Does parables make you understand TRUTH clearer or more confused?
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A.  People like stories are are more likely to pay attetnion.\nB.  Stories are more likely to be passed along.\nC.  Jesus wanted us to think.  He gave us the facts but its up to us do search it out for ourselves.
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Education SHOWS us how to think; Propaganda TELLS you what to think. People do not create TRUTH; they reach out to comprehend it. Let us take a look at John 1:1 Not from Jehovah's Witnesses point of view but from a secular Biblical source. This will allow us not to become "bias", nor allow us to see it from a philosophical arguments to evade its clear statements of truth. \n \nHere is a transliteration of the Greek and a direct translation: \n”en arche en logos kai ho logos en pros ton theon kai theos en ho logos.” Word for word rendering as: “In beginning was logos and the logos was toward the theos and theos was the logos.” \n\nFor clarity, ”In the beginning was the Word and the Word was unto THE Theos and the Word was theos.” Pros ton theon denotes the subordinate position of the Word, who, although he is given to share in the same Divine Nature as the Father (as we are, 2 Peter 1:4), looks to, or towards THE God in subjection to Him and is thus not co-equal or co-eternal with the Father. \n\nIf one does a search of Strong Dictionary: 4314 PROS, it will be clear it means to or toward and NOT with. Also, the distinction between the one true Theos and one who is a subordinate theos also called the logos, is evident in the Greek. The definite article Strong Dictionary: 4314 TON precedes THEON and thus refers to THE Theos, the one true Elohim. This fact indicates the addition of the indefinite article (a) before theos at the end of the verse, as in the NWT, is appropriate in that it provides the correct meaning of the text. \n\nAt JOHN 1:1 the King James Version reads: “The Word Was God”? The Journal of Biblical Literature, edited by Jesuit Joseph A. Fitzmyer, notes that if the latter part of John 1:1 were interpreted to mean “the” God, this “would then contradict the preceding clause,” which says that the Word was with God. (Someone who is “with” another person cannot be the same as that other person)\n\nOn the other hand, there is no article before the second the·os´ at John 1:1. So a literal translation would read, “and god was the Word.” Yet we have seen that many translations render this second the·os´ (a predicate noun) as “divine,” “godlike,” or “a god.” On what authority do they do this?  The Koine Greek language had a definite article (“the”), but it did not have an indefinite article (“a” or “an”). So when a predicate noun is not preceded by the definite article, it may be indefinite, depending on the context.\n\nThe Journal of Biblical Literature says that expressions “with an anarthrous [no article] predicate preceding the verb, are primarily qualitative in meaning.” As the Journal notes, this indicates that the lo´gos can be likened to a god. It also says of John 1:1: “The qualitative force of the predicate is so prominent that the noun [the·os´] cannot be regarded as definite.” (So John 1:1 highlights the quality of the Word, that he was “divine,” “godlike,” “a god,” but not Almighty God. This harmonizes with the rest of the Bible, which shows that Jesus, here called “the Word” in his role as God’s Spokesman, was an obedient subordinate sent to earth by his Superior, Almighty God.)\n\nThere are many other Bible verses in which almost all translators in other languages consistently insert the article “a” when translating Greek sentences with the same structure. For example, at Mark 6:49, when the disciples saw Jesus walking on water, the King James Version says: “They supposed it had been a spirit.” In the Koine Greek, there is NO “a” before “spirit.” But almost all translations in other languages add an “a” in order to make the rendering fit the context. In the same way, since John 1:1 shows that the Word was with God, he could not be God but was “a god,” or “divine.”\n\nJoseph Henry Thayer, a theologian and scholar who worked on the American Standard Version, stated simply: “The Log
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It is a good question actually. The reason God does not clarify things to end the confusion is because God doesn't do anything. It really is that simple. And Master Jesus made this perfectly clear but the Christians didn't listen because they were running around with "itchy ears" and "another gospel". It is safe to say that for all practical purposes there is no active god, and there never was.
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I've always held the belief that the Bible has been changed to fit the beliefs of whoever commissioned the latest translation.  It's no surprise to me at all that some of the stories were tacked on later as some were removed when they didn't fit in with what was being taught at the time.  \n\nWhy is the Bible supposedly above scrutiny?  Why is it that when people question whether or not it was written and re-written by men, people freak out?  In this day and age, if somebody were to claim they were divinely inspired to write a holy book, we'd call them nuts.  But, we should just believe that this particular group of men really were divinely inspired?
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The answer depends on which stories and the context in which you are asking.  Much of the Bible relates true history and has been documented by archealogical study.  Some Bible stories are exactly that, stories.  This doesn't mean they are not true in the theological sense.  They are stories told to relate a truth about God and his relationship with people.  Its like telling a story to illustrate a point.  The story may not be true, but the point the teller is making is true.  The key is to know what kind of story you are reading.  There are histories.  There is poetry.  There are songs.  There are philosophical dissertations.  Many forms of literature appear in the Bible.  When reading remember what the Bible is for.  God is trying to help us to know who he is and how he wants us to be.  If we read looking for the answer to these questions, "Who is God?" and "Who are God's people?" we will find that the answers found in the Bible are always true.
