Not sure this works. Commenting only to bump this up again

Oh no don't worry you didn't offend me! Yes I am still curious! But I deleted it because I think your answer was pretty logical. I hadn't thought of that so I may have felt ashamed of my question and then removed it. However, I actually did come up with more questions concerning it: The Bible was written through God, right? Now since God knows everything, why do the witness accounts, for example on Judas' death, in the NT differ so much whilst in the OT I haven't found such a thing yet. If the Scriptures are God-breathed, don't they come from one God? This is my question now, which made my other post irrelevant. Also, something funny I found: Jesus never spoke of the Bible. He did speak of the OT, however. Jesus only said that the Holy Spirit would come down from heaven and show us the way, he never said the Bible would. So then: the Bible really is just a tool that leads us to Christ basically. However, such a difference in the NT makes me wonder about the OT also. Surely the NT consists of different witness accounts, but like I said before, Scripture tells us it's God-breathed so why is this so different?

I am just wondering really and I have been full of questions lately hahaha I hope you understand :P

These are all some excellent thoughts. And, please, remember what I said in the intro of this group: there are no dumb questions....only unsaked ones.....cause, how will you know unless you ask?

Thinking of this this morning, I am reminded of something Paul said:

Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren
Romans 1:13

Romans 11:25
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery

1 Corinthians 10:1
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant

1 Corinthians 12:1
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

2 Corinthians 1:8
For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant

1 Thessalonians 4:13
But I would not have you to be ignorant

2 Peter 3:8
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing

"Ignorant" meaning laching in knowledge. Paul was concerned that the Christians he was mentoring be knowledgeable. That, if there were any questions, ask, so he could help them know.

The same thing holds here. I do not claim to know everything in the Bible....but, together, we will find the answer.

Alike minds think greatly. You were posting while I was. I took me that long.

2 Timothy 3:16 New Living Translation (NLT)
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

So, here's some thought on this:
There 66 books in the Christian Bible. It is divided into 2 parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Jesus spoke of the Old Testament because he WAS, AND IS the New Testament. (No, not everyone thinks about this. So, don't slap yourself up side the head, saying, "Why didn't I think of that.")

The Old Testament is divided into 39 books. The New Testament into 27 books.

It is believed Moses wrote the first 5 books of the Old Testament.
In the New Testament, there are possibly 14 "Pauline Epistles", or letters, from Paul to different churches. John wrote the Gospel of John, I, II, III John, and Revelations. Peter wrote I, II Peter.

The point I'm trying to make is....there were many different people used to write the books of the Bible. God used these people. God "inspired" them. God, with the help of the Holy Spirit, chose and used these men to give us what we call "The Bible". But, God gives people choice. He always has. From Adam and Eve to you and me. Each of these people write in their own styles. Remember, the scripture says "all scripture is INSIRED by God..."

Some people have major problems with the gospels. Because the don't "jive." (They don't tell things exactly the same) I say, they were written by 4 different men, like letters, to 4 different groups of people. For instance, Luke was a doctor. He would have included more human detail. Matthew wrote mostly for the Jews, who were very interested in Jesus' lineage.

My main point here is that we put limits on God. We think only in limited ways. God is unlimited.

Isaiah 55:8-9 King James Version (KJV)
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

I pray this helps.

Oh it certainly does help! It cleared up a lot of questions in fact! My main issue with today's Christianity however, is that a lot of people start to make an idol out of the Bible. That's really sad... because Jesus clearly said that Holy Spirit will guide us. Surely the Holy Spirit can guide us through the Bible, but this doesn't mean that the Bible is equal to it. The Bible, as you state, was provided with a clear human bias.

