known centers for agnostic or atheist beliefs, including universities or centers of learning conducted by Non-Christian organizations. We issued this challenge: "Disprove the report and its data OR produce any other text written by men as the scribes that will contain any of the same phenomena!" The ONLY condition we placed is that the phenomena MUST be from inherent factors of the language and not "contrived" by manipulation. By using a formula, the very word COMPUTER can be shown to have a value of 666, which is the number of the final ANTI-CHRIST; however, such methods are DESIGNED to produce the result and is not an "inherent" feature of the English language.
Although we have discovered a great deal more of different phenomena, we will concentrate on the Number SEVEN as this is the number attributed to God (created the earth in SEVEN days, etc). In this document, you will read of FACTS and PROOFS of God being the AUTHOR of the BIBLE. By using the same basic phenomena, based on the FACT that GOD "IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW" (Hebrews 13:8), you may make comparisons of other writings alleged to be God's Scripture.
THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT COPYRIGHTED. IF YOU WISH TO PRODUCE THIS DOCUMENT IN QUANTITY, WE ASK THAT YOU INDICATE OUR AUTHORSHIP, AND PROVIDE US WITH A COPY OF WHAT YOU PRINT FOR OUR FILES.
In this age, there seems to be many "intellectuals" both in the Christian community and outside it that disclaim the inspiration of the Bible by God. Denominations, sects and cults are coming into being on a daily basis that attempt to dehumanize Jesus or to humanize God, and in most cases attempt to make the Bible into GOD. No errors have been found by this organization, and all alleged errors have been shown, in context, to not exist upon careful investigation. In most cases, the believer has been confronted with the claim that "there is no scientific proof" of the Bible. the repeated under such conditions, and we invite such scrutiny. In addition, the sciences of archeology, astronomy, physics, Astro-physics or mathematics all have produced evidence of the correctness of the Bible even when the Bible was contradictory to the "known" science of a particular period of time.
We have discovered additional collaboration of our finding in the work of one, Dr.IvanPanin, who spent his life researching the veracity of God. The dedication of such a man is evident in the time consuming efforts expended by Dr.Panin. We deeply admire the effort and results of Dr.Panin, and dedicate this writing to his memory and to the Glory of our mutual Savior, Jesus Christ.
It should be mentioned that Dr. Panin issued much the same challenge we issued in our preface back in 1940. No one ever took up that challenge, and we still await the first challenge after three years ....
It is the hope and prayer that this document will be used to make it evident to a skeptic, whether they be "intellectual" or "agnostic" or "atheist" or a combination, that the God known in a personal relationship sense by those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior is the God of Nature, God of the Universe, and by proofs evident in this document, God of the Bible. We propose this "logic flow":
If GOD inspired the scriptures, then they cannot be anything other than the TRUTH.
If they are TRUTH then one of the TRUTHS is that JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY BY WHICH ANY HUMAN MAY COME TO GOD, and:
God is the same-yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
God is the "I AM" of the Bible and did not exist in any form other than as GOD, is the ONLY GOD in existence, and HE DOES NOT PERMIT ANY OTHER GODS TO EXIST IN REALITY (Mankind seems to make gods out of anything they wish).
That ANY teachings that ADD or SUBTRACT from the 66 Books of the Bible are NOT OF GOD, THE AUTHOR of these 66 Books. Jesus Christ commanded that "Not one jot or tittle be added or removed" from the Scriptures until His coming again. Jesus and the angels at Pentecost clearly made it known that Jesus would return EXACTLY as he left BODILY and FROM THE HEAVENS!
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF THE DIVINE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE
In discussing the matter of the evidences being presented in this report it is imperative that we provide an explanation of the inherent factors of the HEBREW, ARAMAIC and GREEK languages. These languages were unique in that they did not have a character or set of characters to represent numbers such as our present 1,2,3, etc.. Instead, the Hebrew language made use of the letters of the alphabet; so that the first letter of the alphabet stands for 1, the second for 2, the third for 3, etc., until the 11th letter represented 20, the twelfth letter 21, etc. through 800. (The Greek language also had this particular feature). Thus each letter has a numeric value. Thus each word can be given a value by adding the cumulative total value of each of its letters. Additionally, each character was assigned a PLACE value. If we were to apply the same factors to the English language by ignoring the fact that we have numerical characters we would do it like this:
PLACE VALUES
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 30 40 50 60
NUMERICAL VALUES
The difficulty in translating the Scriptures, due in part from these numeric methods, was also due to the fact that these languages did not have punctuation. Sentences were run together without spacing, commas, or any other basis of separation. In English this would be done in this manner:
SECTION 2
THISISASAMPLESENTENCEINTHEFORMFORGREEKARAMAICANDHEBREW
To break this down, we read the above sentence thus:
THIS IS A SAMPLE SENTENCE IN THE FORM FOR GREEK, ARAMAIC AND HEBREW.