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Jesus spoke in parables.
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These contradictions are natural and expected if you think of these books as ancient writings.\n\nBut they can be confusing and frustrating if you believe the books are THE WORD OF GOD.
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I was brought up Catholic from birth and was brainwashed into believing what I was taught as teachings from the Bible. I have always believed and honored my spirituality in God, but too many years of it was not based in His Word.  \n\nLuckily, I was led to the Bible & I have been trying to sort out the Truth from the lies. It's a hurtful issue that I am working hard to overcome and find acceptance with. I am very confused, and somewhat bitter as well, but, at the same time, am I VERY thankful for the wonderful people here who share their knowlegde with beginners like me and are helping me along.  That in itself defines truth Faith in God to me and the power of believing he always there for you if you seek him.   Thank You everyone.
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Yes, I support this view.\n\nI think all the religious texts have some wisdom in them, but you can't take them literally.  Some bits were written just for that time and aren't applicable, some are true bits of wisdom that stand the test of time.  However all to me is just nice stories to tell a message/moral, not history.
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It pays here to remember that the Bible is a complex set of individual books, spanning a range of literary genre and purpose: history, civil and religious law, poetry, biography, prophecy, etc. One interpretative lens isn't adequate.\n\nThe best approach in my opinion is to know what type of literature you're reading, and to consider the author's purpose: the Psalms are highly figurative in places, but recount history in others, so weave in and out of the literal/figurative: ultimately, their purpose is to declare God's glory in song. The Proverbs, to encapsulate wisdom in poetic form (highly metaphorical). Then you have more literal books, like the Gospels, i.e., the biographies of Jesus, or the New Testament epistles to the eary Christian churches, both types of writing meant to be taken quite literally. Of course, a book like the Revelation is highly symbolic.\n\nWhen the Bible is reporting history (people, places, events), take it as such; when it's using poetry as its communication medium, look for more embedded truth, etc. Allegorizing everything, and coming to individual interpretations, runs contrary to a religious text that is making specific truth claims; on the other hand, forcing a wooden literal interpretation on every word of the scriptures leads to some contradictory and irrational conclusions (the psalmist declares that God will cover you with his wings, but we should not then conclude that He is a chicken).\n\nAs for recordings of the miraculous, I see no problem. If I can swallow "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," I shouldn't choke at the comparative child's play of the parting of a sea, etc. A Creator who brought the laws of physics into existence certainly can intervene by temporarily suspending or altering them them for specific purposes. After all, that's exactly why Christ performed miracles: to establish his bona fides as that Creator who actually could suspend the natural order at will.
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We all cut and choose in the Bible- most of us couldn't hang with most of Deuteronomy, for instance.  The Holy Spirit leads us to know what is right for us and what isn't.  A lot of the Bible- The Book of Job, the parables of Jesus-are presented as fiction in the first place, and are meaningful anyway.
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That would depend on your definition of truth.\n\nFrom a mathematical point of view, logic can help you derive the truth by reasoning your way into verifiable conclusions.\n\nFrom a religious point of view, logic will not help you in any definitive way since truth in that sense comes from faith, and faith cannot be reasoned. It requires a leap of faith to arrive at the truth.
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That is a great question. The word of God (the Bible) is progressively revealed to us over time as we walk with God by faith. Thus, what truth I had as a younger believer should be deepened and enriched over time and with experience.Some biblical truths transcend our opinions (i.e. the diety of Christ, His virgin birth, etc.) A saying that has always helped me is this: In opinions liberty, in essentials unity and in all things love.
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Some, like the Gospel of Thomas, seem as sound as anything in the NT.  Some Gnostic scriptures are so strange I am not sure what they are about, like Thunder, Perfect Mind.\n\nhttp://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/thunder.html
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There are loads of contradictions in the Bible. Maybe if the church let us see all the books of the Bible. Including the stuff they rejected for the final canonical version of the bible we would understand fully the religion.
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The Bible is very reliable and the message has not been changed with new translations.\n\nThere is contradictions in the Bible but I would like you to ask specific contradiction so we would be able to help ou to understand.\n\nThere is very big change that the Bible will not make any sense to you if you do not let Holy Spirit in your heart to guide you.\n\nThe Bible is written by men but inspired by God.Feel free to contact me personally....and if you ask specific contradiction questions here, you will get great answers.\n\nGod bless.
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Yes, TRUTH (what GOD Thinks, Says and Creates) is EVERY WHERE and at ALL Levels of Human Understanding.\nAnd The Holy Spirit is trying to Teach us too.  All of the Time.