by StinkyPantz 13 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
the whole Bible and not pick out the parts you want
That opens up a whole new can of worms. What Bible? Who selected it? Is there any truly ecumenical agreement on what it includes?
NO.
Somebody, somewhere back along the line of history, did pick out the parts they wanted. And today, 100s of millions of people accept that choice for themselves, rather than thinking for themselves. What the Bible says about itself (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:20-21) is irrelevant, and tautological.
Craig
Stinky wrote:
"Many Christians I've met like to pick and choose what parts of the Bible they want to live by and ignore others."
I think this is the only way the Bible works. The most devout Christians I've met are the same way. They have the quotes they can use to justify their beliefs but they're strangely ignorant of the more unpleasant aspects of the Bible and they can conveniently forget or explain away the scriptures that contradict their own lifestyle. A friend of mine used to be very quick to condemn homosexuals because the Bible said so. She didn't have much to say when I pointed out that the Bible also condemned divorce and she was on her third husband. She also felt that there was a problem with Paganism because you got to form your own beliefs, take what made sense to you and use it and leave out the things you didn't agree with. "How can you justify taking some parts and not others?" she asked me. I had a field day with that one.
She's studying Wicca now, btw.
Silverleaf
I copied the following from another forum
What about all those other doctrines? For example, Jesus made many plain statements that indicate that we do not just disappear from existence forever when we die; that one day all who ever lived will have to give an account for what they did and how they lived their lives. That being said, does it really matter whether or not the soul is immortal? If we could know for sure that it was or wasn't, would it change anything about the way we live our lives?
What about the Trinity doctrine? Jesus told the apostles to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Did he mean the Trinity? If so, which version of the doctrine did he mean? If we could know with absolute certainly whether a particular version of it were true or not, would we still get baptized? Would we still teach disciples to obey Jesus commands, especially the one about loving one another as Jesus loved us?
I found it to be helpful with my spiritual growth.
In the end we all pick and choose the parts of the Bible that works for us as individuals. This forum is great because we get to share "our" part with others without condemnation (well for the most part) If we love one another and live in peace then we are good to go
Loris
This is actually true on just some denominations, particularly Protestant denominations. Luther himself bewailed of what happened when he taught that the only authority should be the Bible, and saw that people who followed him made this as an excuse to live immorally--thus making him backtrack on it and actually say that there must be some sort of authority needed to interpret Scripture. Protestantism continues on this path until today, with its members not heeding what their ministers preach. Sadly, but true, in a more general term, all religions suffer the same thing, and yes that includes JWs. So it's not just Christianity, nor just Islam, nor Hinduism, or any other religion, but all religious organizations have such members. That's how society is, basically. But yes, one shouldn't really pick what one likes and dislikes in the Bible.
