(while knowing you
are not confused at all)
In response to my previous blog, a dear friend asked of me
these questions:
“Are you saying you don't believe
that homosexuality is a sin and that the Bible doesn't actually call out by
name homosexuality? Or that God never said anything in the Bible about
homosexuality being wrong? Are you saying you don't believe what the Bible
contains is whole written truth because it was written by man or that it has
been translated so you don't fully trust what was translated?”
My reply:
Thank you for taking the time to think and ask
because no matter what any one of us agree or disagree on, the fact that we
took the time to search and become closer to Our God is what is at the heart of
everything! I will answer each of your questions, but let me begin with this
(and at the same moment apologize for categorizing people, but hope you
understand my intent and do not find any offense)...
- A "religiously minded" person will be convinced on every literal word of the Bible and every lesson they have learned in Church. They will not care of my response because their main focus will be to disprove how I feel and they will do this "in the name of the Lord". To them, I would hope they would move along to another blog or discussion because they will grow in their Faith more-so by finding common ground with like believers and focusing on the love of what all they feel to be completely true!
- To the extremely "Spiritualistic" (non-religious) people, they will not care what the answer to any of these questions are either. Their walk in faith is not guided nor hindered by what the Bible or what others have to say. They are inspirational by the way they allow their inner guidance system to be their life light (which, by the way, IS God). However, they often trip over their ego before realizing God did provide us with wonderful teachers and guides in this world to work in conjunction with our inner guidance system.
- To those who are "seeking" (which may or may not mean you are questioning Your God - which, by the way, is perfectly OK because He gave us that free will for a reason and we often grow closer to Him as we question life), you will be interested in my responses. You may agree with some of my thoughts. You may agree with none of my thoughts. You may realize in 10 years you agree with my thoughts - who knows! But, this is the group of people I hope to see more of as our world continues to grow and change. People who are open minded without feeling threatened.
That being said,
I'll answer each of your questions from the
purest place I can...
I do NOT believe homosexuality is a sin. I believe the Bible
does make reference to sexual crimes, including but not limited to same sex
acts, and God clearly does not want this for His people. He does not want
anything for His people which includes fear. I, also, do NOT feel the Bible is
the one and only, forever complete in its entirety, infallible Word of God.
Nope…I know… cringe, but hang with me for 5 minutes
By the way, God is really ok with us
exploring…
you may alter your opinions or you may come out on the other end in
the same place you began, but either way…
use the free will God gave you to
think and pray for yourself.
First, the Bible has been translated from the original
language into over 2000 languages. Add to these the hundreds of different
English language versions, and you will see that there are many thousands of
translations. There are two main concerns with translating any text:
1. Words in one language do not usually directly correlate
with words of another language, therefor the word closest in meaning is used
and the actual meaning can be altered.
2. Human error has allowed incorrect accounts of Biblical
stories and incorrect formation of commands, laws, parables, instruction, etc.
Anyone who agrees with me, has no problem with this suggestion. Anyone who does
not agree with me (and believes the Bible in its entirety) would have to look
at the Bible in which they believe - which consistently speaks of human error.
Second, interpretation is widespread and can often be false.
The very fact that SO many religions/faiths/denominations use the SAME Bible
speaks volumes for the available room for individual interpretation. It is
truly not uncommon to see 4 Churches on each street corner, of one
intersection, who all use the same Bible. If it is so "straight
forward", why are these churches not sharing the same building and the
same sermon? They will boldly claim they serve the same God, the One and Only.
They also claim to read from His Word- which is without error. So, why then do
we have different church names and rules and beliefs?
Third, the Bible itself, in several instances, is
contradictory. Again, a religiously minded person would say that is blasphemy.
A Spiritual person would say DUH. An open minded person would research the
truth and not take my word for it. It is contradictory because of the two
reasons listed above. The fact that it is contradictory does NOT point to God
or lesson His truth or love.
Finally, I also believe books have been left out of our
current Bible. I know this may sound like a conspiracy theory and I’ve watched
too many Hollywood movies! Let me make it a bit more of an attainable idea...
have you ever read the Catholic Bible? They have more books. I'm not saying
they are right and I'm not saying they are wrong. I'm simply saying the two
most prominent religions in our country alone, Catholic and Protestant, have
very different Bibles and BOTH claim they are the one and only Word of God.
Now, saying ALL OF THAT, for me (as a seeker) it does not
diminish My God AT ALL to not believe the Bible is entirely true and without
error. I can sincerely say that the moment in my life when I had this
realization, My God became HUGE! He's bigger and more powerful and more
meaningful than ever!! He loves the people who go to Church and He loves all
they do to serve Him! He loves the people who do not go to Church and loves
their willingness to explore life based on only His interactions with them. He
loves them so much because HE CREATED THEM and he created them to have these
different paths! My God is Big, NO HUGE, and filled with more mystery than one
can even fathom. He reveals to me in each moment exactly what I need for that
moment in MY life. I love knowing he gives me the Bible, Earthly teachers, and
spiritual friends to help guide me. (and did I mention kids? Yeah…he definitely
gives us those little creatures to teach us a few lessons along the way.)
- To conclude this wildly long winded answer to your few questions, I am NOT some crazy cult person who wants to start her own anti-religious group. Heck no!!!! I am a simple woman, on a simple path, who seeks the truth. Although sometimes I find it to be uncomfortable, I try to daily respond to what God has asked me to do. He has asked me to have a willingness to share my thoughts encompassed with the openness to hear and love others, as well. That’s all. Pretty simple.
And for those who have the burning question to ask me...
"How do I know what I believe and what I don't believe?"
My answer...
I spend a lot of time sitting with the Author. ;)
My wish for you today....
to use the open mind God Created for you!
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