Do you believe it's important for "believers" to be skeptical?

Question

I do. For example...years ago when I was trying to learn and understand the Bible..someone gave me what I thought was "The Bible". Since I was new to it...I didn't know what was supposed to be in it. In reading it..I got all these facts in my head. Turns out..I now realize that it wasn't your regular Bible. I'm not talking about the difference in the Catholic Bible and the King James Version. This one had a lot of extra things in it (and I'm not talking about those "extra" books in the Bible) I don't know if it was a Jehovah Witness Bible..or what it was. I do know that I saw similarities in the Old Testament and the New Testament...similar to the things in a question just mentioned on here with a link about Jesus. Now I'm REALLY confused. I don't even know which Bible to read for accuracy. (I know everybody believes that their church's Bible is the accurate one..but I'm not able to believe any of them anymore..for accuracy.) Does anyone know which "Bible" I might have read then?

Answer 1

okay. this is just MY view, period.

it is okay to use your own mind, and ask questions.

questions are how you learn.

no one..but no one...can tell you it's wrong to believe whatever you feel is important to you.

if YOU say you believe in god...who am I to say it's wrong.

if I tell you "I" do not,..you can't tell ME I am wrong.

the Bible,...is a teaching tool.

not meant to be taken literally.

I did my time in-service overseas so YOU could do as you please.

go and believe what YOU think is right.

I'll stand by you for it!!

Answer 2

"Test all things and hold fast to that which is true"

1 Thessalonians 5:21

You might have been given a New World Translation (the JW's version of the Bible), but it really would not matter, there is very little in there that is different from the others, though it is a hotly debated issue among Christians. I have found that people often use a Bible to try to prove their point to others rather than trying to find out what it mean them self...

God can speak through his Word, we just need to ask Him for guidance as we do. Even the NWT has the gospel written it in in plain form. If I was stranded on a desert island with only that to read I would be happy I had it instead of nothing (and that is saying a lot for an Evangelical..)

There are various translations of the Bible. There is a lot of opinion on all...Personally I have found little difference in them, and I have read most of them many times through.

If you want to stick to the original intent of the writers you should get yourself a Bible in the Hebrew and Greek with English translations on the side. It will force you into a word by word translation. This will cause you to slow down and study the words as they come up...

Also there is something call a parallel Comparative Bible which will give you one verse in many different versions..this may help you too

But honestly to me I do not believe it is a word by word issue as much as it is a heart issue. Read the words, pray and ask God how it relates to you...

Answer 3

Everyone is skeptical about something.As a kid I read every paranormal book,UFOs,ESP,Mediums everything.Just like today there's hundreds of them.All of them announcing that big breakthrough just around the corner.That was 30 years ago and we're still waiting.It must be frustrating to look at studies like Ganzfeld.So much promise so little substance.If I live another 50 years I'll still be waiting for that smoking gun.So will everyone else.Yes,believers should be skeptical,we all should.

Answer 4

Hi Deenie, I don't know what Bible you were looking at, and can't really comment on that part, but in general, if you should come by one that you feel is the closest to the original text, I do hope that you will spend the time to think about anything you read there, or anywhere else, there is nothing wrong with a bit of skepticism here and there, how would you know what your beliefs are, if you don't spend the time to think on them and see if they hold up?  You should apply a little skepticism anywhere you get your information from, and especially anywhere there is a human involved, and that includes, and maybe even especially what I am saying to you right now! :)

I don't know if there is really anything that could be considered an historically accurate Bible, the way I understand it, the early Christian church maintained an oral tradition for a couple hundred years, and maintained several different points of view among the various congregations before someone decided that it should all be joined together, and edited to form one cohesive idea that would identify them as Christians.  In editing the books of the Bible, several things were edited out before there was an "original" version, and the Bible has been edited and translated several times since the earliest versions. I just did a quick search on ask.com, and found a page that shows the different versions of the Bible, according to this page the earliest version noted is still in use by the Greek (Catholic) church.  Perhaps in looking over this page, you can look for a version that translates the original text intact into English, here's the link:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15367a.h...

Also found an interesting entry on a trivia site, here's the link to that one, too....

http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question2...

and another one about different versions....

http://www.allabouttruth.org/oldest-bibl...

Children of the corn is on as I write this, a good example of things that can happen if someone accepts a teaching blindly...there was a show about the Jonestown massacre on earlier today as well, a good real life example .  Question every thing, put ideas to the test wherever you get them from, keep those that ring true for you, and allow for the possibility that you might revise your opinion on it all as you grow, and study and mature on your spiritual search.  Good luck to you...

Answer 5

I am a believer of a different faith of Buddhism but that does not take the complexity of faith away.  I know that the bible has many different versions but it all stems from the belief of immaculate conception of Jesus Christ which Christians believe is the Messiah.  From the numerous bibles I have read the concept is the same.  (i.e. be a good person, do not cause harm and love your brother/sisters of the world)  I am sure that Jesus would not want you to be confused with the man made literature so much that you do not see the point of faith. Faith is believing in something you cannot see.  Ask yourself these questions before you read.  Do you think that Jesus would judge you badly if you read a different version of the bible or is it the people that cause confusion because in the end it is really going to be just you and your faith.

