If you were Christian but didn't believe the Bible much?

Question

I have suddenly been thinking and reading the Bible. I know there is a god, but I have a hard time understanding reading the Bible. I think the only part of the Bible that is true is the new testament about Jesus and His life. The rest is hard to believe. I do not believe God would send people to hell for not believing in Him, even thought hey were good. I know I use to believe before that He did send them, but now, I don't. So basically I don't believe the Bible just a little bit of it and some parts, am I still Christian?

Answer 1

ok, ummmmm? this is a long answer so email me if you want, but I am a Jehovah's Witness and we do not believe in hell either.

Answer 2

Very much so.. You just don't understand the purpose for the old testament and a good teacher.



First of all, you are correct about hell. Hell is not a fiery place, it is simply the grave, non existence. The greek word that is translated as hell actually means death/grave. In other parts of the Bible God limits punishment, he says that a person, no matter what their crime, can never be lashed more than a certain amount of lashes. God also abides by this law, his punishment is limited. Many of the passages that refer to fire simply refer to judgement day, not hall.



Second, God's purpose for the Old Testament was to introduce right and wrong and to show his power. Before God gave his teachings in the OT the world was lawless. If you do some research you will see this clearly. There was little regard for human live (i.e heathen conquerers like Xerxes) and temples were little more than brothels, and men thought little of stealing other men's wives.



In the OT God imposed harsh punishments such as stoning, to drive it into the heads of the obstinate Jews what was right and what was wrong. Of course stoning a child for a minor crime seems horrible, but the Jews were so obstinate that there was no other way for God to teach them the law. The OT is filled with CEREMONIAL LAWS such as circumcision that God used as a covenant. All of these teachings and ceremonial laws PAVED THE WAY FOR JESUS.



Jesus told the Jews that the ceremonial age was over. The law was no longer the most important thing. People now knew right from wrong (because of the OT). It was now about the big picture, Jesus, and everything he taught.



In Romans and Corinthians Paul teaches that the ceremonial laws are not needed only more. Christians do not have to be circumcised, the only ceremonial laws that they are to preserve are the to abstain from fornication, and the eating of blood and things strangled. Of course this does not make Christians a lawless bunch since they are supposed to strive to live according to the teachings of Jesus.



Of course it could be hard for a modern man to believe in the flood, or the other great Old Testament events that scientists say are nonsense. But who are we to say that it is nonsense? I certainly will put my trust with the Bible rather than a mere man such as Richard Dawkins.



If you are interested in learning more about this stuff try listening to family radio. They believe that the Bible is 100 percent true, but they explain the reasons for most of the Bible's confusing parts better than any church.



familyradio.com

God bless

Answer 3

Christ taught that "None are good but God". We all need God's forgiveness no matter how good we think we are. Mother Teresa even asked God for forgiveness, and by many accounts she was a pretty selfless person.



You either believe the Bible or you don't and if you don't then you may as well be navigating without a map.



That's not saying that you will not get to where you want to go but the whole time you are traveling you will be wondering if you are on the right track.



The Bible is the map for Christianity. If you think that God will just forgive everyone then you do not believe in a just God. The truth is that God dispenses bit justice and mercy perfectly. But make no mistake there will be a great many people who think they are going to get mercy but God is going to give them justice.



The only way to avoid God's justice is by believing that they are forgiven by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.



Hope that helps.

Answer 4

If you are reading about the ministry of Jesus, what did he say about previously written scripture? I can't find one place where he disputed OT text. I don't know how you can pick and choose parts of what Jesus says as truth and imply he lied in other parts. Contradiction. I wouldn't believe anything a liar said. What did he teach his disciples? Read their writings to find out. The OT is a type and shadow of Jesus. All of it points to Jesus.



I suggest you get into a good Bible study with mature Christians who have done the study and they will help you with some of the difficult passages. Jesus taught his disciples who in turn taught others and so on down the line. That is the pattern he gave for us.

Answer 5

The reason I don't believe in the bible so much because of the books that were taking out of the bible. Without the whole bible the bible is just a book. This is why I pray and depend on God. Not the bible and not people. To many people put their faith in man. I learned from doing that so now I go straight to the source. The bible is a good guide book to start your relationship with God, but after that, you have to trust that God will show you the way, the truth and the light.

Answer 6

Don't allow yourself to be taken in by those thoughts, brother! All is God's Words are truth. And God is still all Goodness and Righteous. Just because we can't understand some of the ideas as in the punishments and and ways of God , does not mean God did not have reason for them. Just because we may not understand how Jonah survived in the belly of a Whale, does not mean that God did not have a reason for wanting us to believe that he could make it possible. All things are possible with God. And God's reason is not our reasoning. Just trust in God fully, when you say you trust him, and don't be concerned about the many doubts you may have. Let them all go, and you will come to witness the one True God and how he will affect your life now and show you complete success and peace and love for all life and mankind.



Prayers

Answer 7

Yeah, all it takes to be a Christian is to follow Jesus Christ.



I'm a Christian and I don't really believe in most of the Bible either, and i also don't believe that people go to Hell for not believing in God.

