Which parts of the Bible are Christian?

[Jwlynas]

This is one thing that has always confused me, and I am hoping someone can shed at least a little light on it.

I have a huge amount of respect for believers, From any Religion. To have such conviction in anything is sadly alien to me…but onto my question.

How much of the bible is considered Christian? Because while the Bible itself is of course the whole of the thing and therefore in theory at least every page should be considered, Many parts of the Old Testament are ignored when Believers speak of God.

And this confuses me. Never do I hear a priest speak of the destruction of Babel, or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, various religious wars lead by kings in his name and In which God takes an active part. I do attend church on occasion, in part through curiousity, in part to speak to priests after sermons, but have never felt comfortable speaking to them about this.

Please, this is not an attack, or a criticism, merely an honest question. To phrase it another way, why focus on The parts of the Bible that make God seem all forgiving and All loving when there are acts of his which could be seen as otherwise?

Either way God is almighty and the creator. Either way Jesus was the messiah (and that jesus was the single most influential person in history is indisputable), but the other side of God is important.

…Answers would be appreicated. Many thanks in advance,

 

[agangbern]

Before we go further, let us ask: Is a Christian a person or a non-person? Basically, a Christian is a person. One who was baptized into Christianity. In this sense the bible could be considered not a Christian.
But non-person, such as a book, or a writing, is considered Christian, not because the book or writing is a Christian by itself, but because it’s content or message is not opposed to what Christians believe. In this sense, the whole bible, when it’s translation is not opposed to Church teachings, is considered Christian. Every part of it, taken in context with the whole, is therefore Christian.

 

[bpbasilphx]

That part of the Bible called the New Testament is considered to be exclusively of Christian authorship.

Don’t forget, Christianity didn’t come until Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to found the church.

Keep in mind that frequently, the Bible (especially in the Old Testament) are not God’s words, but God’s record of men’s words and actions–including blaming Him for things.

 

[Jwlynas]

When I said Christian I meant Which parts are regarded by christians as being of a truthful or relevant nature. But im not convinced that would be such a snappy title. Apologies for the mix up.

And correct me if im wrong, but the new testament, at least some of it, was written by disciples. And I have read Matthew, Mark Luke and John, their views on whats happened at various moments in Christs life tend to differ somewhat (read about the crucifiction From Luke and John and compare what happens)

Surely were it dictated (so to speak) by God to them then each Gospel would be the same?

Letters to the Corinthians (sorry if thats mispelt) too are from Paul, not God, and it is from here that the stricters rules on homosexuality, premarital sex, and other sexualness come from. Was this “letter” (I’m aware it was most likely not a literal letter, but something delivered by the mouth of Paul…at least I hope so)

I’m not familiar with the other books, but if they are direct from the mouth of God I shall have to read them.

Finally, while God is indeed blamed for some actions that are unlikely to be His doing, there are a few circumstances where the miraculous actions are…well…miraculous. There was one occasion where God held the sun high till a War was won by his chosen people. I wish my Knowledge was good enough to quote book, chapter and verse. I know its old testament.

However, thanks both for posting, it has been helpful. Any others wish to comment?

 

[rwoehmke]

It is the Church’s viewpoint that the subject matter of the New Testament writings are the fulfillment of the promises and prophecies of the Old. Thus the whole book is considered Christian although the OT was certainly not written by Christian authors.

The Church also holds that all of the Bible was written by human authors under the inspiration, not the dictation, of the Holy Spirit. The events in the Gospels do not differ so much from one another in that it is the Faith and Moral lessons that are important and not necessarily the timing and absolute historicity of each event. Actually parts of the history are quite accurate while some is more difficult to prove. I think that the accuracy of the historical events increases dramatically as one moves forward from Genesis to the pastoral letters of John, Peter, and James.

Most Christians do by and large believe that the miracles, particularly in the NT are actually just that and really happened. The same miracle in the different Gospels may be slightly different in detail and timing as one might find differences in the testimony by different witnesses to the same event, say and auto accident. Also each author may have wanted to teach a slightly different lesson about the meaning of a particular miracle, thus some parts might be emphasized and some left out of a particular event.

It helps to read the Scriptures with a Bible Dictionary and a good commentary at hand. Like all translations and times there are always idioms or phrases that do not mean what a plain uneducated reading might imply. A current common example,“It is raining cats and dogs.” How would a Chinaman or Indonesian understand that?