Christians who know the bible...?
925763
Job 41:19-21 says of Leviathan that, "Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. Out of his nostrils goes smoke as out of a seething pot or caldron. His breath kindles coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth." \n\nand BTW. I'm an atheist who knows the Bible, apparently better than the four Christians above who clearly don't.
127555
No but some christians do have the bible so far up there ass that they can see anything else. I am a christian but I do not believe in pushing my beliefs on someone else or got all irate about how someone else believes or acts. I am only responsible for myself and can only make decisions for myself.
1144068
There are over 10,000 unique Christian cults in the US alone. You can study the bible for the next 500 years and you still won't be in agreement with millions of other people who have chosen a different interpretation.\n\nI was a practicing Christian for over thirty years, studied the bible and religion and I assure you the bible is a book of mythology and supernatural entities ("Gods") do not exist in fact.\n\nThose who claim they "know" what the bible "really means" are either ignorant, dishonest or delusional. No one knows what the bible really means as evidenced by the millions of different interpretation (one you just offered), most of which do not agree with each other.\n\nThere is only one principle shared by the majority of Christians and that principle is:\n\n"We are better than everyone else and we can sin all we want with no eternal penalty."\n\nThat is not a valid doctrine, it is childish nonsense.\n\nBut, to each his own.
725140
Mt:7:20: Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.\n\nIf you see someone and they are doing evil, they are not Christian. You will know them by their deeds.\n\n\nIN His Holy and Precious Name, Jesus Christ\n\nemail DiscipleDave@aol.com\nhttp://members.aol.com/discipledave/book/Index.html
579869
First, ignore the ignoramus bible thumpers.  Second, what do you need to know?
552451
I believe it is human nature to assume that someone who defies what you believe in, doesn't know what they're talking about. That doesn't make this assumption true however. I am a Christian and I know there are many people out there that are well versed in Christianity, even if they do not share the belief. Some of them probably even know more about it than I do. I know about other religions as well. I think it is important to know about and the different faiths and non-faiths of the world.
1029956
No way! I don't know how you came to that conclusion by reading the Bible...You must be listening to another of those preachers who knows nothing about the Bible and parrots everything he tells you from someone else.\n\nI am so tired of preachers and lay persons who do not think for themselves but parrot what they hear from others and only consider one side of a question.
80778
I think the bible is a book. Printed on paper made by men, with ink made by men, and full of fables and folklore written by men for the purposes of men. \n\nMany Christians hold to that book as though it is their "idol". They believe it so blindly that even if God itself were to come down and tell them that even ONE verse in it was wrong they would side with the "idol/bible" over God itself.
1181052
You are right on the money. Non-believers seem MUCH more knowledgable about the history of Christianity and the bible as well. Seems like the more you know about it, the less sense it makes....
1139981
I'm of the christian faith. I live in the bible belt of the United States, though I've rarely been inside a church.... I put effort into my religion every day, every second of every day, and have done so since I was 4 or 5, am not even sure of my age when I began to seek God....since that time I've read and studied my bible( nearly every home in the bible belt has several bibles at the least); however, since gaining internet access 4 years ago, I've extended my research to studying the origins of christianity (which originates in Judaism; big DUH but the statement make s my line of thought flow more smoothly:)... and have found the books of the Bible ( especially the new testament) to be the best documented piece of ancient literature yet found and Judaism to be non polluted/diluted by other ancient religions...the Bible was penned by 40 different authors from many different social backgrounds and over 1500 years worth of writing; and all of those writings don't conflict in any way.. the bible can be argued with ( though all arguments so far can be traced to mistranslation of original language or ignorance of cultural context) but not proven false.... in a nutshell,there is no physical/scientific evidence to disprove either Judaism or its culmination,Christianity... Shalom v'shalom
