Q: Why does the church not teach how the bible came to be?
Submitted By: cable22, 159 days, 9 hours, 53 minutes ago
As a former Southern Baptist who considers himself now educated, why won't the church educate Christians. The typical Christian can not tell you anything that happened after the death of Jesus and before the birth of Billy Graham. Why does the church not teach how the Bible came to be? For example, the vote deciding what to put in the bible, the reasons some things didn't make it in, why written works today can not be on the same level, etc.
Please try not to post duplicate answers... if you see an answer that you want to post, just add a vote to it and you can add a note as well. Thank You
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I hope this helps
Submitted By: Abs ( 159 days, 9 hours, 31 minutes ago )
I have done a study on this so I hope that is enough credentials for me to explain it here. After Jesus died, nobody thought about writing about Jesus for some years. Later they realized that the gospel was getting watered down since they didnt have a written document about it. So the four gospels got written. Mark being the first and John the last. After that Paul and other wrote a bunch of letters to other churches and to other evangelists. These are the letters you see towards the end of the bible. But the bible was not compiled until 356AD or so. The church of those days sat down and compiled the books of the bible. There is more to this story. Please let me know if you want more, I will answer again.
Submitted By: Abs
Submitted By: cable22
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Control vs Understanding
I actually have two answers, and I believe that the degree to which one is valid, the other is also proportionaly valid to a lesser degree. That is, both answers together provide an explanation. Also, I must take exception with the notion that the 'church won't education Christians', because a great many do. In fact, the cornerstone of most Charismatic non-denominational churches is biblical education. And really kick-ass music.
The first answer, being somewhat cynical, is that the Bible is a means of control, and by spreading knowledge of the origins of the Bible, it could encourage a questioning of that control mechanism. Now I don't want this to sound like Christians are all sheeple, or that clergy are using the teachings found in the Holy Bible to excercise power, even if that does sometimes occur. Rather, it makes for a more orderly congregation when people simply accept what they are told, and do not question it. However, that is not universally true. I have attended Bible Study sessions where we were actively encouraged to question and explore doubts about our faith in the belief that people will eventually come to a stronger faith through understanding than through blind obedience.
Both with congregations whose faith is based on acceptance, and congregations whose faith is based on enlightenment, there is a second issue entropy of knowledge. That is, as knowledge is passed down, trivial bits are lost. Even if the nature of the knowledge itself is not changed, the loss of extraneous information can lead to a vacuum of understanding. For congregations which tend to promote its elders from within, this can lead to a less enlightened leadership. That is why most congregations tend to associate with other churches of the same denomination through professional organizations, so that knowledge and even expertise can be exchanged.
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depends on the church?
Submitted By: toekneebullard ( 159 days, 9 hours, 50 minutes ago )
I was educated on the origins of the Bible when I was younger. I think protestants are often afraid to admit they get their Bible from the Catholic Church (I'm not Catholic) and so they don't talk about it. Perhaps you should encourage your pastor do do a series on the origins of the Bible.
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The real question
Submitted By: mrhaines ( 159 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes ago )
I could explain how the bible came into being, however there are many good books on this (just pick up any church history textbook) however, I think it more prudent to answer your real question...why is this not taught in church. There is no really good answer other than people aren't doing what they should. I heard a story once how a guy started attending a church and was frustrated at how people did not pray for their community. He complained to the pastor and expressed his anger. The pastor said "The reason you are upset about this is because you have had that burden placed on your heart by God. It is up to you to respond." The man then started a prayer group for his city. The moral is...wee are all part of the Body of Christ and all have different burdens placed on our hearts. If you feel the church needs to be educating people on the origins of the bible (not that certain churches do not !!) then perhaps you should read some books on the origins, and then be the educator yourself. I think we are often too comfortable with someone else spoonfeeding our religion to us that we do not step out and take matters into our own hands. I hope this helps a little, and all the best in your spiritual journey.
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Multiple Translations, but which one to use.
