Expert: Hoyt Roberson - 1/3/2011

Question
I used to wonder about God, so I studied the bible and wondered who wrote it..because some of the chapters were so confusing,eg:(For I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever. (Jeremiah 3:12)
Ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn forever. (Jeremiah 17:4)
If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. (John 5:31)
Jesus answered: Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid. (John 8:14)
And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. (Matthew 28:18)
the whole world is under control of the evil one. (1 John 5:19)
And Jesus said, For judgement I am come into this world. (John 9:39)
I came not to judge the world (John 12:47)
)" , I simply couldn't believe that God would sent down such a disorganized book(but my hunch is that the guy named peter wrote his heart out in the bible and filled it up with gibberish), but all I found was a bunch of unverified stories which confuses the readers. First I saw that there were over 9 versions of the bible, and each of them were different. It said that Jesus was God's son....but then I started thinking that if God is not a human, then how could he have kids. This guy was saying that look, jesus didn't have any father, so his dad must have been God himself! But when I told him that Adam and Eve didn't have any parents either. Does that make them god's children too? Well, all this was so confusing , that I started looking into some other religion to see what they had to say about God etc.Then Bible considers everyone to be sinners, and that God had to send his "son" to get rid of sins.This was strange that God would kill his innocent "son" in order to get rid of evil satan.! it sounded pretty cruel to me.Why would His "son" have to die for other peoples sins, or for satan, who makes people sin? Christianity also calls religious law a curse,and so that if someone follows religious laws ,they are in a curse.I saw this video, and was very interested in what it showed.It is about religious science: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHiAGHFnzMU .I have also studied both testaments, here are some of the conflicting verses I found in The Old Testament:
1}(a)"And David took from him a thousand chariots and SEVEN HUNDRED horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen"..-II Samuel 8:4 (b)"And David took from him a thousand chariots and SEVEN THOUSAND horsemen,and twenty thousand footmen"..-I Chronicles 18:4..So the question is 700 or 7000? 2}(a)"And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel,and he moved David against them to say,Go,number Israel and Judah".-II Samuel 24:1(b)"And SATAN stood up against Israel,and provoked David to number Israel."-I Chronicles 21:1.So, is the Lord of David then Satan?God forbid!3}(a) "Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had NO CHILD until the day of her death"-II Samuel 6:23.(b)"But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah,whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth:and THE FIVE SONS of Michal the daughter of Saul,whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzilai the Meholathite."-II Samuel 21:8,So, did Michal have children or not..?,there are a lot more contradictions in the old testament , showing that it could not have been holy.in the Psalm, The Muslim holy city of Makka is mentioned(original word for makka was Baca,as it's referred to in the Quran,Prophet David mentions in his Psalms 84:6:"Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well, the rain also filleth the pool."The well here is a well known well of Zamzam,still present now,close to the Ka'bah.
can you explain these verses to me?I'm confused..
thanks

Answer
Hi Sara,

The Bible is a collection of writings about God and His creation, including people. It is not intended necessarily as a history book even though it includes history. It is more about describing what God is after and what Man's place in the creation is to be.

It is best to read the book as a whole and ask "what is the message" here? Individual books have specific writers and specific reasons for writing to their particular audiences. Details such as 700 or 7000 don't impact the theme at all really.

The theme is rather simple, actually. Humans are made in the image (read: character) of God, and were made and intended to live lives in that character. If humans could figure that out rather than fighting for "number one," life in the Creation would be in line with God's intent and His character. Failing to live in that character is called sin. Being restored to life with God (read: living in His character) is salvation.

Jesus' coming does have a juridical aspect to it, but the main purpose of Jesus' coming and death was to demonstrate life in the character of God, and the extent to which God expects His followers to deny themselves (number one) because of the character in which they are to live.

No one is going to be able to explain the difference between minor details such as 700 or 7000. They are minor textual variances that do not impact the message. The major themes do not change even if some of the details do. It is the metanarrative that is important, not whether or not a scribe misplaced a zero.

It is also important to understand the context of various texts. When Jesus says He has all authority, and then says the world is under the authority of the Devil, He is speaking from two different aspects and the context tells us His meaning. Jesus does have all authority - especially when it comes to those who would follow Him. When He refers to the Devil's authority, He refers to the situation of the world. The world does seem to be under the control of a spirit of "let me get mine first, or even instead of you." That view of the world is not in the character of God and can be said to be under the authority of the Devil.

Whether something is Holy or not does not refer to whether there are textual differences. Holy refers to the subject and the ultimate source of the narrative.

I hope some of that helps; it would take a bit more space and time than AllExperts allow me to do your question justice in every point. If you have other questions, or want clarification on some of this, please ask.

Thanks