Personal Faith Question

[blessedladymary]

I honestly had no idea where to post this topic so I hope this is O.K. for it to be here. If not just move it. Question for anyone who wishes to answer. Do you believe 100% of everything that is in the Bible? I have some problems believing some of the stories in the Bible. I can’t help it. I am told that it is wrong to think that way. That I am not to question anything the Bible says because to question God is a very grave sin. But see, this is where my stumbling blocks begin because if I can’t believe it or even understand it 100% then I can not move forward in my faith. I must be doing something wrong. I feel deadlocked in so many ways through so many people & situations. Thank you.

 

[wardrandolph]

The Holy Bible is 100% true.Sometimes we forget that Sacred Scripture(all 73 books)was written in differant literary styles(poetry,allegories,history etc.),over a long period of time by people from differant cultures who were inspired by the Holy Spirit,but they wrote from their cultural,language etc.When reading a particular story,pray and ask God what he is trying to say to you.Hope this helps and remember not all of Sacred Scripture is literal,some stories are figurative.

 

[Moscati]

Like Pilate asked . . . “what is truth”? I would agree that all the stories in the Bible are true, but modernity has hijacked the meaning of ‘truth’ to mean ‘scientifically proven’ and all sorts of other silliness.

Like the parables of Jesus: was there REALLY a 1st-century Jewish farmer who threw seed on the rocks? Probably not. Is the story true? Absolutely.

 

[Michael_Vernon]

Blessedladymary, I don’t think most people can even know what 100% of the Bible says. But you can know Jesus. And you can know if Jesus IS Who the Bible says He is. If you believe that Jesus really is the Messiah, the Only Begotten Son of the only true God, then the Holy Ghost will teach you the rest of the Bible when you are ready for it, if you stay humble. But be very careful that you do NOT take a stance of defiance if you read something in the Bible that you don’t like or don’t understand. When you read the Bible, read prayerfully. Pray that God will teach you what it means and that he will strengthen you faith to believe it.

 

[blessedladymary]

Thank you so much for the responses that you all have given me. I feel so overwhelmed & confused every day. Sometimes I just don’t understand what I am to be understanding! Does that even make sense?! I will take to heart what you have advised.

 

[Jim_Bunting]

Remember also that people in ancient times wrote history in a far different fashion than we do today. We tend to think of history as collection of facts, delivered one by one to tell a story about the past. Ancient writers used this method as well, but often also relied on poetry, allegory, metaphor and symbol to relay not only facts but meaning as well.

The easiest way I can illustrate this is the old story about George Washington and the cherry tree (“Father, I cannot tell a lie.” Remember that one?) Now what we could have had passed down to us was a simple fact: “George Washington had a dedication to truth, even if it cost him. He was an honest person.” However, would we still still be telling our school children this story as an example of what true honesty is if we merely talked about George Washington using fact after fact instead of story, metaphor, allegory, etc.? Would they gain an understanding of what such a dedication to honesty actually means? I don’t think so. The writers of the Holy Scriptures, therefore, gave us not only Salvation History, but the meanings of the events along the way. In short, guided by the Holy Spirit, they gave us Truth.

May God bless you on your journey!