of this information
Purpose
This page is intended for the use of myself, my family and associates. It represent information and text for study purposes only. Return to Top
Intent
I lead off by saying I am a Christian and have been since early childhood. But as most children we learn things by rote memory. We take what we are told and learn it as fact without asking the "why's and wherefores".
Well I still am not really asking those questions but have decided that it was time to give serious study of the bible. The time had past to take things for granted, and had come to see for myself.
So to keep track of notes, information and the ton of other little things, I produced this. Return to Top
Philosophy
I have certain ideas and philosophies I apply to my life and also to this study that may effect the way I view certain biblical events, people and believes. I lay some of those philosophies down here.Return to Top
Reasonable Man
With extremely few exceptions, all of those people mentioned in the bible act and react much as we do today. They were human, had the same emotions, loves, fears and motivations that we have today. By saying that, it tends to bring many characters down from their pedestals and make them closer to us. Instead of insulting them by doing this, it instead shows the dedication and perseverance that they demonstrated in their lives. Return to Top
Miracles
Much of the force behind bible stories are the miracles performed by God, Jesus and others. From parting the Red Sea to Raising the Dead are the stories that are often told. Well to put this in perspective I think of it like this, there are only a few event in the bible that could not be duplicated by modern science. Appropriate geological and meteorological conditions can provide a dry path on the Red Sea... Doctors revive coma patients, etc... thing like that. The point is not WHAT happened but WHEN it happened. Eclipses darken the sky every year, but they don't happen on command. Torrential rains are common but they don't happen on command. Locust invade farmlands but rarely on command. The point is WHEN it happened could not have been dictated by earthly means.Return to Top
Cherry Picking
I have a problem with people that pick a word here or word there from the bible to prove a point. A single passage from this book or that one, rarely give justice to context from which it was taken. The truth is, that almost ANYTHING can be validated by the bible by take a single sentence out of context from the bible. Taking a passage from Moses and from Paul, separated by some 2000 years, and apply it to a single thought doesn't always work. A friend of mine used to call this Cherry Picking, taking only the pulpiest fruit and leaving the undesirable on the tree to rot. All things are relative, in this case relative to the information written above and below them.Return to Top
Differences in Bible Versions
There are probably 25 different major versions of Christian bibles available today. Most of these versions have only minor differences in syntax or sentence structure as dictated by their target audience and the period in which they were transcribed. This means that a person can read any one of the major versions and get the same information that any other version provides. The point is to get the WORD out first! Most times a church or study group will then decide on the version they will proceed with.Return to Top
Are there difference in some words. Yes, of course there is. And this happens for any number of reasons. But if FAITH and BELIEF hinge on a specific word and sentence phrasing, then maybe it is time to reevaluate what is really important in spiritual life.Return to Top
Humor
I am a firm believer that God, Jesus, Moses and almost everyone else had some sort of sense of humor. Some need it to be human, some need it to understand humans. But I think it was there.Return to Top
Timeliness of the passages
The Old Testament is some 3000 years old, the New Testament, a 1000 years old. Not everything in the bible written then, can apply to day. The motivation to write some things was different. The purpose for some passages was dictated by politics at the time. There will be areas noted throughout the study that will identify these issues and why they may be the way they are. To be sure, they are mostly minor things and do not effect the overall message being told, but may effect the way it was told .Return to Top
Peculiar Concepts
I don't even pretend to know a lot about the bible, if I did I probably wouldn't have needed this study system. Fact is, I know very little. By placing my information, thoughts and observations here, those people that I trust in this area, can detect misconceptions.
If nothing else, this will generate conversation and discussion. And isn't that the purpose of bible studies?