Originally posted by JS357
You are the closest I have seen here to the point, when you say "...ask God himself for the truth of the Bible...". Kudos for honestly expressing that one has to approach the Bible WITH faith, if the apparent contradictions are to be understood and accepted.
This is not to say that I have such faith.
CS Lewis was direct about this in his book The Problem ...[text shortened]... hat one must approach his analysis of the problem with faith in hand, or it won't make sense.
Thanks. The Bible was written in such a way that one has to "search out" it's meanings and what God is saying to us.
Many scriptures in the Bible point out that only by "God letting us" will the meanings be seen.
But since there are billions of humans on this earth and we all would naturally have our opinions and ideas on all subjects in life including with the Bible.
If God left it at that then it would be a mess as it is and would always continue to be that way with regurds to the Bible and we see the result of that now with thousands of so called religions all claming to be the ONE that has it right.
But that's not the way it is and not the way God deals with us.
He gave us the Bible for a reason. If we look to man's ideas and opinions, we get what we have now, a mess to say the least.
WE have to go directly to God in prayer, let him read our hearts and minds and allow him to search us out to see our motives, and then he decides if we progress spiritually.
Colossians 1:9
New Living Translation (NLT)
9 So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.
The truth of the Bible is available to all, but one has to ask God HONESTLY for that and then be willing to do what needs to be done to earn that knowledge.