Friday, January 02, 2009

Does the Bible lead many astray?

Herold Weiss: The Bible has led many astray.

Ouch! Some things are better thought but not actually written out. The examples you mention are tragedies. To fault the Bible for causing those tragedies seems to express a negative opinion of the Word of God. People lead themselves astray. The Bible is a book of life, and specifically the New Life in Jesus. Your words make it seem more like a book of death. And that sounds very ugly.

While I found your reflections on the Sabbath School lesson challenging, ultimately, I received very little spiritual blessing from your words.

With so many things wrong with the Bible, as you express them, one would wonder why bother reading it at all.

In spite of the problems with the Bible and with its track record of leading "many astray" I intend to continue reading my Bible. I pray it won't lead me astray. In fact, I have found that since I've been reading it during the past four years--in spite of some ugly passages about genocidal massacres and lakes of fire--the effect it has had on my life is far from leading me toward the dark side. Instead, it has lead me toward the light. And for that I am grateful. Peace.

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