320873
I am christian and I take the Bible seriously.\n\nReasons for considering the Bible\n\nThe Bible itself says it is from God, mankind’s Creator\n\n2 Tim. 3:16, 17: “All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.”\n\nRev. 1:1: “A revelation by Jesus Christ, which God gave him, to show his slaves the things that must shortly take place.”\n\n2 Sam. 23:1, 2: “The utterance of David the son of Jesse . . . The spirit of Jehovah it was that spoke by me, and his word was upon my tongue.”\n\nIsa. 22:15: “This is what the Sovereign Lord, Jehovah of armies, has said.”\n\nWe would expect God’s message to all mankind to be available around the globe. The Bible, the whole or in part, has been translated into some 1,800 languages. Its circulation totals in the billions. Says The World Book Encyclopedia: “The Bible is the most widely read book in history. It is probably also the most influential. More copies have been distributed of the Bible than of any other book. It has also been translated more times into more languages than any other book.”—(1984), Vol. 2, p. 219.\n\nBible prophecy explains the meaning of world conditions\n\nMany world leaders acknowledge that mankind is on the brink of disaster. The Bible foretold these conditions long ago; it explains their meaning and what the outcome will be. (2 Tim. 3:1-5; Luke 21:25-31) It tells what we must do in order to survive the impending world destruction, with the opportunity to gain eternal life under righteous conditions here on earth.—Zeph. 2:3; John 17:3; Ps. 37:10, 11, 29.\n\nThe Bible enables us to understand the purpose of life\n\nIt answers such questions as: Where did life come from? (Acts 17:24-26) Why are we here? Is it just to live a few years, get what we can out of life, and then die?—Gen. 1:27, 28; Rom. 5:12; John 17:3; Ps. 37:11; Ps. 40:8.\n\nThe Bible shows how we can have the very things that lovers of righteousness desire most\n\nIt tells us where to find wholesome associates who truly love one another (John 13:35), what can give assurance that we will have sufficient food for ourselves and our families (Matt. 6:31-33; Prov. 19:15; Eph. 4:28), how we can be happy in spite of difficult conditions that surround us.—Ps. 1:1, 2; 34:8; Luke 11:28; Acts 20:35.\n\nIt explains that God’s Kingdom, his government, will remove the present wicked system (Dan. 2:44), and under its rule mankind will be able to enjoy perfect health and eternal life.—Rev. 21:3, 4; compare Isaiah 33:24.\n\nSurely a book that claims to be from God, that explains both the meaning of world conditions and the purpose of life, and that shows how our problems will be solved is worthy of consideration.\n\nEvidences of inspiration\n\nIt is filled with prophecies reflecting detailed knowledge of the future—something impossible for humans\n\n2 Pet. 1:20, 21: “No prophecy of Scripture springs from any private interpretation. For prophecy was at no time brought by man’s will, but men spoke from God as they were borne along by holy spirit.”\n\n· Prophecy: Isa. 44:24, 27, 28; 45:1-4: “Jehovah . . . the One saying to the watery deep, ‘Be evaporated; and all your rivers I shall dry up’; the One saying of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and all that I delight in he will completely carry out’; even in my saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘You will have your foundation laid.’ This is what Jehovah has said to his anointed one, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have taken hold of, to subdue before him nations, so that I may ungird even the hips of kings; to open before him the two-leaved doors, so that even the gates will not be shut: ‘Before you I myself shall go, and the swells of land I shall straighten out. The copper doors I shall break in pieces, and the iron bar
1169574
The bible is not to be taken literally.
981633
For the Christian, God knows all. He knows what we will do and even think. But we don't. He has given us free will. So whatever decisions I make are new to me; I don't know the outcome, but God does.
666839
I think some one that can talk about there believe and back it with out the use of scripture deserves a lot more Kudos' than the people that do.\n\nAnd your question is only vaguely sensible.
378291
"How did you get to be so knowledgeable?"\n\n\nPS Ricky - are you assuming something else (and tinged with Christianity) about this hypothetical omniscient being?
