trying not to be long winded with my introduction to this subject I will simply start with this

How do you deal with the differences between faith and logic when it comes to the Bible / Word of God?

Do you believe the Bible is the literal WOG?

and

if so how do you reconcile the amazing amount of contradictions within the pages?

I am facing a fresh dilemma on this subject – My study gives me more and more doubt that it can be the literal WOG but my spiritual times with God/HS or whoever or whatever do not cease, the prophetic continues to flow in and through me and so with both these totally opposite polars I am beside myself with where do I sit …

I had a student (public school )ask me today if I believed in Jesus and the bible … and this has been my dilemma for quite some time …

welcome to the stages of a faith journey Tez……everything is up for challenge.

I think we all believed that our faith would remain the same forever and ever amen……..and when it actually starts to evolve we think we are losing it……..but no…..its just growing and evolving.

http://www.theocentric.com/spirituality/christian_living/stages_of_faith_a_map_for_the.html

If you want to read something more academic on this read Fowlers Stages of Faith there is an overview here http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/2219.htm

This is a great thread and a terrific question, Tez. I don’t think I have ever really (or at least never for long) believed that the Bible was the dictated word of God. Inspired, yes, but as a fiction writer, my understanding of inspiration, is very different to that of Literalist/Fundamentalist Christians.

When I get inspired with an idea, I then write that idea into a story which contains the idea, but it is not literally the idea, if that makes sense?

I believe the same is true of the Bible. Men were inspired by something they held to be true and wrote stories, poems and songs in order to convey that truth. The stories, poems and songs are not meant to be THE literal truth, but they contain the seed of it.

The Gospels, and histories on the other hand are eyewitness accounts of events, and even they will be coloured by the perceptions and beliefs of the witness recounting the story.

Yes, I believe Jesus lived and I believe he is the Son of God. The stories about him in the Bible are accounts passed down to us from people who knew him and walked with him, and they will bear both similarities and differences because of the personal filters and perceptions of the men and women who passed them on to us.

I don’t find that there’s terribly much conflict between faith and logic when I take this approach.

Blessings,

Hi Tez

That’s interesting that your bible college favoured a literal approach. It surprises me as one of the very first basics they taught in my college was about the various methods of writing used in the bible, such as parables. The latter were a common way of teaching spiritual truths in many ancient cultures. And clearly when Jesus spoke them, both he and the audience knew they were not to be literally interpreted.

And with the creation story in Genesis, it’s funny how literalists/fundamentalists would be more comfortable believing that there must have been incest in order for Adam and Eve to continue to populate the earth than they are to accept the story as symbolic/allegorical.

There’s different ways of judging something as “true, correct and accurate”. I mean the psalms are beautiful poems, expressing all the human emotions from struggle to praise and triumph that you could imagine. So just because they’re a record of subjective and very human experiences, are they any less true and accurate? I don’t think so. In fact because I relate to them so much and because I love the arts, they resonate very much with the truth of who I am and how I express myself. Meanwhile someone with a different personality might relate more with other aspects of the bible and that’s no less valid. And with parables, they tell a story in a simple, pictorial way that makes them accessible to everyone no matter what their education etc. The spiritual truth is contained within a story that’s an example so although it’s not an actual event that’s being reported, what could be more true than wisdom that’s given to all who are willing to hear? It’s a powerful way to get a message across that’s easy to remember.

The other thing is that even when preachers/teachers use creative licence (or are just plain ignorant) when interpreting the bible in relation to original contexts, God can still move and heal. And for the most part, I don’t believe a lot of church leaders are consciously trying to manipulate the truth. I don’t even think they are turning a blind eye as much as uneducated. And even for those who are taking full advantage of others by knowingly twisting the truth, God can still move. I recall the Steve Martin movie about the faith healer who was a fake and yet miracles happened. That put him into a bit of a crisis where he had to consider that perhaps God did exist.

The process of unlearning can take some time and can be really difficult. I remember those times of uncertainty and feeling really disoriented. After a while however I came to enjoy my own seeking of the truth, not relying on what I was told either in the church or outside of it. I started checking everything against multiple sources of information and tried to find the original translations rather than others’ interpretations upon which to base my beliefs. I think being open minded and learning to cope with the unknown is part of the journey. And that’s scary stuff for a lot of people from fundamentalism where things tend to be taught as black and white or absolute. There’s comfort in certainty and I recall being overwhelmed by a world of independent thinking beyond my church experiences. The sky was the limit in terms of how much truth was available to me…but where to start? I wanted someone to spoon feed me rather than be free falling without a parachute. It was terrifyingly daunting and painful but I see now it was necessary for me to mature.

I think it helps if you like learning too.

Blessings,

Ann Maree

No one was more suprised than me to find my faith again. I knew i would never be straight……so believed I’d be destined to hell. So why torture myself I thought……and walked away. It came back. miraculously…..very simply……very profoundly….very universal….things I’d previously held as truth no longer seemed to ring true any more…….I know longer had or needed all the answers. WHAT A RELIEF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this was the great mystery……I found God in not knowing.