Protestantism

» Brian Tubbs - Response to Pink

In response to Waaaah, Waaaah! posted by pink101:

In an earlier post (and I did read the whole thing, Pink), you wrote: "The Bible came to be seen as the Revealed Word of God in a popular way. Before that, it had been seen almost exclusively as The Good Book and not to be taken literally."

I don't fully agree with this. It's overly simplified. You're right insofar as the theory of divine dictation became very popular - even entrenched in some ways - in fundamentalist circles in the 20th century.

Consequently, many fundamentalist Christians began to see the Bible in the same way that Muslims see the "Sacred Scrolls" given to Muhammad. It's as if the Bible floated down out of heaven and was given to the early church by the angels themselves.

However....I don't believe it's fair to say that mainstream, evangelical Christians prior to the 1800s and 1900s saw the Bible simply as the "Good Book."

Paul's letter to Timothy in which he says that "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God..." was STILL a solid core tenet of mainstream, orthodox Christianity - at least in the Protestant side of the house.

» pink101 - Response to Pink

In response to Response to Pink posted by BrianTubbs:
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I understand the hype that is being played out in retrospect regarding the authority of the Bible.
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You're presenting the typical argument one hears when questions like these are raised.
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The idea of "Evangelical Christianity" wasn't even popular until mid twentieth century and came to be so as a result of the ludicrous displays made by the Presbyterian Fundamentalist, Carl McIntyre.
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You can get some infor here:
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http://www.haigler.info/Cultural-Irrelev...
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-- posted by pink101

» HeadZenCards - Response to Brian

In response to Response to Pink posted by BrianTubbs:

If all scripture is given by inspiration of God, why are you afraid to discuss it?

This is a thread about resurrection, not how Christians saw the Bible in this century or that century.

Jesus-As-Written said he would send believers in his resurrection to eternal damnation if they did not do the will of his father, the LORD GOD.

Doesn't the LORD GOD, in your spirit right now, tell you to defend what He did in the OT?

-- posted by HeadZenCards

» Brian Tubbs - Response to Pink

In response to Response to Pink posted by pink101:

I'm not getting these responses - that you call "typical" - out of some script, Pink. Like you, I'm a student of church history. I do have a few clues as to what I'm talking about. I've read the writings of the early church fathers, some of the resolutions of early church councils, and doctrinal treatises throughout the ages. I'm telling you that the doctrine of divine inspiration of the Scriptures has been present throughout the history of the church. It's not a 19th or 20th century novelty. If you think it is, you're just plain wrong about that.

» pink101 - Divine Inspiration?

In response to Response to Pink posted by BrianTubbs:
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Divine Inspiration versus Revealed Word of God.
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Divine inspiration? That's not the question. It can be shown that everything is of divine inspiration as long as one accepts the idea of a supreme being that created existence.
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We are discussing the Bible as a true representation of God's Word in perspective to every thing else.
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That is the only trump anyone can have to void out any other position on anything.
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I think that is ludicrous.
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-- posted by pink101

» Brian Tubbs - Dictation

Well, I reject divine dictation of the Scriptures - except in a few instances. I believe the Ten Commandments, for example, were more or less divinely dictated. Overwhelmingly, though, I believe God inspired Scripture THROUGH the humanity of its writers. I think that this dimension is lost with a lot of folks who trumpet the Bible as the "Revealed Word of God." While I myself have (and do) use that term, I don't mean it the way that others do.

» pink101 - Dictation

In response to Dictation posted by BrianTubbs:
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But, once you go down the Road of Infallibility you are running down a one way street with no outlet--a cul de sac. There's only one way out.
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Best not to go down that road in the first place. Why? Because--no matter that it is or is not divinely inspired--in the final analysis, the Bible is a work created by human beings.
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We all can assume, with our human curiosity, that we will discover irrefutable proof of the origins of the Bible and all other scriptures supposed to be holy--things like the Koran and the Book of Mormon both of which can be easily seen as divinely inspired. It all depends on your perspective.
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I think reasonable people can consider any of the holy books as a divinely inspired work without having to succumb to any religion that might be created from its context. That means, people can discuss it and learn from it without having to be a Muslim, Christian, or a Jew. In fact, maybe taking them all together would give us a better view of what is and is not any true god. I know beyond any shadow of any doubt that no god orders the genocide of anyone's enemies.
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-- posted by pink101

» Brian Tubbs - Dictation

In response to Dictation posted by pink101:

I see your point, but I think it's fair to evaluate and assess Paul's declaration that the Bible is divinely inspired. If you read his letters, he is saying that the Christian church (not just then - but after his death) should be based on the Scriptures. And, it's also clear, that he is expansive in his definition of the Scriptures - he's talking about the doctrines and teachings of the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles (and he knew himself to be an apostle).

» pink101 - Dictation

In response to Dictation posted by BrianTubbs:
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And, that's fine; but, where's the respect for down to earth Islam and down to earth Judaism? And, where is their respect for down to earth Christianity?
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There's the problem.
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And, it is definitely a part of the STRUGGLE in which Jesus centered his life.
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-- posted by pink101

» Brian Tubbs - Down to Earth

In response to Dictation posted by pink101:

Explain "down to earth" in the way you mean it