The word Bible means collection of Books(Grk Biblia). Order of books in the Old Testament in present compilations is grouped as follows: Books of the Law Historical Books Poetical Books Books of the Prophet. Originally written in Hebrew most modern translations come from an early Greek translation known as the Septuagint. The New Testament Books are grouped as follows: Historical (Gospels and Acts) Didactic (Epistles) and Prophetic (Reveleations). Almost all New Testament texts were originally written in Greek. The order of the books is not chronological but topical in most circumstances. As mentioned in other posts compilations of all these texts didn't occur until some significant time had passed since the death of Christ and his Apostles. Committees and Organizations chose which books were authentic texts or important. Early translations into Latin were done by the Catholic Church (ie Italic Version and Vulgate). Most of the texts were preserved by the Catholic Church also. Other translations did not appear until men such as Wycliff, Tynsdale, and King James saw a need for the text to be in native languages. The period of reformation and protest had begun. Others also questioned the Catholic Church's authority and practices. But many of the texts used for these translations were preserved by the Catholic Church. These men having no more authority than the Catholic Church repeated history by forming committees to decide what is the most correct translation. Leaving us today to wonder what portions of the Bible came from God and what portions came from man and his translations. Many individuals try to reproduce what is closest to the orignal texts as is evident by the multiple translations. But man cannot deduce this through committees and scholarly research, so we are left to either wait for God to tell what is His original Words or for God to send apostles and prophets to teach us and clarify the Bible texts as he did in days of old.
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It would put into question it's legitimacy
Submitted By: ironstar ( 159 days, 9 hours, 21 minutes ago )
The Bible (both the new and old testaments) is a collection of works from various authors, including committees. And it's common knowledge that when a committee writes something, it will be a balance of info to appease the whole group and not necessarily right or factual.
Likewise, especially in the new testament, there was much political and religious fighting about what should and should not be included from the collected writtings and tales of their religious ancestors. Thus you have the dead sea scrolls, the schisms with the russian and eastern orthodox churches, and many other problems.
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I thought it did
Submitted By: right.h.man ( 157 days, 1 hour, 32 minutes ago )
Billy Graham has actually talked of the books that were not included and why I'm pretty sure. Because hes expressed displeasure with some of the newer interpretations of the scriptures.
I'm not a Christian but I have studied the Bible a little bit and in doing so it covers the the reasons why some books were not included extensively.
I will jump to the conclusion that the Church you speak of is somewhat new? Perhaps they like to focus on other parts.
You shouldn't generalize in religion and culture. There are many Churches and the people who are members of them are not all the same either.
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Easy Answer
Submitted By: jkdrum ( 159 days, 9 hours, 26 minutes ago )
The easy answer is because the bible exists because of the Catholic Church. It was Church and the Bishops who decided what books were authentic from the apostles. This was determined through Catholic Tradition and Beliefs. This is typically not taught in protestant circles because of obvious reasons.
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Because it is inerrant.
Submitted By: wil9000 ( 159 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes ago )
As Steven Colbert says: "The Bible is inerrant. Why? Because it says so, Right There In The Bible." This type of circular logic is the engine that keeps all religion going. We are the one true church, and god loves us best, because our church says so. For this billions have died, all over the world. Sheesh.
Submitted By: I wish I knew
Submitted By: wil9000
Submitted By: I wish I knew
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from a catholic's perspective
Submitted By: dougmwne ( 159 days, 3 hours, 21 minutes ago )
i'm currettly taking confirmation classes though the catholic church and i feel that i've had a relitivly good crash corurse in the history of the christianity and of judiasm. of course i'm no scripture scholar, but i do think i have a reasonably good feel for how most of the religion came together. i'm not sure why some other denominations don't have the same education programs in place. if anything, knowing the history of god's interaction with humanity has only strengthened my faith.
Submitted By: Abs
Submitted By: dougmwne
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A couple of resources to answer your questions
Submitted By: Anonymous.Lion ( 116 days, 1 hour, 42 minutes ago )
- When God Was a Woman - Merlin Stone - Book - Excellent study of the artifacts of the transition period from 'pagan' religions to the Judeo-Christian religions ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/015696158X/sr=8-1/qid=1147904523/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-5664251-3545664?_encoding=UTF8 )
- The God Who Wasn't There - Brian Flemiing - DVD - Documentary of Fleming's quest for answers to questions just like yours. ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CAPZBC/qid=1147904822/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-5664251-3545664?_encoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=130 )