Can anyone "UNDERSTAND" the bible?
917008
it's interpretation what it's about,\nbut a lot of stuff maybe not Literal,\nbut it's funny how the  story of the 'Flood' \nand other stories recur in remote religions throughout the world
224657
The Bible was written by people in the very early stages of mankind's existence, before we understood astronomy and how the planets and heavenly bodies worked.  We didn't get a good understanding of these things until the telescope was invented many centuries later.  There are many things in the Bible that we now understand through science, but at the time of the Bible's writing, it wasn't understood so the authors put down the best explanation they had at the time.  Even God's influence helped them keep it simple, in terms that the people of the time could understand.
803877
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.
1019943
Read it yourself, often, and pray about it.  The truth will be revealed to you as you get to know God's word better.  You should take the Bible literally for the most part.  Use your common sense.  There are parts that are merely symbolic.  When Jesus uses parables to illustrate a point, he tells us that's what he's doing.  I think if you study it yourself you will find that God speaks to us through the Bible and that many of the controversial parts are not as complicated as they seem.
149306
Absolutely.  Read the bible and then watch people try to dispute it.  If you don't read it first you will think they know everything when they are actually lying to the world.
53411
My impression from the Christians on this site (myself included) is that we are trying to at least clear up the confusion about Christianity and the Bible, but whether or not anyone is interested I can't say. \n\n My personal feeling is that if you're going to reject something, say Christ, you should at least know about what you're rejecting.  Some people do understand and reject what the Bible says, but most don't understand at all and have all kinds of pre-conceived notions that they've learned from the culture at large.
902978
i think u need to open the bible and read it , u are taking things way out of context. maybe read something before u start asking these questions that even if we gave u the answer u still won't understand. im not going to try to explain the whole bible to u, u can't just take 1 verse and go from there about what its talking about
277618
When I was in elementary and high school I learned hundreds of Bible verses as part of a yearly Bible Memory program all the kids in our family used (with some nice incentives every few weeks if you did it).  I certainly don't regret that (thanks Mom & Dad), but I went on to discover that it's equally important to understand the overall CONTENT of large sections, and how those verses fit in their original CONTEXT.    (I have often witnessed people citing some memorized verses to prove some idea, but they had no idea of how those verses fit into the chapter of book they came from-- their interpretation might be pretty reasonable or way off base, but without the context there is no check.)\n\nSo, I began to try to learn how various books of the Bible are put together -- to memorize an outline of the contents of a book.   That way if someone mentions or I'm thinking of something like "where did Jesus say. . . ?" I have a pretty good idea not only of what he said and where to find the chapter but I'll know what was going on just before and after he said it (the context).\n\nI still think it's important to learn verse and short passages --especially key ones (such as highpoints and turning points in a book)-- and if you can memorize much longer sections, that's great!   But now I have a better idea of the MEANING of the verses that I've memorized or that others mention and can more easily put my hands on related passages (for my own studies or in a discussion).\n\n(By the way, you don't need to have the "perfect" or fullest outline to benefit from this.  I have fairly sketchy outlines for some books, starting with the biggest pieces and major turning points.  For others that I've spent a lot of time in I've come up with more detailed outlines.)
829371
There is MUCH private interpretation, because people don't wait on God to give them revelation of what the scripture means. God told us not to lean to our understanding. A lot of people think they know what the Bible means because they've got education, but God doesn't care how much schooling. Remember the aposltles and prophets didn't go to "seminary" school.....they were taught by Jesus. Christians shouldn't even be cursing people out, because that's not Christ-like....yes they are hypocrites.
