by Robert Owens

Created on: March 15, 2009

Is the Bible thee word of God? This is a complex question that requires careful consideration and study. When we say something is the "Word of God" what do we mean? If we mean that God speaks through it then without hesitation I would say yes. If we mean that parts of it are inspired and worthy of being called "The Word of God" then I would hesitantly say yes. However If we claim that the Bible is in and of its self the Word of God, I would counter to the good opinions of many Christians say No. The Bible as an entire document cannot be the Word of God, let alone a just and loving God. There are several reasons for this, some of which I feel are quite obvious. Many attempts have been made to reconcile Bible contradictions some of them are admirable; many however only dig a deeper hole for theists in the argument for God's existence. The current model for God's reality is losing ground. The present Christian model can no longer hold water against some of the more critical arguments. Here is why I don't believe the Bible is the literal "Word of God" <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /

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I. Contradictions: The Bible is filled with hundreds if not thousands of contradictions, some of them minor many of them major. If the Bible were literal fact, then many things we have proven to be true, would not be so and many of things we have proven false would be true. While some parts of the Bible are amazing in the clarity and historical accuracy they portray, many parts are not. I will not cover all of them in this article as there are far better resources to this end and a quick Google search will avail much.

II. Varying definitions of divinity: The Bible provides two distinct and different models of God's interaction with humanity, and while in some parts reconcilable many parts are not, these two distinct models being Judaism and Christianity respectively. Many Christians mistakenly believe that Jews have rejected Jesus based off a grudge or other ridiculous reasoning. This is simply not the case and is far removed from the truth. Jews reject Jesus as their Messiah because he did not fit the Jewish definition of Messiah. He did not bring political peace and widespread conversion to Judaism. The Jewish Messiah is as much a political figure as a religious one. At the time Jesus arrived many people were being proclaimed and proclaiming to be the Messiah. Jesus was unfortunately not unique in that regard. While we have no records

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