900816
Unfortunately most Christians are extremely ignorant about things related to their own religious beliefs and because of this they have very misguided ideas about what it means to believe in god and what "faith" is.  I know this very well having been a Christian for many years. I attended Christian Theology school and one thing I quickly realized is how ignorant Christians are when it comes to the book they so dearly love--the Bible. (despite the fact that they claim to cherish the bible 99% of all christians have never even read the entire bible from start to finish)\n\nIn my opinion not only is it OK to question Gods existence and the validity of Christianity, I think it is NECESSARY and I think that the Christian God encourages this type of questioning. \n\nWhen you study the old testament there are countless examples of God performing miracles in order to PROVE that he was the true and only god.  Any person who has actually studied the bible would recognize this and therefore the idea that it is WRONG to question gods existence is foolish since the God of the bible himself thought it necessary to demonstrate evidence for his own existence and superiority over the pagan gods. \n\nAnother evidence for the fact that even the Christian God would encourage questioning their religion is the fact that Christians, when they are "witnessing" to non-christians demand of them to question their own belief systems and to consider all the arguments for the validity of Christianity.  \n\nChristians use prophecy to prove the authenticity and validity of the Bible over other books who lack such evidence. \n\nTherefore, it is completely ridiculous and hypocritical for Christians to try to give evidence for the validity of Christianity through "prophecy" etc one minute and then condemn a person who is demanding "evidence" for the validity of Christian beliefs. \n\nSo my conclusion regarding this point is that pretty much all Christians are extremely ignorant even about their own beliefs and they are hypocritical because they try to give "logical" reasons and proof for their belief system and expect people to be "honest with themselves and truly consider Christianity" but yet they would condemn you for "questioning" Christianity once you are in it.  Its ridiculously funny. \n\nHowever, I think it is important to make a distinction between Christians and the Christian religion and the question of whether there is a god and whether the bible has something to it.  They are two different things.  Just because Christians are ignorant does not mean that God doesnt exist or that the Bible doesnt have something to it. \n\nAs a student of Philosophy (something that wasnt encouraged by Christianity) I began to study all of the philosophical arguments for the Existence of God and I am 100% convinced that a god does exist.  These philosophical arguments have nothing to do with Christianity or the bible, they are simply deduced using logic.  there are many different arguments for the existence of god, all of them have limitations, however, when you consider all of them they provide a very strong argument in favor of the existence of god. \n\nhere i will share only one of them. \n\nThe Cosmological Argument: the cosmological argument consists of the following syllogism:\n\n1. the earth had a beginning\n\n2. everything that has a beginning has a cause\n\n3, therefore the earth had a cause\n\nit sounds extremely simple and it in fact is, but it is also extremely powerful.  i will elaborate only a little on this argument but trust me when i say that it provides an enormously powerful argument in favor of gods existence. \n\n1. we know from physics etc that the universe is expanding, therefore if we reversed time it obviously means that the universe would be compacting, this means that the universe was at one point at a level of complete and total compaction.\n\n2. there is no such thing as i
393361
How long do you think it will be before a person or group successfully reassembles the bible to include recently discovered religious texts that they feel better suit modern times?\n\nNever.  For all practical purposes, the Bible as now been “set in stone.”\n\nWhat do you think about this?\n\nI believe that those who tend to be the loudest on this topic have either done the least amount of study or have very extensive time invested in their current belief.  Most claim as articles of fact pieces of information which are not true.  Less than one in one billion (if any) could give me that actual names of the men who met to determine which books and works were included in either Testament.  Yet they propose that these men were inspired by G-d to make these choices for all time.  They are seem to ignore that most works which were not included were systematically searched for and burned as heretical.  The mere fact that any remain after 2000 years is a miracle.\n\nWhat will the cultural/spiritual ramifications of this be?\n\nA continuation of our current position.  As beautiful as the KJV is to read, it is flawed.  This fact has been shown over and over again by scholars who do know the languages involved.  Yet look at the number of supporters that it has.  The sad part of this is that many who claim to understand the meaning of the KJV of the Bible (which is a very serious and metaphysical work) do not understand and cannot follow a simple Shakespearean play (which is light entertainment) that was written at about the same time.  What does this yell you about the ignorance of humans?  And ignorance is bliss.\n\nIf God is really solely responsible for the bible's contents why does he have hundreds of millions of Christians using different versions?  And how would a new version be any worse?\n\nThose humans who claim to be privileged to the plans or purposes of Divinity are deluded.  No human has that capability.  Only Divinity is perfect.  Humanity is arrogant, not understanding that the message is important, not the delivery of the message.  Those that must quote scripture for every answer (especially those claiming that it is the Word of G-d) are probably idolaters.  They have worshipped the written word instead of Divinity.  Each believing that they are right and all others wrong.  They are the cause of the fragmentation of the Church and people like them are usually too stubborn to see their own sins.\n\nA new version of the Bible is not needed.  These recently discovered and translated works should be made available to the widest reading audience for study and debate.  At least by those who are capable of understanding that Humanity did not have the message right then and still is lacking in understanding.  This is human nature.  Divinity is the only proper judge; and Divine Judgment, unlike human opinion and understanding, IS perfect.