1049922
I agree that it is out of date, but I don't think that you can just go and arbitrarily change the content.  And by whose standards would it change?\n\nI think that there are many misinterpretations of the bible over the centuries.\n\nI am going to be ordering one that is supposed to be a direct translation from the orginal Aramaic New Testament to see what the difference is.  It is called The Modern New Testament : Translated from the Original Aramaic Sources by G. Lamsa.\n\nHaving said that, I also think that much of the bible directly speaks to that generation's society and political culture and therefore, not a lot of it has to do with how things are in this day and age, although I feel that Jesus taught us timeless lessons of love and acceptance and faith.  \n\nBut I don't believe that Jesus was the only master and that timeless lessons were taught by Mohammed and Buddha and many other masters as well.
225528
Just so you know where I stand. I asked a question of whether or not all the Bible should be taken literally or not. The best answer chosen was a good one.\n\nhttp://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ales.wK5IftnZfqP3dD5hbHsy6IX?qid=1006012504879\n\nWhen Jesus said regarding the bread and the wine, "this is my body and this is my blood of the New Covenant", He was not speaking literally. When the Bible says that the blood of Jesus washes away sin, we do not go off to mount Calvary and look for spots of blood to wash our sins away. Jesus said, "I am the door, whoever enters by any other way is a theif." The disciples did not turn to Jesus and see a large board with hinges and a knob. Jesus was saying there is a single way to heaven, and He is the Way.\nQuite a bit of the Bible is spoken in allegorical and metaphoic language. Jesus said that He was the Light of the world, the Good Shepherd, Living Water, the Bread of Life, and more. He came as the Lamb of God. He will return as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. All of which is true, but all spoken in a metaphoric language.\n\nWrath, I have not run in to any Christians who believe the Bible is 100% literal. However, there are many areas of the Bible that ARE literal and many are trying to change the statement because it is not politically correct, or they have an agenda or they find it personally offensive.\n\nCase in point:\nRobert Anderson worked for Scotland Yard during the Victorian era. He was the main investigator for finding Jack the Ripper. He took the prophecy in Daniel and was able to calculate the coming of the Messiah to the DAY. This is in the his book "The Coming Prince". He started this project based on taking the prophecy as being literal. He was rewarded for this effort with knighthood from Queen Victoria and became Sir Robert Anderson. However, in this same book, he notes the prophecies about Israel being gathered together and becoming a nation once more. Seeing how this has never happened in history, he dismissed the literal meaning as pure fantasy. In May 14th 1948, this brilliant man was proven wrong. The idea that the Jews would return to the land and make it Israel was so preposterous that this brilliant man equated it to being metaphorical--the literal interpretation was too hard to believe. So we could easily make a mistake by either way.\n__________________________\n\nBTW-This topic reminds me of a very good movie called "Lady Jane". One of the main focuses was the rise of the Protestant movement against the Roman Catholic church--especially in regard to transubstantiation. The Roman Catholics took the sacraments as being literally the body and blood of Christ, while the Protestants kept arguing that it was metaphorical. Check it out sometime!
1053398
yes, however, the bible doesn't tell you everything. its been changed many times that there are barely any more truths left in it, no offense. i suggest you read the translation of the quran. its interesting, try it
619620
Looks like you answered it yourself. However, my personal opinion is that I really don't care what it says, because I don't believe in it anyway.\n\nThe bible is all I need.
1174907
well I dont just read it through, I go by passages and I use a Student Bible becuase it has followups and questions to help you understand. I usually tell people to study the bible, not read it. I either read random passages or I look in the back where it says like "if you are worried read this, or if you  are losing faith read this". It often helps to read it according to your mood like when you are going through something. Otherwise just start with the New Testament, its usually the easiest :) Good luck and happy reading :)
108118
I don't know much about the bible but, the book of Revalations seems to be falling in place. If you are not saved, you might want to get right before it is too late!!!!
1184102
You are right it is there in black and white. instead of reading for themselves most allow themselves to be lead by another who most likely has his own ideas and traditions of men. and don't forget for almost all religions there is money involved. We can figure the Bible out just read it , it is so simple to understand.
795419
Actually, I think it would be quite difficult to "understand" the Bible as each concept that is presented is contradicted by another.  It's hard to understand a book that has no clear message.