Answer 6

It is very important to be skeptical, but it is equally important to keep an open mind. One of the hardest things for people to do is to keep mutually exclusive thoughts in our head. Many have a need for a conclusion, or closure. It is much more comfortable to know something than to still be working on a mystery you may never know the answer to.

Being skeptical is important. It can help keep someone from being mislead or fooled. If taken to extremes, being skeptical can lead someone to deny evidence or be closed minded (that can be uncomfortable when new evidence presents itself).

Being open minded is an aid to thinking, and someone is more likely to learn about the subject in question. Again, taken to extremes, being too open minded can cause problems too. It can lead to gullibility and make someone an easy mark for a con.

Basically, we need both skeptics and believers. We also need to balance open mindedness and skepticism for ourselves. That is not so easy sometimes!

Have a star Deenie. Let's see if we can get some more answers.

Answer 7

Deenie, you bet. We're all skeptics anyway, both paranormal believers and us non-believers (cue to join hands and sing Kum Ba Ya). But seriously, we all have things that we regard skeptically. All of us need reasons to start believing in things that we don't believe in. The difference between the scientific non-believers here and the paranormal believers (my opinion) is the quality of evidence that is acceptable. The non-believers look to science to set the standard (which is why they still are non-believers), while I think the paranormal believers may not be so exacting in their standards for evidence and may not critically examine their personal experience to the same degree a scientist would. These are general conclusions and are not meant to pigeon-hole each and every person.

Anyhow, Christians are huge skeptics. They are skeptical of all other beliefs and all other gods, just as any devout believer in a religious faith is.  One way of putting it that I like is this, from an atheist to a Christian: "We are all atheists! I just believe in one less god than you."   :)

EDIT: psiexploration, it should be noted that it is you, NOT me, who suggested that believers are "stupid". I never have, I don't believe it to be true, and I never will say it. It's unfortunate that you have to so little to attack me with that you need to prop up desperate strawmen to make yourself feel better. Let me pull up a chalkboard -- not everybody is a scientist -- that doesn't mean non-scientists are stupid. Ponder that for a bit, and if you don't understand what I'm saying, feel free to email me for a more in-depth discussion.  :)   And don't be so desperate. It's a bad look for you.

Answer 8

Even believers in the 'paranormal' ought to be skeptical of paranormal claims, in the true meaning of the word skeptical (which is to not accept a claim until you have enough legitimate evidence to justify it).  This is because many such claims can turn out to be wrong, while others are made by people who can provide no evidence whether they are true or false.   As a seven-year member of the military's pscyhic espionage ("remote viewing") program, I have seen and experienced enough to know for a fact that at least some ESP (hence 'paranormal') effects are real.  But perhaps ironically, that has made me even more skeptical of paranormal claims that are not backed up with evidence.  That's because I know how easy it is for people to be wrong about paranormal things, or even dishonest about them.  (Of course, just because some paranormal claims are false doesn't mean they all are -- and in fact there really are some that are true!)

Answer 9

were are CHRISTIANS so call us that    

i read the NIV i think its the eaisiest to understand

Answer 10

Boy do I wish Carl Sagan were still alive and, somehow, could answer your question. The answer is "absolutely."

Skeptics get a bad rap. They (we) are not against things or for things. They/we hold their own beliefs and faiths like any other human being. But they know how we know what isn't so.

So, Sagan had created a Baloney  Detection Kit for skeptical, critical thinking. It included such ideas as "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" in order to be considered true.

But, strangely, you ask a question with an obvious answer my friend. What are you up to? And, being a skeptic myself, the obviousness of the answer: yes, overwhelms -- Imagine otherwise. All sorts of superstitions and stupidities will enter everyday life. Let us NOT be skeptical for a moment. Real soon, there's widespred belief in a man as an avatar of God. And belief in an all-knowing human-like being watching over us. And silly things like that. Can you imagine?

So let us not be uncritical, unthoughtfully accepting at our peril.

The dark ages were such a time. The enlightenment, with the rise of science, a superset of (including) skepticism, brought light to the dark and medieval ages. The light of insight.

Without critical thought, we would not have gotten very far, if you will. We'd be dying because believing in falsities tends to get you killed. Suppose I said humans can fly, on their own without airplanes. If you believed it, and tried it, you'd die eventually when you tried your unquestioned belief off of a cliff. Non-question kiddo. "Believers" must be believing in true things, which requires critical thought or, in other words, a baloney detection kit. "Correlation does not show cause" is my favorite "tool". So often people make the leap that way, ascribing one thing occuring to another things coincident event. Like believing thunder causes lightning, or alien visitations, or in spirits good and bad, all interesting but deadly ways to mistake reality. Do not be ignorant.