I had a personal epiphany this weekend. For a long time I've struggled with my faith. Not simply with what I believe, but more and more if I believed anything at all. My parents weren't regular church goers, and my father at least never tried to tell us , "this is how it is and that is what you will believe", he always tried to nurture free will in us in every aspect of life, especially that one. He told us, "In the end you may not find what you want, but if you do you will have the knowledge that you found the path yourself and will have a stronger faith for it."

I think the thing that I had found up until this point was that we live in a flawed planet full of flawed people who use religion to both ensnare and destroy each other. There are passages in the Bible that are beautiful and pure, and then are completely contradicted in another section. There are hundreds of denominations for the same exact faith and far too often, they rip at one another over who's right!

So, then comes the years worth of questions. Why is the book so contradictory? How can people of nearly every religion, take the same exact text of words and interpret them so very differently and why? What purpose does that serve other then anarchy?

Well, I've been reading a book on Socrates, and in it he is debating another man about impiety and piety and one of the questions he ask is, What makes something pious or impious, and who determines what makes them that way? The man replies that the gods determine piety and impiety and that is when I had my eureka moment!

I folded the book and asked myself, what part of faith are you actually having doubts and troubles with? Hmm. More simply put (even in my own head I can be a bit slow to get the point) do you believe in god? I mean, that's what it all comes down to doesn't it, do you or don't you? And without hesitation I knew the answer was yes, I believe there is a god, or being, or deity, whatever you call the entity. Equally quick I realized I've never lost faith in that, from the time I was a tiny child to today that's been there.

It's my faith in man that I struggle with, and that was my epiphany. Because in the end, all the holy text from every religion had to be filtered through man didn't they? I'm not saying the words weren't given to someone from on high, but did that someone write every copy of each text? Did they interpret each part that someone found vague? No. Man interprets, man translates, man chooses which sections to include and what to destroy. It is man that learned to profit by peoples faith in a higher being, thus finding ways to twist things to be used for their gain.


Hoosier~
(I promise I will work on reigning my post back in a bit, I'm getting a tad long winded lately)

I don't mean to sound fanatic or something on you, but can you show me specific passages in the Bible that are contradictory? I am a firm believer in the sovereignty of God's Word, and that He has promised to preserve it for us from generation to generation (Psalm 11:6-7). Many of passages that are supposedly contradictory are myths, or passages that have just not been looked at more carefully. Yes, I agree with you that man is errant, and that many have tried to distort God's Word and use it for their own benefit, but God's Truth has still remained intact. I do not know why God chose to have imperfect man write His Perfect Words on paper for Him, but the fact is, God is perfect, and quite capable with performing such a miracle as preserving His Word.

Your post was touching, as i cannot say much for i feel it all, so i thank you for sharing this with us hoosier

I agree with you about the Bible contradicting itself. I used to be a religious child. My family (minus my dad) and I would go to Church every Sunday, without fail. My Nana and Papa were heavily into it, and still are. I have never met anyone with a stronger faith than my Nana. But somewhere along the way, I don't know when it was, I simply lost interest. I don't know if it was just teenage rebelion or more. I saw no sense in the preachings that they did. And now I still don't even know what I believe. But, like you, I do believe that there is a higher being. I just don't follow one certain religion or really call myself a religious person. But it is wonderful that you found clarity for yourself

Oh yeah, Daisy's are my absolute favourite flowers too (my cat even shares the same name), and I don't know what it is that makes women need babies. It's like your body becomes possessed of something. It's the oddest thing. I hope your needs are fullfilled soon too

I like your epiphany! The bible contradicts (or appears to) itself depending on who is interpreting and when and for what purpose, through what perspective. I am alternately amused and frustrated with the disagreements between even the Christian denominations in matters of interpretation. The mind of mankind is a capricious thing, truly. Fortunately the mind of God is not.

Hello, thanks for your post. I have had and still have the same thoughts. So many religions create hatred towards another. In reality..they are all man "made" thoughts based on their own truth. Think about it. Are we born with bible/scriptures in our hands? We are born with ourselves and our surroundings and we choose what we do with them. No one religion is the right religion for everyone. That couldn't be possible with so many view points and opinions. I once talked with a guy who said his only religion was love. That should be everyone's goal, right? People shouldn't be involved in religion if discrimination of another is present. I just wish that religion wouldn't work as a divider between people. The bible also takes part in dividing. It can be interpreted in many ways but the only important thing is how we use the information..right? Well..anywho I am getting off track here. Just leaving with a thanks.

I enjoyed reading your post, I have always found great wisdom in Socrates myself. I'm a government teacher and have a particular interest in the relationship, or lack thereof, between church and state. I just began my first web log, and my first post dealt with this subject. I may deal with the issue of religion and gay marriage next. If you're interested and have the time, let me know what you think.

I am not religious myself, but sometimes believe that there is something out there. I keep as a basic that life on earth is short, and for myself I find that the most important thing is to show respect for others, and live life the best way I can. This is simple stated, but maybe you understand what I mean.

