by David Snyder

Created on: February 24, 2009

The Bible is an interesting topic of discuss, but no longer through a theological lens. My name is David Snyder and I am a devote believer in Jesus Christ and His resurrection. I have seen many people healed as a result of prayer and have seen financial provision for those who have called upon the Lord for help. I have also seen believers offended and hurt due to leaders within the Church misinterpreting the Scriptures, causing division and heartache, immobilizing those who would have otherwise been a great source of love and support within the Kingdom.

As the Gospels say, "Judge a tree by its fruit." Allow me to share with you my definition of the Bible and how it has brought stability for some, division for most.

Historically Speaking

The Bible was not compiled until the 4th century A.D., nearly 300 years after everything that is mentioned in the New Testament took place. The man that presided over this was, in fact, was the pagan Roman Emperor Constantine. The purpose he stated behind this legalization of Christianity was to bring political order to Rome by uniting the pagans and the Christians together under one religious banner. Since Paul's letters were widely held as true in those days, Constantine united all of the Church leaders by inviting them into a council called The Council of Narcia, where the original plans for the Institutionalized Church were drawn up.

The New Testament was decided to carry Paul's teachings and a few of the other letters that were circulating that fit in with Paul's theology, of which they called "The Canon." Subsequently, all of the opposing teachings were then burned by Constantine soon after the New Testament outline was finalized, eliminating all potential for division among his citizens.

Interestingly enough, it was only a few short years after the Emperor did this that the Dark Ages took effect and the Western Roman Empire fell under the Germanic hordes. This leads me to me next point.

The Fruit of the Book

In the Gospels, you see Christ teaching his disciples to "Judge the tree by its fruit." If you were to look back in retrospect and witness the fruit that was birthed by the Roman Empire institutionalizing the Church and binding their cornerstone, The Bible, you can not overlook the incredible disaster that fell upon them. If this act was godly, would not the Empire be blessed for their obedience?

If you have read the Old Testament, which was solidified and untouched since the days of the Apostles, you will notice that these

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