Should we trust the "Bible" as our ONLY authoritative source for faith and practice?
It would seem based upon much of what I hear and see today that many who claim to be "Christian" are rather unsettled on their perspectives of the Bible. Society as a whole has risen up against absolute truth and even in a community of "so called" believers, one is hard pressed to find individuals who hold to a high view of the authority and exclusive nature of the Bible.
I believe the Bible is God breathed and without errancy. That is to say its authors were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write what they wrote. There is no other book to which it can be compared.
I have just recently issued a hub on this very subject. No, it is not the only source. The Bible itself has many references to "other" inspired writings which are not currently contained in the Holy Bible. These references are outlined in my hub as well. The Bible was not a single book handed around and added to but rather a compilation of letters, records and accounts. Of course over many, many, many, many and many years a lot of these words have been lost, hidden and some that God deems us not yet ready to have yet. These too shall eventually be made manifest according to His will. The object is to gain all works, study them and then make good and intelligent decisions on their truthfulness. To do anything less is to really not do yourself justice. You are worth more than that.
The bible, without question, is the word of God spoken through the spirit. Unless a person has the holy spirit in them, which is achieved by accepting Christ as their savior, they will never understand the bible. A person will never trust the Bible, until they are saved through Christ and therefore a personal relationship begins.
Most Christians are unsettled on what the Bible teaches because they have never been saved through Christ, or they want to rationalize their sin. We are all sinners and therefore will never be perfect. Each of us will hold account for what we did in this world on Judgment Day.
"Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish" John 11:25-26
To answer your question directly. No because He lives within us and communicates with us directly. The bible is there to confirm that our convictions are from God and help us to understand that conviction.
Needless to say God has His word out there in many forms. I believe that the Holy Spirit can use any means to talk to us. The hard part is listening.
Howbeit God's got His word out their in the form of the bible . Their are quite a few bibles out their and God through the Holy Spirit can guide each of us to the bible that He feels will benifit our personalities best. We need to ask God to direct us to the bible and any other inspirational books that He feels will be suited to helping us get to heaven and live with Him now and forever.
There is no better ever not in any other religion, or society, or politics.
The Bible is a one of a kind, and so is the Superiority of its Author.
Its men that have decided to try and water down the established foundations of God to suit themselves and in so doing have departed from the faith that set them free.
But thank God he is graceful to those that acknowledge him before men, regarless of there past .
If we study history we can find that historians provide the who, what, when, where, and how, but only the Bible can provide the why. It is a tool, a manual for living our lives here on earth. It is history, because history repeats itself, it offers us a chance to learn from others that have passed through and delt with things we must face today. It offers us advise on how God wants us to live our lives, and use the bible to guide our paths.
Psalms 119: 1 [a] Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,who walk according to the law of the LORD.
2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart.
3 They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways.
But it is also as mentioned earlier by one of your readers; if we have accepted Christ as our savior then he dwells with in us and leads us on the path to righteousness and there fore offer us guidance and assistance if we are open to his will. But I might caution you with regards to other books and written artifacts as tools to guide our lives by quoting the final verses of the New Testament:
Rev 22 18) I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
19and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from (the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
.
For me, the authoritatice sources for faith and practice is Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and Scripture. You take the time to read it, learn every context. It is written, the truth shall set you free. The truth in this book will set you free. Test everything you hear in Church, from Pastor's, etc. Going to Church services is good, but reading the whole Bible, a whole world opens up to you.
believer of Jesus Christ looks to Him, as the author and finisher of our faith. If we look at the people we will surely disappointed. pls read my hub may be it would help and many others. thanks.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Do-You-Trust-th … s-Happened
topgunjager said it so well I'm cutting and pasting his answer
the bible does have very meaningful lessons, it's the taking it literally is what's creating a mess in the world=)
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Yes bstiltner, you can trust the bible to reveal to you the true nature of God and His relationship to you.
YOU CAN NOT TRUST the interpretations of scripture by man passed down from generation to generation and presented as truth.
In my opinion, no. The Bible was not intended to be an instruction manual, but an inspiration. Our anxiety to have "answers" that we can rely on without fail leads us to clutch at it; it is so difficult to accept responsibility for our own choices and our own decisions about what is, or is not, right.
My view--heretical though it may be--is that the inconsistencies contained in the Bible are there precisely so that we won't give in to the temptation to read it as if it were a set of instructions. Our capacities to feel and reason are presumably God-given; they are best exercised--whether ethical exercise is more agreeable than the physical kind, or not!
The Bible is the Only book which one should use as a guide to living the propper life. The Bible is the word of God, therefore it is the only book.
My answer to you is YES this should be the only book that we look to for direction and instructions to live our lives. The Bible is the holy, inherent word of God written by him and for us. This is what he has given us as his people to guide us in our daily lives. Other people have written many books about parts of the Bible and its doctrines, but that is all they are books about parts of the Bible. The Bible is the insructional tool where by we should get our instructions for life.
We walk by faith. Faith is what we believe and not what we see man do. Man changes. He can say one minute that he going to do one thing and the next do something else. The bible is the only truth that has stayed constant. There is not another text of truth that has outlasted everything. Not one book in existence as long as the bible.
It may not be the "only" source, but it is the final source. The Bible gets the last word.
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