His Word Endures Forever

The Bible has to be the single most controversial.influential and illustrious book of all time. No book has endured such heated attempts to banish it and destroy it or to defend and uphold it. No other book makes the incredible claims the Bible makes of itself, although a few other may have portions where they make similar claims. By its very nature alone the Bible earns the right to be looked at,studied and examined to see if what's in it be found true or false.

The Bible declares it is God's Word, as stated in 1 Timothy as well as Psalms and a few other places. The Scriptures spoken of in any and all books of the Bible of course refer to the Old Testament. The law and the prophets. God's Word is living and active and able to pierce the heart, judging all thoughts and intentions therein. A key point though is that the original manuscripts, written in hebrew, greek and aramaic, were wholly inspired. We have never possessed those originals, and thus have done as authentic a job as possible in remaining true to translating what the original writings said. Many copies of all the books of the Bible are in existence in various museums and universities which provide a landmark amount of evidence to back up the credibility of the Bibles claims to its Divine authorship.

So much is happening today as far as positions taken on the authority of Scripture. many faulty interpretations have been written,preached and taught throughout the centuries, and will continue on, due to the fact humans as a whole have deficiencies which take us away from always having a comprehensive,accurate knowledge of what the intent was meant by the writers of the individual books in the canon. It is very much encouraged in present day culture to let scholars and those deemed an authority on a subject to do our thinking for us. After all, are we not the decade of fast everything???? Fast information so why not fast listening and learning, as well as fast processing of info which was given??? Spiritual.emotional.relational growth just isn't supposed to happen that way.

The *Jesus Seminar* has recieved lots of attention, both negative and positive. Very interesting to examine their methods and rationale for just how they arrive at their conclusions. All of have preconceived notions inside our minds. We all have biases, just cannot avoid it unless you choose to somehow make your mind a blank slate in some way or another. Presuppositions are in place before we process new information. Look over the background of those who participated in the Jesus Seminar,seek out their theological presuppositions and beliefs. Is it any wonder they come to a position where they basically proclaim most of the Bible is copied and pasted by various authors who many are other than those stated as being the actual authors??? Do they honestly believe they have the ability to determine that Jesus only said a small portion of what is actually attributed to him in the Bible???

In one way the Bible is very easily understood and plainly seen. God reveals Himself to us and how He reconciles us back to Himself. But most of the Bible is written in various styles and genres, which have no intent of being taken literally. It was written to an audience of the first century, NOT the 21st!!!!!! Audience relevance is a big key in interpreting correctly. Looking back and researching how the people of that day understood what was said vital.

I am preaching to the choir here. I am wanting to examine the Old Testament sop much more to gain a better understanding of the intent by the authors and how the hearers then would have made sense of what they were hearing. All of us are together on the journey of life and it sure is filled with valleys and montaintops. I have come across things that challenge my previous learning and which cause me to realize there are many places where I could be wrong. Pretty scary to come to that, especially when it has been deeply rooted a long time and tied in emotionally and to friends and authority figures you love and respect. I brought up the Jesus Seminar because for all intents and purposes, they tear down the authority of Gods Word and the supremacy and Divine power and nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. Any who differ on this, feel free to share why. Anyone who has anything to add i truly hope and pray you do so. It is hard to make these kinds of posts on here, i am used to talking personally and from my own ups and downs. I am in no way trying to make myself out as an authority or one who tells others what they should believe or not. I do write as one who has sought to come to grips with these issues and who seeks to shine light on why the Bible IS Gods Word and can withstand any and all challenges, even if those challenges come from within Christianity itself. Our thoughts and feelings are fallen and not entirely reliable. Gods Word IS 100%!!!!