King James Bible... Why do we put our faith in it?

Great summary. Thanks for that.

You were trying to find the Lost Ark of the Covenant? Sounds like there's a larger story there!

I tried to read the Bible several times, but I find it very difficult and contradictory. Really, its the constant contradictions that I find so frustrating, and it prevents me from making much head-way.

It is very easy to get lost in religious studies. Quite a rabbit hole.

 

The Bible is full of mysteries, clues and questions that appeals to the Indiana Jones in all of us. The Lost Ark of the Covenant is only one of them, there is also the location of the Garden of Eden, Noah's Ark, the Copper Scrolls, the Holy Grail, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Shroud of Turin, etc., etc. and etc.! The minister at church knew that I was reading the Bible, back in the summer of 1973, and had offered his help if I had any questions...well I had a question about the Lost Ark of the Covenant! His advice was not to fixate on the small stuff, but to read the Bible in its entirety and understand what it is that We believe in as Christians, then you can go back and nit-pick. He also said that people had been searching for the Ark since it was lost, that no one had found it (although the Ethiopian Church claims to have it in Axium), and that many lives had been wasted in search of something that GOD might not want found! I took his advice and finished reading the Bible that summer, and while anything pertaining to the Lost Ark of the Covenant, Noah's Ark, etc. is sure to get my attention I'm not planning any trips to the Middle East...anytime soon. The true treasure in the Bible is to be found not buried in desert sands or on an icy mountain top, but in the Faith that brings inter-peace to yourself, that dictates how you treat others, and leads to Eternal Life in the Here After!

 

I trust the Holy Spirit Jesus provided to teach in his place.
Growing up I had access to several versions of scriptures and countless pamphlets of propaganda for many religions even took bible courses and been to bible school as well. These all had their own agendas they made their points with borrowing from all corners of the scriptures.
One fact remains.
Jesus will be judging they who have been under His Lordship and they that have not.
Assuming by reason of the volume or academic acceptance of those fallowing is not safe criteria. Jesus will Judge based on those that walked in a real relationship doing His will.
God is not operated fallowing direction given to others.
Jesus met the specific needs of people in different ways according to the need at hand, God gives very specific direction because the needs are unique.
Can a man find salvation in corrupted scriptures? God knows the heart and the desire of one needing to know the truth form God's point of view. Jesus said, "Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled."
This hunger and thirsting are "needing" God's perspective over that of man, not for academics' sake but to do God's bidding.
There have been times through the years I had been handed pamphlets the Spirit of God did not allow me to absorb.
The first thing one must understand is that Adam sinned seeking an alternate source of information. Much the way men seek information to agree with their point of view rather than painfully seeking truth from God's perspective.
Scriptures warn that teachers are under greater condemnation.
The only message I am commissioned to share is Gods' free gift of salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit Jesus provides to teach in His place.
The EGO of man seek approval of academics.
Through the years scientists have been changing their minds because they are continually making new discoveries, theologians too have made some discoveries the challenge their theories.
There was a time some "Educated" men pushed the idea that the earth was flat, and because they held position legislation ruled in their favor. It did not make them right.
Who's approval matters?

 

I just saw this posted on infowars:

Can We Trust The King James Bible?

Can We Trust The King James Bible?

I wonder if Brian Wilson is on survival monkey. If so, PM me. I won't reveal your user name. I have questions for you regarding the "What the hell is hell?" video that you put together. I'm curious about questions regarding faith. Thanks!

 

I always like to get to the source. The source tells you a lot.

The Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John are kind of like the "source" of the New Testament. However, it is agreed by most scholars that these Gospel were written somewhere around 66 to 110 years after the death of Jesus and they were not written by eye-witness testimony.

Dating the Oldest New Testament Christian Manuscripts - Biblical Archaeology Society

One of the oldest Christian texts is the Codex Vaticanus which was dated to the 4th century, which would be 300 AD. So that's 300 years after Jesus died.

Codex Vaticanus - Wikipedia

I'm not sure why they can't date these texts more precisely with radio carbon dating.

In 1961, a papyrus codex containing the Gospels of Luke and John in Greek (P.Bodmer XIV–XV or P75 to specialists) was published. It is often called the most important New Testament papyrus so far discovered because it was dated, on the basis of its handwriting, to about A.D. 175–225, and its text agrees very closely with that of Codex Vaticanus.”

Papyrus 75 - Wikipedia

So this is approximately 200 years after Jesus died.

So what's the story with the original Gospel texts? Apparently they no longer exist. What happened to them? Were they in the library of Alexandria and got destroyed? They obviously existed because copies were made of them. The people who made the copies must have copied them from the original text.

Did the Original New Testament Manuscripts still exist in the Second Century? | Bible.org

 

It's interesting that everyone is looking for the ark of the covenant. I see countless shows on the History channel about it. I will admit, it is an interesting story.

However, I am a little shocked that no one is searching for the original parchment Gospel text. This is the foundation upon which the entire Christian faith is based. These little shards of parchment. No one ever even talks about where they are, where they went, what happened to them. Apparently, that is an embarrassment of the church which they try to hide? Is that where all the faith talk comes from? Because you need to have faith because they don't have the original documents upon which the Bible is centered on?

To me, the original shards of parchment from the Gospels are really the TRUE ark of the covenant. This is supposed to be the word of God. I have had to dig pretty deep to uncover only a little bit of information about the original source documents. That truly surprises me. This should be public, and common, knowledge.

 

Have you tried Amazon? There are dozens of books about the Dead Sea Scrolls, including English translations of the full text. I'm sure that it has been digitized and is available online too. The little shards of parchment are incomplete and bear little resemblance to any Bible that we are familiar with I'm afraid.

 

Yes, I actually had an opportunity to see them in person during an exhibit in Boston a few years ago. They are just fragments of parchment for the most part. Some rare pieces are a full page, but most are just shards.

 

World's biggest jig-saw puzzle! About 40% of the manuscripts are the books of the Old Testament, 30% are from religious writings that didn't make it into the Old Testament cannon, and the remainder are writings pertaining to various Jewish religious sects. So, if you are looking for the New Testament you are out of luck.

 

In the light of eternity, the years of academia cannot accomplish what one can learn at the feet of Jesus.
No one can force feed you faith.
Jesus said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled."
Righteousness from God's perspective at a personal level.
This is found on one's knees in humility and honest transparency.