toldailytopic: What do you believe is the most misunderstood thing about God and His

Lighthouse

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Nope, but it does explain why MEN tore down the altars of their neighbors' gods (after wiping them out with superior military strength), to demonstrate the superiority they believed their deity to have.

Men who have a flawed perception of God will naturally give Him credit for the atrocities they commit.

It was true of the Hebrews, it was true of the Templars, and it's true of the Taliban.
You're a godless fool.
 

Totton Linnet

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Agreed.

God is most interested in bringing glory to His name.

God is more interested in sharing His glory, you have to watch this closely for it is not that He gives His glory to any other or that any attain to any glory of their own but we as it were reflect or manifest HIS glory.

Man IS God's glory and more specifically Christ is His Glory. Isaiah saw God's glory, Jesus says in John's gospel that it was Him that Isaiah saw, the mercy and love of His ministry

"Though they had seen so many miracles they could not believe for "their hearts were hardened" [from memory] so they would not turn to Him that He might heal them."

If then they had seen His glory, His glory was in the works He had shown.
 

PureX

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toldailytopic: What do you believe is the most misunderstood thing about God and His word?
That the Bible is "God's word".

In the original Greek, the term "word" translates to "logos", which does not mean 'this holy book'. Yet most Christians wrongly think it is does, and as a result they have made a false idol of the Bible, and they imagine that God wrote it. And then they use that pretense to judge and condemn everything and everyone around them, while they justify their own arrogance and abuse.
 

bybee

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That the Bible is "God's word".

In the original Greek, the term "word" translates to "logos", which does not mean 'this holy book'. Yet most Christians wrongly think it is does, and as a result they have made a false idol of the Bible, and they imagine that God wrote it. And then they use that pretense to judge and condemn everything and everyone around them, while they justify their own arrogance and abuse.

Your sweeping criticism and condemnation here of "most (all?) Christians" is just as narrow, just as parochial as that which you condemn.
 

PureX

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Your sweeping criticism and condemnation here of "most (all?) Christians" is just as narrow, just as parochial as that which you condemn.
If my criticism doesn't apply to you, then there was no reason for you to be offended by it. If it does, then I'm sorry, but the thread asked for our opinions, and this is mine. I think the "inerrant Bible theory" is probably the single most damaging and "misunderstood thing about God and His word".

God did not write the Bible, and the Bible is not "God's word (logos)".
 

bybee

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If my criticism doesn't apply to you, then there was no reason for you to be offended by it. If it does, then I'm sorry, but the thread asked for our opinions, and this is mine. I think the "inerrant Bible theory" is probably the single most damaging and "misunderstood thing about God and His word".

God did not write the Bible, and the Bible is not "God's word (logos)".

I am not offended by you.
I too, am simply offering an opinion.
 

lifeisgood

New member
There would not be enough hard drives (pun intended) to accommodate all that is misunderstood about God.

But I think that the most misunderstood things about Him is:

That He is who He says He is.
That He will do what He says He will do in His time.
That He never arrives late or too early. He always arrives on time.
 

PureX

Well-known member
Your sweeping criticism and condemnation here of "most (all?) Christians" is just as narrow, just as parochial as that which you condemn.
Well, "most" of the people here on TOL do believe that the Bible is "God's words". I have no way of knowing how many "Christians" in the real world believe that. But I do know that a lot of people who claim the right to label who is "Christian" and who is not also claim that the Bible is "God's words". Do you disagree with this assessment?
 

Lighthouse

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:yawn: Your god is too small.
:blabla:

Remember you said that when the Rock hits.

That the Bible is "God's word".

In the original Greek, the term "word" translates to "logos", which does not mean 'this holy book'. Yet most Christians wrongly think it is does, and as a result they have made a false idol of the Bible, and they imagine that God wrote it. And then they use that pretense to judge and condemn everything and everyone around them, while they justify their own arrogance and abuse.
Different "word," dum dum. The "Logos" is Christ, as shown in John 1. When we say the Bible is God's word we mean He gave it to us as His instructions for us, just as when a parent makes rules for their children, those rules are the "word" of the parent.
 

PureX

Well-known member
:blabla:

Remember you said that when the Rock hits.


Different "word," dum dum. The "Logos" is Christ, as shown in John 1. When we say the Bible is God's word we mean He gave it to us as His instructions for us, just as when a parent makes rules for their children, those rules are the "word" of the parent.
I know how it's being interpreted. And I know which term has been misinterpreted. And it's still wrong.

The Bible was never meant to be taken as a "rule book from God". It was created to be used as a basis for contemplation, discussion, and debate. To the ancient Jews that created it, God was not some statue in a temple that you went to to plead for favors. The God of the Israelites was a God you lived with. It was a God that men had to grapple with, contend with, as they did with any relationship (this was innate to their culture). The books of the Bible were written to reflect and promote that kind of ongoing personal relationship by presenting stories that reveal the struggle between God and man. It was not a "how to" book from on high. It was a "this is how it is between us and God" testimonial, collected and edited out of a long history of people who grappled with their God on a daily basis.
 