Nice posting! These are words of wisdom that any Christian should understand if they have actually read the Bible and know the history of how it was constructed. There are plenty of contradictory phrases througout the Bible. Many of the books of the OT are contradicted in the NT. There are discrepancies betweent the Gospels, such as the telling of the story of the resurrection. Each tells a slightly different story and contradicts the other as to who was present. But then, is that just a matter of perception of the writer? The Bible as it exists today is a compendium of books, writings, letters decided by the early Catholic church as to what would make up the Bible. Other Gospels were rejected. Some writings were changed. For over 1000 years, before the printing press, the writings were done by scribes, who often used their own translations and interpretations. What a particular word meant when used in the Greek, Aramaic, Latin, or Hebrew, may have a completely different meaning when translated into English. (for example, how Pope Gregory turned the word for "companion" as describing Mary Magdelene into "prostitute"). For me, as a believer, it is very difficult to simply pick up the Bible, read a passage, and say "ahh this is what this means in today's world." It's not as simple as that, and requires an understanding of the linguistic effects over the years. Unfortunately, with many Christians there is no understanding of how centuries of control by the Catholic church have altered the original writings. This isn't a knock on the Catholic church, just an observation of historical fact. I do believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God. But I also believe you have to use reason and intellect when reading it.

Thanks for posting your thoughts.

Very profound thoughts you have here. I happen to be a minister who agrees with what you say. I like your struggles, and I think God does too. As Jesus often said, "Your faith will make you well."

One of the most striking contradictions in the Bible is found in the Old Testament. Check out these verses:
2 Samuel 24:1 "Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against israel, and he incited David against them, saying "Go, count the people of israel and Judah."
The same story in Chronicles says Satan told him to take the census, not God.
1 Chronicles 21:1 "Satan stood up against Israel, and incited David to count the people of Israel."
Obviously, one of the passages is wrong. It can be explained, but one can't deny there are contradictions.

Hoosier,

As a young child, without the teachings of my parents, I knew. I knew there was someone or something in the 'grand scheme of things' looking after me, and the whole wide world.

I totally understand where your coming from, and Karen has expressed in her comments almost everything I feel so no need to repeat it here.

In addition, I sometimes think that there is one God and everyone from every religion has given him a different name, and yes has interprited the Bible to their own likings and perceptions.

The part that really gets me is that some are tearing each other apart for the 'same God' and they do not even know it.. how ironic..

That would be like saying: Mr. X "I said the sky was blue!!!" Mrs Y. "I said the sky was blue!!!" Mr X. "No I said the sky is blue!!" Mrs. Y. "No, no.. I say the sky is blue!!!.." Well you get my point..ha ha!

Happy Day Hoosier baby!

Blossom

Huh? Isn't it possible that both Satan and God asked David to do a census? Not much of a contradiction anyway. The way I see it God must exist, because, among many other things, the human race is lucky to exist. Think about it:

1.We would be extremly "lucky" to have spontaneously appeared, given the litterally millions of conditions that would have to be right for life, especially human life, to form and last this long (globabl temperature, degree of planetary axis, presence of a moon and only one sun, etc.)

2. We could easily have lost any number of wars that would have destoryed the human race or at least made life on Earth horrible (WWI, WWII, everyone could have easily been nuked to a crisp in the Cold War, Etc.)

So, as you see from the really short version here, the chances of human life appearing and lasting this long with no outside help are easily in the billions, if not the trillions.

But the site I must reccomend to you is www.dare2share.com .There's a link on my blog if you want to use that.

But if you've got any more things that look like contradictions, let me know and I'll try and explain them. (note that I haven't read most of the Old Testament, but I'm working on it)

For me, the main point of the contradictions aren't the literal written contradictions, ie. one guy says the sky is blue another says the sky is aquamarine with hints of purple.
To me, in MY interpretation of what I've read, I come away with two basic philosophies in the same book. One, is of a kind and loving god, who is omnipotent and good. The god who tells you to turn the other cheek, and forgive ALL their trespasses.
The other is the god of vengence,wrath and jealousy (and those are the very terms used in the book, not something I pulled out of the air). I just can't reconcile those two entities, nor can I reconcile a god who tells you to turn the other cheek, but take an eye for an eye.
I'm not trying to debate anyone on the existence, or validity of god or any holy text. That's a very, very personal and spiritual belief and I would never try to sway anyone from theirs.
This is simply a post I used to explore my faith in man and God and how to tell the difference between their acts and words. As Strangecloud wrote, the Catholic church, who is responsible for much of the modern Bible hid, destroyed discarded many, many gospels with text and ideas that are totally foreign to the modern book. (not a knock on them at all, without them preserving them throught he birth of Christianity they all could have been destroyed.) One of those books was found in a cave where they think a follower hid it to be saved and it talks of finding religion inside yourself being more important than anything you find in a church.
Blossom, there is a church here where I live that practices the very ideas you just posted That there is one God who is known to his followers by many names. They have multi-faith, multi-denomonational services and for their embracing of everyone equally and with love, I have the greatest of respect for them. I just can't think of their name, which is sad.

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