The only thing we know about God is what He reveals to us. If it wasn’t for God introducing Himself, we wouldn’t have a clue. Hindu, Muslim, and Jewish culture all have their brand of divine inspiration, and yet only the Jewish scriptures have a basis in historic fact. The Old Testament alone is the ultimate example of God crossing the bridge into our world. The New Testament rests upon the authority of the Old Testament prophets.
There are scholars who deny the authority of the Bible. Mistranslations, inaccuracies, and lack of external evidence are the reasons they use to question the reliability of divine revelation. The real reason is that if the Bible is the word of God, they would have to submit to a higher authority.
Of course most people are willing to admit to their own idea of God. But when confronted with the revealed truth of the Bible, they shirk their responsibility, and choose to believe what makes them comfortable.
THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT ARE DIVINE REVELATION.
This is the basic premise of belief in God. Sola Scriptura.
-Peace
So the entire bible is divine revelation?
Even the parts about how to treat your slaves?
Or what about stoning:
Your kids if they are disobedient?
Someone who curses?
Someone who commits adultury?
Or a woman who is not a virgin on her wedding night?
Anyone who picks up sticks on a Sunday?
You are okay with all of that?
God is the ultimate authority. He gave these rules to the Jewish people to teach them about what happens when rebellion is allowed to undermine society as a whole. These punishments, while harsh, were ultimately a blessing to those who obeyed. It wasn’t until these rules were ignored, that the Hebrew tribes were overtaken by surrounding nations.
What we need to understand is that these rules were ultimately superseded by the New Covenant brought about by the fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy. These rules no longer exist for us today, however being disobedient to parents, cursing, extra-marital affairs, and ignoring worship are going to bring about the downfall of any society that fosters such behavior.
It doesn’t matter if we like the rules God gives us to follow. He is God, and he gets to make the rules.
You are claiming that it was a blessing for those who didn’t get stoned? Well I guess so. But what child is not disobedient? And more to the point…do you think these acts of disobedience are worth death? And more to the point…it doesn’t matter if they laws were superceded…many many people lived under these laws. Why weren’t the more appropriate laws issued first? Why kill people for minor infractions and then later decide that maybe thats not the best idea.
It’s not a matter of liking the rules. IF what you are claiming is true..then you worship an evil god. Anyone who would tell people to kill others for the above issues is evil. A benevolent god would never do these things. A benevolent god would never advocate slave ownership and claiming it is okay to beat your slaves as long as they didn’t die withing two days.
[...] doing so in a very irrational, inconstent, and blatently incorrect manner. In a recent post on Sola Scriptura the author claims the following: “THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT ARE DIVINE REVELATION. But when [...]
If you want evidence check out the Library of Congress. This debate has been going on for thousand of years. Many scholars have been pursuaded by the mountain of evidence staring them in the face. C.S. Lewis and Josh McDowell are prime examples.