So I want to read my Bible more, I think it's a source of light and teaches me good things and helps me understand God and let him speak to me. However, im flippin lazy and so it doesn't happen much...That was until NOW...kind of.
Me and some friends have started reading through different books of the bible, a chapter a day. We keep each other accountable to check we're reading and sometimes talk about what we've read. It's good. P.S. if you want in give us a shout, the more the merrier!
Anyway, the real point of this is i was reading 1 Corinthians 7 the other day where Paul is talking about Marriage. Now don't judge me on what im gunna say because i was in a very cynical mood at the time and could possibly read it again and think what he has to say was amazing. However, on this particular occassion i read what Paul had to say on Marriage and thought...(quote from Parole Officer) 'What the F*** are you on about' and 'Your an Idiot'...as i said i was being very cynical at the time and haven't properley looked back over it yet, and besides thats not the point of this post...
What i am slowly getting round to asking is..... Is it ok to disagree with Paul?
I mean after all he's not God, as Jesus was. I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God and its from him,. But i also acknowledge that humans have written it so there could be some errors (although im not sure entirely where i stand on this idea!). Jesus commands us to do things, you can't disgaree with that, he's God! However Paul on the other hand, was a man. He was a very gifted and annointed man, but he was still a man. Does that mean i can disagree with some of things he says in his letters? There are plenty of very gifted and annointed spiritual leaders and teachers today but we're allowed to disagree with them/slate them for something they say. So how does that fit in with Paul??
I hope you can tell im kinda having a laugh with this, but serious at the same time. I thought it was an interesting question so would share it with you. Let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading,
Rob
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Its interesting what you say Rob, because your post isn't really about disagreeing with the Apostle Paul - its about deciding whether its acceptable or not to not believe some of what is written in the Bible, which is a much bigger topic...
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you say Jesus commands us to do things, and He's God, so we need to just believe them. Two things (!) -
1. Jesus' words have still been remembered and written down by HUMANS - does that mean they could potentially have errors in them?
2. There are a bunch of stuff that God says and does in the whole of the Bible which I really struggle with, things which I find hard to accept - doesn't mean He is wrong. Therefore, wouldn't that suggest there can be others in the Bible who have written stuff that might not sit right with me, but it doesn't mean that they are wrong.
I remember you talking about this in India and I don't think I articulated well what I think about this subject...
I believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God, but that doesn't mean I take everything literally. Some things are contextual and cultural. Some things are not relevant to today. But we need to make sure we are not being quick to slate something or say it is wrong, just because we don't like it straight away...and the easy way out is to say that a "human wrote it" so we can disregard it. I think that a lot of what is written in the Bible (especially by authors who wrote particular letters) is relevant to us still today. However I also don't think they write a lot of stuff which is dogmatic and I don't think they write stuff which we are supposed to totally agree with today. A lot of times, Paul says, "This is what I think is the best, but you can still do this other thing...neither of them are right or wrong".
Does this make sense?
I agree with you but my point was that we're allowed to disagree with Rob Bell and Steve Chalke and Rick Warren etc etc etc etc so does that mean we can disagree with what paul writes.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't so much a case of things 'not sitting well with me' or if translation is accurate. Instead, it's where its OK to disagree with Paul? or the Apostle Paul if you want to be posh! lol
Haha. I aint posh.
ReplyDeleteI think its fine to disagree with people. Doesn't matter if those people put their words in the Bible, or in their own published article.
I don't think we can argue that it's just a person and so their view might be invalid though.
Im not sure i get that Clare. A letter from Paul, although it's in the bible, is still a letter from Paul. So i think it has to be ok do disagree with some thing that he has said. As Rob wrote, he is not God, and therefor its going to have his opninion in it. Of course his opinion is a valid one, but it's still an opinion isn't it? It's not stone hard cold fact that his opinion is the right one is it?
ReplyDeleteI wasn't disagreeing with the main gist of Rob's argument in that last point - I was saying it is fine to disagree with what Paul has written! That was a comment on Rob's point about how we easily slate Godly and wise Christian leaders today, but are afraid to challenge what Paul writes in the Bible.
ReplyDeleteMy point is that our reason for disagreeing with Paul shouldn't be "because he is human." We should just disagree because we hold a different opinion. If we are going to be technical, the stuff that Jesus says in the Bible has been written down by other people. Therefore, His words could technically have errors in them. Especially as people would've been passed on these words and sentences and stories. And then just written them down in their own way. Why aren't we okay to disagree with them?
Maybe we could go super far and say that anything translated and written down by 'men' could have errors in it, and therefore we can only trust what God says directly to us?
Interesting thoughts Rob, I think it is ok to disagree with things, we are told to test everything. I think its also important to understand Paul's writing style, he would make a point, make the opposite and then every now and then give his view.
ReplyDeleteHes not really anti loads of things or whatever he is just exploring things. And dont forget the bible is written in a context of the 1st centuary or so. We are 21st Centuary christians not everything is going to fit.