Christians and the Bible

Now, first off I'd like to say that yes, I do consider myself to be Christian. However, there are certain things that a lot of "Christians" do that get on my nerves as well as many others.

First off I do believe that a lot of Christians need to really read the Bible, listening to a sermon every Sunday doesn't constitute reading the Bible. Secondly they need to put some thought into the background and history of the Bible. Do not take every word literally. To do so is a BIG

There are many reasons to read the Bible yourself, the biggest one is so that you can put things into context. The old testament rules are well and good for that period of time, but in the new testament a lot of them were re-written and clarified by Christ. One big example of this is tithing. You were supposed to give ten percent to the church. Current philosophy on this is that only money will do for a tithe. This is not so. In biblical times there wasn't the currency there is now. They gave burnt offerings to God, which was basically the priests only way to get food, it was how they lived. You're supposed to give of yourself, whether that be money, time, things, talent, whatever you have to give.

Not working on the Sabbath is another thing that was put into context by Christ.

Matthew 12:11-12

11He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

Basically, life doesn't stop on a day of reflection. It keeps going and you need to do what you have to do. Mothers don't stop doing their job on any day of the year, physicians still need to take care of their patients if they become gravely ill, vets still need to take care of their patients if they're ill, and if your livelihood depends on working on Sundays I'm sure God will understand. The Sabbath is supposed to be a day to reflect on God's word and your own life, you can do that anywhere and any day that you choose. It is just important to make sure you set aside time to do that whether it be ten minutes each night before bed or all day Sunday.

One last thing I will discuss many Christians really need to think about is Creation. The belief that creation happened in exactly seven days is illogical. It was presented in a way that people in Biblical times could understand. It would be better put in perspective to see each "day" as a stage or a period of time. When looking at it this way the scientific evidence behind the "Big Bang" theory makes sense. Creation does follow the natural evolution found in scientific theories, just calling each section a "day" throws many people for a loop. Personally I believe in the Big Bang theory, however I believe that God said "Bang".

It is very important to consider the history of the Bible before you start saying that every word is directly from God's mouth and is absolutely the truth. There are some things that the Church doesn't teach you about the Bible and it's history that I believe everyone should know. First off you must understand that many of the books of our current Bible were handed down by word of mouth from priest to priest for hundreds of years before they ever were put into writing. To say that it didn't change even slightly over those years is rather ridiculous.

Another point that many people fail to recognize is that the Bible has been through many translations over time. Anyone who has a background in linguistics knows that an exact translation from language to language is very hard to do. In order to adequately describe what the meaning of the words in one language is there may be a change in the wording for the second language. So over time this would also change slightly. An example of this in the English language itself. The word virgin originally meant an unmarried girl or woman. In current society a virgin is someone who has not had sexual intercourse. This alone gives the "virgin birth" a whole new perspective. Just imagine how many changes such as this might have happened over the thousands of years the Bible has been around.

Another thing that many people refuse to consider is that the Bible has been altered by the religious leaders themselves. They were the ones who decided what to keep and what to leave out, they're the ones who approved the changes and translations of the Bible. An example of this is the First Council of Nicaea. The council of Nicaea was called by Emperor Constantine of Rome in an attempt to stop the bickering between the different sects of Christianity. At this council approximately three hundred bishops were brought together to decide a unified view of the religion. The agreed upon the Nicene Creed, the date of Easter, the canons of the church and even which books were to be included in the orthodox Bible. Until relatively recent years the Bible was completely controlled by the church and it's leaders. This is something that people need to understand when taking the Bible in context.

In short, the Bible is a historical document and should be taken as such. It contains many words of wisdom that can still be applied to our everyday life centuries later, which in itself makes it a unique book. The main thing that a lot of people don't realize is that the Bible should be a guide to be taken in context and then applied to everyday life where applicable. It was written by people whose direct descendants are long dead in a world that was completely different from our own. It was passed on by word of mouth for generations before eventually being put down on paper and even after it was put on paper it was still changed by time, translations, and people. Do not take the Bible literally word for word. It's a mistake that a lot of Christians tend to make.