This is why I call the Bible ''a tool that leads us to Christ''. Sadly, the Bible is often also used as ''a tool of power''. This is why I think it's very important to understand the human bias in it. Humanity isn't perfect. God is. I'd therefore rather listen to my Holy Spirit. This is something that also kept me away from Sunday service. The pastor told me that I should ''choose for Jesus and thus step in front for a Sunday prayer''. He said this to the entire crowd but also to me personally, which sort of made me feel attacked. Who is he to judge my relationship with Jesus? Surely he's an example but he had no right to say that. I did not like this and it reminded me of how that cult also did it. Surely not as extreme, but it has similar traits. I know that it is important to step out of your comfort zone for Jesus but I really don't like doing such a thing in all of a sudden, especially when you'd rather keep your issues between yourself and God. He probably didn't mean it this way (or so I hope) because it really affected me.

He's quite a fanatic person, I heard from his son-in-law, who was like a second father to me during my childhood. He said he finds it very important to stay open-minded as a Christian and I could totally relate. He also said that, as much as he believes and as much as he has devoted his life to God (I'm talking about the son-in-law), he will never say that he knows for certain. I also agree here. Every person that tells me that he or she is certain about what he or she believes is lying. Because we just don't know.

Also a lot of information I find on the internet is often greatly biased, both Christian and non-believer biases. What I then ask myself is ''What is truth?''. No, I am not saying Jesus doesn't know the truth, in fact He is the truth. But I mean to say that really Jesus knows this truth and that we humans often fail to understand this truth. All this has shown me how imperfect we are as humans. It's incredible.

I could then also use this to answer my question about the Bible. Is the Bible all that ''truthful''? Well, like you said indeed, it is inspired by God. But it being inspired by God doesn't necessarily mean that comes directly from God. Humans play a role in it. In fact, at college, I learn oh so much about how the human involvement makes everything oh so imperfect and so unsafe and that humans are often the cause of trouble and issues. That explains a lot. Thanks a lot and God bless!

I think you need to study hermeneutics. That is the art and science of Bible interpretation. It means that you need to look at verses in context. Incontext to the passage, the chapter, the book and the Bible. And in physical context of the time and the place things were written. Was something cultural, or universal? That is a challenge, and something many forget.

The Bible is NOT an idol, although I agree someone can make it a idol. Instead, Luan, you need to realize the Bible is totally God's word and totally correct. So that means you do need to follow it.

Because God speaks through the Word to us - more than anything else today. Of course, the Holy Spirit illuminates that Word. Have you ever read a passage you had read many times before, and suddenly it comes alive? It has meaning for a crisis or problem in your life. It leads you to know God better. Well, that is the Holy Spirit illuminating the Word of God.

The Holy Spirit works together with the Bible, to teach and guide us. Without the Bible, or if you think the Holy Spirit is revealing something that either is contrary to the written word of God, you are probably not hearing from the Holy Spirit, but an angel of light, sent to deceive even the very elect!

"And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise them." 2 Cor. 11:14

So any time anyone tells you that you can just be lead by the Holy Spirit, I want you to think about this. If you don't know what the Bible says through study, meditation, memorization and prayer, then how will you know if you are truly hearing the Holy Spirit, or some false angel? God will never lead you contrary to his Word.

That is why I urge people over and over to read the Bible from cover to cover. Not because it is a idol, but because it is the way the Holy Spirit guides us. As to your assertion that the Bible might not be totally true, have you ever tested it? Because I have, for 36 years. I have read it once through every year I have been a Christian, studied it in Hebrew and Greek, and read most of the New Testament in Greek and a lot of the Old Testament in Hebrew. I read the Bible several times in French, and the NT in Spanish. I've studied it in seminary. And when I came upon things I did not understand, God always showed me how the Word was right and true.

You have a large chip on your shoulder right now, since that pastor said that. I learned very young as a Christian, that when something feels wrong, it probably is. But if there is fear and trembling, it might be that God is using that person to speak through. But whatever it was, you are living in unforgiveness, because you keep bringing up the incident and remembering it, and Jesus is clear that if we don't forgive another Christian, he will not forgive us. So forget about the Holy Spirit leading and guiding you. You have chosen to walk away from God, by not obeying his word.

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Eph. 4:32

"And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Mark 11:21