Psalmist

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toldailytopic:
What do you believe is the most misunderstood thing about God and His word?


Creation. In talking with a few who have read the Bible, they said, "How can some entity who is not seen take nothing to create something from what seems chaos, set it in orderly fashion, call it good and leave nothing but chaos, death and destruction."
 
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Lighthouse

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I know how it's being interpreted. And I know which term has been misinterpreted. And it's still wrong.

The Bible was never meant to be taken as a "rule book from God". It was created to be used as a basis for contemplation, discussion, and debate. To the ancient Jews that created it, God was not some statue in a temple that you went to to plead for favors. The God of the Israelites was a God you lived with. It was a God that men had to grapple with, contend with, as they did with any relationship (this was innate to their culture). The books of the Bible were written to reflect and promote that kind of ongoing personal relationship by presenting stories that reveal the struggle between God and man. It was not a "how to" book from on high. It was a "this is how it is between us and God" testimonial, collected and edited out of a long history of people who grappled with their God on a daily basis.
I agree that many fail to realize that God is personal and not merely sitting on the throne in Heaven just watching us go about our business.

I believe God is so personal that He watches cartoons that glorify Him with little kids.
 

Ps82

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Angel4Truth and Lighthouse, I agree with both of you about how real alive and personal God is within his creation.

Yet, God not only sees the good things that glorify him, but he sees the bad too.

You've heard that he is aware of the hairs on a person's head. Well, do
you understand exactly how he is able to know of every hair on your head?
Well, all things created are in him and he is in them ... and of him they consist. This makes him omni-aware. In fact, he know how many hairs are located on each head at any given moment, because he is also aware of where the hairs are that have fallen out.

Nothing is concealed from him ... not even our thoughts. Yet, Satan is not omni-aware. My evidence was the story of Job. God basically told Satan that Job was a faithful guy ... but Satan could not see the heart of Job and doubted it. He wanted to see evidence that Job would be faithful in times of trouble. So, God allowed Satan to test Job ... and Job's test turned into his visible testimony in the eyes of Satan.

When we go through a hardship in life ... others are watching how we handle it and these hardships can become our visible testimony to other people, who also can't see our hearts to know that we are a faithful servant of our LORD.

Since I've realized that Satan is not omni-aware like God ... I'm trying, with difficulty, not to speak negative words about myself or my family out loud. I don't want to give him a weapon for testing any of us.
 
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Angel4Truth

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I know how it's being interpreted. And I know which term has been misinterpreted. And it's still wrong.

The Bible was never meant to be taken as a "rule book from God". It was created to be used as a basis for contemplation, discussion, and debate. To the ancient Jews that created it, God was not some statue in a temple that you went to to plead for favors. The God of the Israelites was a God you lived with. It was a God that men had to grapple with, contend with, as they did with any relationship (this was innate to their culture). The books of the Bible were written to reflect and promote that kind of ongoing personal relationship by presenting stories that reveal the struggle between God and man. It was not a "how to" book from on high. It was a "this is how it is between us and God" testimonial, collected and edited out of a long history of people who grappled with their God on a daily basis.

I disagree completely. Tell me what you think the 'rules' in it are there for? What are their purpose?
 

Poly

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That He's the cause of all bad things that happen and that He does it on purpose to get some kind of kick out of it.
 

Lighthouse

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This makes him omni-aware.
If God is all-aware then why is He recorded in the Bible as stating the opposite?

Since I've realized that Satan is not omni-aware like God ... I'm trying, with difficulty, not to speak negative words about myself or my family out loud. I don't want to give him a weapon for testing any of us.
You're assigning Satan more power than he has.
 

Ps82

Well-known member
If God is all-aware then why is He recorded in the Bible as stating the opposite?


You're assigning Satan more power than he has.

Hi Lighthouse,
Show me where God explains that he is not omni-aware and I'll address the scripture.

I thought I was assigning less power to Satan than most people suspect.

I realize that Satan is only allowed to do what God's permissive will allows him ... I saw that in the story about where Satan argued with an angel over the possession of the body of Moses. Even though Satan thought he had the right to possess the body of Moses; yet, God did not allow Satan to have it. I understand that he is not all-powerful.

But, if you take a look at what Satan was able to do to Job, to his children, and to his possessions on earth, I think you will see that he does have power when God allows him to work.

This concept of how God works and how his permissive will functions within creation may very well be yet another point which people misunderstand ... Do we really understand how God's will operates within heaven and earth and in our individual lives?
 
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