Question: What are your thoughts on this? I am curious, in the bible does it say that it was divinely inspired?
Answer: Yes. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-michael-dowd/idolatry-of-the-written-word_b_2832435.html
Rev. Michael Dowd in the above link makes a few remarks that I will address by God's help.
1. Dowd claims that it is the idolatry of the Word of God that is the cause for people's backslidden behavior.
"Christianity is shipwrecked on the rock of "biblical authority." Twelve hundred people a day leave the church. Porn addiction, alcohol abuse and domestic violence are epidemic in conservative parts of America. The Bible, once an asset, has become a liability. Why? Idolatry of the written word."
Answer: People don't sin and leave the church because they idolize the bible but because they want to sin and have chosen darkness over the love that God has for them.
But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
(James 1:14-16)
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)
This is like our current debate on gun control. Does the gun make people murder or is it a matter of the heart? It is definitely a matter of the heart. However, we like to blame human behavior on inanimate objects so we can distance ourselves from the truth about our hearts.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
2. Dowd claims that there are inconsistencies in the bible and that we pick and choose what we want to preach: "Biblical literalists who pick and choose which passages to preach and which to studiously ignore are thus faced with a nagging inconsistency. The way forward, I suggest, for all Christians -- liberals as well as moderates and conservatives -- is to join this crusade against idolatry of the written word as we embark together on the cross-cultural enterprise of interpreting our evolving world as best we know it today." Dowd
Let me address those inconsistencies in the way Jesus did. Jesus also saw the inconsistency of people trying to obey the external commands of God and came to fix that because like I said before the problem is our hearts.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. (Matthew 5:21-22)
What Jesus is saying here is that murder is rooted in the heart. Right before this statement in verse 20 He said, "unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." In essence he was bringing correction to the hypocrisy of his day and the inconsistent living among those who called themselves religious leaders.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matt. 5:27-28)
Once again, Jesus was dealing with the heart and not the external commands of God. If you continue and read through Matthew 7 you will see the various modifications Jesus made to the established laws of His day. He also addressed fasting, prayer, the Sabbath, washing hands and divorce. It is evident that they had strayed from God's original intention and had added their own laws to the original 10 Commandments. It is not any different from now. Our own government is oppressing us with so many laws because they are trying to control people externally instead of dealing with their human condition...their heart.
It was obvious that trying to live holy for God had failed because people were slaves to sin unable to free themselves from their own sinful desires. They had leaned heavily on trying to obey the law by being self righteous. In this Dowd was correct. People do idolize the bible thinking that scripture alone or going to church alone will save them. Some people believe that saying a prayer will save them but then they go on living the same way they did before. This is hypocrisy.
Here is what Jesus said, "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life." (John 5:39)
Unfortunately, Dowd like so many others make the fatal error of thinking that their intellect alone can save them. This is not any different from the other extreme. Jesus said, that only coming to Him will save you. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)
Some people cite being raised in church or in a religion as a reason that they should be saved.
They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.
(John 8:33-35) How then can we get free from slavery?
But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:22-23)
There it is. It is a gift. No more human effort, reasoning, science, and begging God. We now have the ability to live, love and be holy by God's grace (empowerment). If in doubt we should focus on only two things:
But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
(Matthew 22:34-40)
In a nutshell, Jesus gathered all of the religious leaders of his day as well as the Michael Dowd's of his day; that questioned the authenticity of the scripture. He then wrapped up everything that was ever taught up until his day into two distinct commands. Love God, love others...and oh by the way it is my gift to you to be able to do this.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
There you have it. No man should be able to boast on their knowledge of scripture, science, super human ability to live holy, the church they go to, their religious upbringing and etc. It is God's ability through Jesus living in us that makes us more like Him everyday. Our devotion to God only becomes evident in our love for others.
If you are tired of self effort, trying to obey external commands, trying to figure out the science behind religion or have had enough of slavery. You need to do these very simple things.
1. Repent - You need to make a decision that you will stop all the above nonsense and now rely on God's ability.
2. Ask - Get real with God he knows what you are feeling and thinking. Talk to him. Tell him that you are done with doing this on your own and ask for help.
God, I ask you to forgive me for making things so complicated. You just want my love and I am running around making a religion out of this instead of realizing you died just to set me free from the slavery of sin. I receive this gift now show me how to live for you. Come and rebuild the person that I am from the inside out. I want to BE LOVE. Give me the faith to trust you. Open my eyes and heart to the truth. Let me see you as a loving Father. Change the condition of my heart. Thank you for hearing me and answering me in Jesus name. Amen. (This is only a sample you can pray your own words)
3. Receive - Believe now by faith that he heard you and start seeking Him. Read your bible, talk to Him and gather with people that will support your faith. This is a relationship not a ritual. Treat God like a friend you wouldn't want to hurt and He will help you through your growth process. Relationships are built on honesty, trust and love. This is no different. Welcome to your new friend Jesus!
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