Using the numeric factors of the languages, we note the chart above that the first ten letters PLACE values and NUMERIC values are the same. At the eleventh letter, the Numeric value of 100 is reached and then each letter would be increased by 100. In the Greek language, there are 22 characters. The last character would have a place value of 22, while the last character would have a numeric value of 400. To make an example of this in English, we would proceed thus:
THISISASAMPLESENTENCEWITHTHENUMBEROFKASHOWN
THIS IS A SAMPLE SENTENCE WITH THE NUMBER OF K A SHOWN
K = 11th letter with Numeric Value of 20 A = 1st letter with Numeric Value of 1 (or to say it where we can understand it)
THIS IS A SAMPLE SENTENCE WITH THE NUMBER OF 21 SHOWN
Now that we have explained the "difficulties" of these languages, we will now proceed with the "narration" of the first lead we received in our investigation to ascertain if there is any basis for "scientifically" proving the Bible.
COMPUTER VERIFICATION OF A MIRACLE
GENESIS 1:1 The Bible begins with "IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH." The number of words, in this one verse, in the original Hebrew (which was the language of the Old Testament) is SEVEN words.
These SEVEN words have 28 letters (4x7). These 28 letters are divided like this: The first three words (containing the subject and predicate of the sentence - "In the beginning God created".) have 14 letters (2x7); the last four words (containing the object of the sentence - "the heavens and the earth".) also have 14 letters (2x7). The last four words are thus subdivided: The fourth and fifth words (containing one object -"the heavens".) have SEVEN (1x7) letters; the sixth and SEVENTH words (containing the second object -"and the earth".) also have SEVEN (1x7) letters. In relation to the importance of the words, themselves, the 28 letters are thus divided: The three leading words, GOD the subject, heaven and earth the two objects, have 14 letters (2x7); the four words have also 14 (2x7).
The numeric value of the first, middle, and last letters of this sentence is 133 (19x7), while the numeric value of the first and last letters of all seven words in this verse is 1393 (199x7). The first and last letters of the first and last words have 497 (71x7); the remaining words (between the first and last) have 896 (2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 7). We break this amount down due to the factors being SEVEN and TWO taken as a factor SEVEN times. The three important nouns, God, heaven, earth, have 14 letters (2x7). The numeric value is 777 (111x7). The one verb, created has 203(29x7).
In this verse of only SEVEN words there are some repetitions. The untranslatable particle ETH occurs twice. The numeric value of these repetitions is 406 (58x7).
This whole sequence should be referenced through Hebrews 13:8 where it says that Jesus Christ is "the same yesterday, and today, and for ever" and where God, Himself answers Moses, in Exodus 3:14, that He is the "I AM", meaning that he was before all things and will be forever the same. We then conclude that:
If God is the same at all times and, by His own word, does not change, then the numeric phenomena, briefly shown above, should be a measure of whether God wrote the remainder of Genesis, or the Books of Exodus, or Jonah, or any other Old Testament, phrase or Book and
It would also hold true for the New Testament, even though the New Testament was written in Greek, the phenomena should hold true in IDENTICAL patterns. Finally,
We can also use the progressions of numerics as a test of other text that have been claimed as revelations from God. If the language of the ORIGINAL text is not Greek or Hebrew or Aramaic/Chaldean, then sufficient kinds of the numeric structures will be evident in as much as the language will permit. We ask that you take any of these text and test them against these structures. If they contain any multiple of the numerics shown here, we would like to have you communicate with us by directing a copy of the text, source of the text, and your name, address, and phone information.
Now, with this "key" provided us in Genesis 1:1, we proceeded to analyze the whole Bible. Keep in mind that there are in excess of three million words or twenty million characters in the 66 Books of the Bible. Also keep in mind that the "evidence" we are about to present would be null and void, in most cases, if EVEN ONE CHARACTER WERE DELETED, CHANGED OR ADDED!
"The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." Psalms 12:6
The results of our complete Bible investigation and analysis is thus:
The NUMBER of WORDS in the VOCABULARY will divide evenly by SEVEN.
The NUMBER of WORDS that begin with a vowel will divide evenly by SEVEN.
The NUMBER of WORDS that begin with a consonant will divide evenly by SEVEN