Excuse me, ma'am, but I was wondering if I could sit with you under this umbrella of shade since it is above average for a typical summer day. Thank you! I can't help but notice that you are a devoted Christian and an activist in your church. How do I know that? Well according to the cross that hangs around your neck, the T-shirt that you are wearing quotes an anthem or motto that most Christians live by their entire lives, "Do you know who died for you...God conquers all," your bracelet carries the letters WWJD as it dangles around your wrist, and in front of you there is a stack of books that contains the Bible, a daily devotional, a study guide for a Bible Study, and a bulletin from last Sunday's service, at least according to the date, I would say that you are devoted Christian.
Your facial expressions remind of someone who is perplexed and unsure about what is happening in the present. Please trust me: I am also a Christian, but a specific type of Christian; one who believes but questions the nature of the Bible and its ability to remain consistent. You don't believe I am a Christian because I am wearing black pants, a black dress-shirt, and sunglasses. Since when does my physical appearance decide if I am a Christian or not? Sure, what I wear may say something about who I am or who anyone is, but just because when one wears black it doesn't mean that they become, automatically, an atheist. That is besides the point. You don't believe that a Christian would question the words of God and question what his messages are attempting to say to his followers. Isn't it our right, as Christians, to question whether the words of God are substantial enough to meet our spiritual connections and needs? I believe it is. What did you say? You believe that we should be able to question God's words. But... But what? If you allow me to stay, I promise I will tell you why I am questioning the words of God on the realization that God is still present in my life. And I promise to answer your "but!"
To my understanding, the words of the Bible, at least the Old Testament, were words directly from God but transcribed by those who God spoke to directly. For example the stories of Moses were written by an another author besides Moses and besides God, meaning that the words in those stories and many others are rough translations of what God was preaching about. This occurs again in the first book of the Bible, Genesis: In this particular book God was never accused of writing down his methods to creating the earth nor creating man, but for some mysterious reason through the writings of some other author, we are told how and when God created earth and man. These words didn't just write themselves. They were told by God to someone else who could have matter a fact mis-interpreted or mis-understood what God was saying. You say these are just minor examples from a huge book of faith and inspiration. You are correct to some degree. These are just TWO examples out of 39 Old Testament readings which means that these are just TWO examples that create a trend or foundation for the other 37 stories remaining in the Old Testament.
Don't get me wrong ma'am, I believe in the words of God and I believe in his ways and methods, but the whole idea of following and devoting our lives to the writings of unknown authors just seems to rub me in the wrong way.
On the other side of the Bible, you say that the New Testament is a hundred percent true and free from mistakes since Jesus was physically present during this time. I will never be able to convince you otherwise about your feelings and understandings of the Bible, but I can provide a counter argument that might make you stop and think about how error free the Bible may appear to be or not appear to be. In the New Testament, for instance, if you carefully consider the words of Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20-21, you will notice that all these specific chapters from the apostles are telling the same basic story, but if you pay attention to what is being said, you will notice some inconsistencies. For example, after Jesus rises from the dead, Matthew indicates that Jesus will be in this place while Mark suggests another place. As for Mary (the virgin) and Mary Magdalen, the apostles all say something different about who was really there when the stone was rolled away. Or was the stone rolled away? You believe it was. You should double check.
Well before I depart, I want you to know that I have already taken into the consideration that there is no way that I can possibly change your views on the words of God or even Jesus to that matter, but most importantly I want you to realize that although the Bible, the words of God, seem perfect, they do contain some inconsistencies which provides us, as Christians, the chance to question the words and authors of God. Maybe this means that the words of God are meant to be changed, depending on the situation? You can take the words of God however you please, but for me, I will continue to follow his words but at the same time question if these words are really His own.
Farewell. 'Til next time my friend. Enjoy the umbrella of shade!
Images:
http://www.redletterchristians.org/wp-content/uploads/God-Write-the-Bible.jpg
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http://www.history.com/s3static/video-thumbnails/AETN-History_VMS/334/402/History_The_Bible_Hour_10_Recap_SF_HD_still_624x352.jpg
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