Answer 8

"I think the only part of the Bible that is true is the new testament about Jesus and His life."



Thinking and knowing is far from being close. As much as opinions and facts and beliefs and truths.



It does not matter if you don't believe every word in the Bible, because there's no need to complain now as it is already written. However, the character God in the Bible is already distinguished as what he truly is whether your personal conviction disagrees or not.

Answer 9

I don't think absolute literal belief in every word of the Bible is necessary. Jesus said, "You must be born again." He did not say, "You must believe the 1611 King James Version is inerrant."



CS Lewis, the great Christian novelist and philosopher, believed the first 11 chapeters of Genesis were "myth and folklore" and that the "true historical account" begins with the story of Abraham. I'm a born-again, Bible-believing, evangelical Christian, and I've got no problem with that.

Answer 10

You are asking " am I a Christian?" . Christian means a person who do what is God had commanded. What Is His commandment.



Love your neighbor as yourself.

Go and preech the gospel in season and out of season. because time is too short.



If you are searching for knowledge but not do the word you speak, therefore you are a hypocrite.



The problems in all "religions" is that --> they do not do what they speak. All of them had a good teaching in morality but the thing is, Do you do what you speak.



HELL IS OPEN TO ALL LIERS. God didnt want to tolerate our sins thats why He is giving us a time to repent because THERE WILL BE NO HELL WITHOUT A PURPOSE. God created it because of a purpose.



ALL LIERS THAT WILL FOLLOW THE PATH OF LUCIFER(" A KING OF LIERS") will be.....



God said. "BE HOLY FOR I AM HOLY". He will not command it if we cannot do it.

Answer 11

Jesus and his disciple's refered to a literal hell many times in the New Testament.



Also, Jesus and his disciple's refered to many Old Testament stories as historical facts such as Creation, the Flood, and Jonah.



So if you don't believe what Jesus said about Hell or the Old Testament stories than that would make you an anti-Christ.

Answer 12

Only God knows if you are truly a Christian or not. With that being said, I can honestly say that I have never known a true Christian who does not believe that God will send you to Hell if you don't accept Jesus Christ. Because He will.



The Bible is 100% true.

Answer 13

It seems you are at an impasse.



Investigate further. Perhaps what Jesus' enemies had to say about him would lend a little credence to the rest of what Christ himself had to say.

Tons of people saw him do miracles, so there are probably a lot of first hand accounts of the miracles which have been written.



I would recommend looking at those.

Answer 14

The Old Testament is just as true as the New Testament. It seems that you don't understand what Jesus came here to do. You see, we learn from the very beginning of the Bible that God is JUST.



Think of it like this...



God is JUST, as a courtroom judge is just. He does not take sin lightly, just as if someone commits murder, a judge would not take murder lightly. And for that one crime alone (in this case, you, me -- the ungodly) deserve to be punished as a judge would have a criminal punished.



Romans 3:23, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;



Like being sentenced for life in prison for murder, we deserve to spend an eternity in hell for what we've done. However, I do have good news, my friend. God is willing to forgive us; however, Jesus is the only way out, He is our escape key.



"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." -- 1 Timothy 3:16



God manifested in the flesh as the man Jesus Christ, and when he died on that cross, he took on the FULL PUNISHMENT for all of our sins, he bore the full extent of the wrath of God, he took our punishment that we so rightfully deserve upon himself. His blood was shed so that we may be saved.



"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." -- 1 John 3:16



God is offering a way out of hell, and Jesus is that way out!



You say you find it hard to believe that God would send people to hell for not believing in Him, even though they're good people?



Matthew 19:17, "...there is none good but one, that is, God..."



We've all sinned, and all fall short of the glory of God for that very reason. When Jesus died for us, that was enough satisfication.



Isaiah 53:10, "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin..."



God is more than willing to forgive all, that is why Jesus died on the cross! God does not wish anyone to perish!



"Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" -- Ezekiel 33:11



"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." -- 2 Peter 3:9

Answer 15

"I do not believe God would send people to hell for not believing in Him, even thought hey were good. "



No, they get sent to hell for committing blasphemy against the holy spirit. If you believe in another god, refuse the believe in god/jesus, believe that god/jesus are wrong, believe that you are better than god/jesus, believe that you are a prophet, and a few other things then you are committing blaspheme against the holy spirit until you stop believing the things which are causing you to be in sin. God won't let someone in heaven who refused to believe in him and still holds that belief, God/Jesus can't forgive someone rejecting them. By the way there are 2 hells if you read the bible. In one hell people who learn of god/jesus and reject them may get sent to the fiery hell, including people who don't learn of god/jesus and believe in different gods. Other people can get sent to the holding hell where they will later will be separated between the fire hell and heaven based on what they did.





"I know I use to believe before that He did send them, but now, I don't. So basically I don't believe the Bible just a little bit of it and some parts, am I still Christian?"



I think that your Christian as long as you aren't believing things which are blasphemous against the holy spirit. Once you believe and accept god/jesus (think that they are not wrong, etc...) then you aren't condemned which means your on a path to going towards heaven. Someone that gets sent to the fiery hell can also get saved by god/jesus by telling them that you want to be saved (given that the beliefs causing them to be blasphemous against the holy spirit have changed).



