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THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT MANNA BELIEVES!
Posted by Daveg
The following entry is designed to provoke discussion, and equip “mannites” to more effectively “subvert” some of the prevailing ideas in the church. How would you respond if, in fact, one of your pastors actually wrote AND BELIEVED the following? And in case you are wondering why this matters, please know that the sentiments expressed below are dearly held beliefs by many of the leaders in the “evangelical” church today. It matters.
So much is made of the Bible in current discussions about the church and spirituality. Fortunately, the cat is out of the bag. The “dirty little secret” that the church has been hiding for some time now has finally been revealed.
The Bible, like religion, is essentially, a flawed, human creation.
It has been translated so many times, undergone so many iterations, that we cannot possibly know for sure if what survives today is reliable. And even if we could come away with anything that resembles “proof” regarding the reliability of the Bible, we really are asking the wrong question.
The issue is not “is the Bible reliable,” as if Biblical writers meant something when (if!) they wrote. (Does it really matter if Jesus was born “of a virgin?” Would your faith be rocked if someone were able to prove that Jesus didn’t really walk on water?) The issue is, how do we enter INTO the text, as we read it.
How does the text come alive for us! As we read God’s Word, we trust that His Spirit will reveal the meaning he intends for us at that moment, in whatever situation we find ourselves. As soon as I tell you what a passage means, I have only told you what it means FOR ME! If the Bible is truly God’s Word, then it cannot be limited to one meaning for every text or the same meaning for every person. What a small God he would be if that were the case. No, God is big! His word is filled with mystery and magic! We meet God in scripture—we hear his voice rising from the pages of holy writ.
Our goal as we read the text is to breath life into it as it breathes life into us, opening up a world of possibilities that show us that God is far more than we ever could have hoped or imagined. So you see, the truth about the Bible is actually the best news possible. Now each of us can begin to write our own “gospel,” as we travel, in community, down the path to true Christlikeness.
Comments:
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Finally! I can write my own rules, and call it God’s word FOR ME! This makes things much easier.
Posted by on 07/08 at 12:25 PM -
Isn’t it sad that even His Church tries to limit
His power and take it for their own… I don’t understand how they cannot take comfort in His
power and dominion over us .. because of His love
for His creation. They can have whatever perspectives they want, they can decide what sin is or isn’t ... but it really doesn’t matter. He
doesn’t want opinions, He just wants our hearts. And… He makes the rules.Posted by on 07/10 at 06:30 AM -
Glad you said opposite
Posted by on 07/24 at 08:13 PM