The problem is that if god lets those who reject god/jesus in heaven, he must also let satan and his demons in heaven also because god is just. Satan would never be defeated if that happened.

Answer 16

You just described the majority of Christians down through history, as well as the view taught in most seminaries. So yes, I would say you are more of a Christian now than whatever you were before.

Answer 17

Yes of course. I find it hard to believe according to Voltaire above though that he equates a non-personal deistic sort of god to Jesus Christ



Jesus of course was a personal god in human form

Answer 18

No you are not christian, you are a true follow of Father in Heaven. The OT "god" of the bible is the devil and evil hearts of mankind. You are very wise! Keep going with your thoughts. You are on the right path.



Edit: Real truth is in only one place, not written with words. It is in your heart, it is the charater of Father in Heaven.

Answer 19

A true christian is one who has repented of his sins and put his faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ. (see below)



What you need to think about is why YOU choose to believe certain parts of Scripture, and certain parts that you don't. Examine your heart. Then go read Psalms 19 and 119 and see how David viewed Scripture.

But whatever you do, it's always good to examine your heart, and search the Scriptures, to ensure that you are saved.

Answer 20

The Bible was written by normal men. If it was actually written by Jesus Christ himself, then i'm sure it would be more faith-oriented and less focused on details and stories.

Answer 21

Technically you're still a Christian.

Answer 22

You're still Christian if you believe in the Judiac Christ, Jesus. So yes, you're Christian. But your philosophy leans towards the Diest spectrum. You should look up Deism; it's very interesting.

Answer 23

i with you Jonah did not get swallowed by a whale.I think the old testament is mostly story lessons.

Answer 24

probably not. christians don't ask questions. they don't 'question their god'. you are a person with questions and the church hates that. believe what you want to believe

Answer 25

Yes. Burning Hell is actually a man made doctrine.



Revelation 14:9-11; 20:10, KJ: “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment [Greek, basa‧ni‧smou′] ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”



What is the ‘torment’ to which these texts refer? It is noteworthy that at Revelation 11:10 (KJ) reference is made to ‘prophets that torment those dwelling on the earth.’ Such torment results from humiliating exposure by the messages that these prophets proclaim. At Revelation 14:9-11 (KJ) worshipers of the symbolic “beast and his image” are said to be “tormented with fire and brimstone.” This cannot refer to conscious torment after death because “the dead know not any thing.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, KJ) Then, what causes them to experience such torment while they are still alive? It is the proclamation by God’s servants that worshipers of the “beast and his image” will experience second death, which is represented by “the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.” The smoke, associated with their fiery destruction, ascends forever because the destruction will be eternal and will never be forgotten. When Revelation 20:10 says that the Devil is to experience ‘torment forever and ever’ in “the lake of fire and brimstone,” what does that mean? Revelation 21:8 (KJ) says clearly that “the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone” means “the second death.” So the Devil’s being “tormented” there forever means that there will be no relief for him; he will be held under restraint forever, actually in eternal death. This use of the word “torment” (from the Greek ba′sa‧nos) reminds one of its use at Matthew 18:34, where the same basic Greek word is applied to a ‘jailer.’—RS, AT, ED, NW.



What is the ‘fiery Gehenna’ to which Jesus referred?



Reference to Gehenna appears 12 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Five times it is directly associated with fire. Translators have rendered the Greek expression ge′en‧nan tou py‧ros′ as “hell fire” (KJ, Dy), “fires of hell” (NE), “fiery pit” (AT), and “fires of Gehenna” (NAB).



Historical background: The Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) was outside the walls of Jerusalem. For a time it was the site of idolatrous worship, including child sacrifice. In the first century Gehenna was being used as the incinerator for the filth of Jerusalem. Bodies of dead animals were thrown into the valley to be consumed in the fires, to which sulfur, or brimstone, was added to assist the burning. Also bodies of executed criminals, who were considered undeserving of burial in a memorial tomb, were thrown into Gehenna. Thus, at Matthew 5:29, 30, Jesus spoke of the casting of one’s “whole body” into Gehenna. If the body fell into the constantly burning fire it was consumed, but if it landed on a ledge of the deep ravine its putrefying flesh became infested with the ever-present worms, or maggots. (Mark 9:47, 48) Living humans were not pitched into Gehenna; so it was not a place of conscious torment.



At Matthew 10:28, Jesus warned his hearers to “be in fear of him that can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” What does it mean? Notice that there is no mention here of torment in the fires of Gehenna; rather, he says to ‘fear him that can destroy in Gehenna.’ By referring to the “soul” separately, Jesus here emphasizes that God can destroy all of a person’s life prospects; thus there is no hope of resurrection for him. So, the references to the ‘fiery Gehenna’ have the same meaning as ‘the lake of fire’ of Revelation 21:8, namely, destruction, “second death.”



What does the Bible say the penalty for sin is?



Romans 6:23: “The wages sin pays is death.”



After one’s death, is he still subject to further punishment for his sins?



Romans 6:7: “He who has died has been acquitted from his sin.”

Answer 26

your more of a deist than a christian.