Why do some Christians misuse the Bible ?

Question

The bible does not mention antibiotics, cancer treatment, modern technology etc, etc. but we know there is such a thing. So how come when there is a scientific debate, you try to include your bible scriptures as a reliable means to point your case against it? That is not the purpose of the bible.....it is not a science book.

Answer 1

Look at matthews answer, that pretty much explains it. They are all incredibly deluded.  

Answer 2

Its not a science book but it does lay down ethics which impact science and our use and understanding of it. Science can easily develop weapons to kill every one on earth but that does not make it right.

Answer 3

This is a very good question, in bold, but the text is not coherent with it.  

This is in fact two questions.

Question 1:

Well as a christian myself, I have only used the bible to further Gods kingdom, and to help people that want an answer that the world does not.

Let me state, "A good Christian can not misuse the bible in growing Gods kingdom.", as opposed to a bad Christian who uses the bible for their own gain or, more so, there own agenda.

Just as in the corporate world of two opposing corporations, it is a common practice to send in a mole to gain and mislead the opposing corporation, as with any competitive form in this world.  So has Christianity the moles to dis-credit and miss-lead people who are not educated in the matter.

__________

Question 2

I really can not answer this question for I am not in the debate that you speak of, nor am I involved in any medical cases.  I really do not see how the bible, "... your case against it?" makes a case against any of the things listed above (e.g. antibiotics, cancer treatment, modern technology).

And you are right, the Bible is not a science book, it is Gods Word.  And should be treated as such.[

However, it does say(Ref: 1) "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well." James 5:15

Now the above is in context a will matter.  But a prayer of faith can heal people.  God works through people to heal as well as divine healing.  There are many testimonies that speak of how a doctor is baffled over a medical issue that has miraculously disappeared from a patient that makes no sense.  In my experience prayer heals in a radical way.  Walk into any church that prays for healing and hear the testimonies yourself, do not take my work on it.

This last part is sorta out of context to the question but is the only thing I can bring up that a Christian could bring to a debate on medical science.

Answer 4

The bible mentions Jesus, our healer.  

Answer 5

People say they're Christian to make themselves look all holy and godlike and special.

But, about your question.

I guarantee 80% of Christians would rather break the rules and live longer, rather than die.

Answer 6

Jade, you are partially right. The Bible doesn't mention anything about cancer treatments, radiation, antibiotics, injections, x-rays, and a host of other modern day developments.

But the Bible does talk about a living, breathing Saviour named Jesus who not only healed people but said that WE (Christians) would be able to do bigger and better things than that.

We have the authority to heal and to cause miracles to happen. It's not us doing them but the Lord.

I certainly don't want you to think that I am against technology and doctors. I think that God put them here for a purpose. But when someone has been told they are done for, we Christians still have an ace in the hole..we pray.

Does God always answer...of course not. The Bible says that it is APPOINTED unto man once to die and then the judgement so people will die when their time is up. But God has changed His mind before. Sometimes God will let a person become totally well again.

Answer 7

The Holy Bible, God's word, is more important than science.

It is more powerful than science. Hebrews 4:12

Answer 8

People misues the Bible because they don't understand it.  Your critcism is correct.  Jesus is the word of God, the bible contains the revealed words of God. He did not speak on every subject, but he did give us a church foi our salvation.

Jesus came to found the kingdom of God/Heaven on earth -- the catholic church -- he did not come here to wirte.  had He come to write all these sorts of questions would have been answered.

There are two things at work here. Original protestantism had jettisoned teh church which was Jesus's mission to foudn, having done so they repalced it with the bible, and they worship it call it the word of God when we know that jesus is the word of God, in a manner that appears to be idolatry.  The New testament is simply the story of the foundation and early formation of the catholic church we worte, Luther broke away, modified it and handed it toi tyndale to release to the world as if it felll from the sky into his lap.  It did not we wrote it and we have the history and docuementation that backs it.

the second thing that is pertienet is religous foundamentalism.  The only thing that saves teh catholic church from this sort of thing is our genuiness, Jesus and the Holy sprit reside within and protec us from this phenomenon, or we could easily be lead astray, credit for this protesction also goes to the heirarchy whichc Jesus prescibed when he ordained his first bishops and instituted the Papacy, by making St. Peter supreme among those bishops.  The Holy sprit works through them and in them t oprotect us from this sort of thing.

Fundamentalism is the adoptkion of a group or individauls to start of a socio-political point of view -- the fudnamental.  Nothing can deviate from this point of view it is right they use relgion and misqoute and misssunderstand sacred documetns in order to support the fundamental the socio-political point of view.

For fundamentaists the fudnamental is the socio-political view which the seek to impose on others because of it's "rightness".

To catholics what is important is the religion that is what comes first not a socio-political pooint of view.  This is why we do many things that we call mysteries -- the sacraments cheif of which is the eucharist -- the transubstaionation of the bread and wine into the actual bbody and blood of Jesus christ, these things that Jesus taught come first, and we conform our lives to teh teachings of Jesus through the church that He founded.  We have exclusive understaing of the Bible because we srote it we have the history that goes with it those things that we did not write.  Althoug the doctrine of foudnation, the papcy and the eucaharist as well as the rest of the sacraments are firmly docuemtned in the new testament.

To fundies on the other hand what is fundamental is the socio-political point of view and they bend individual verses, chapters, hsitory and scolarship to support this point of view.  Religion, the bible only have meaning so long as teh support this "fundamental" point of view.

So called evangelicals are fundies it is the same movement and it is dangerous politically and ssocailly.  there are paralles between chritsitan fundamentalists and moslem fundamentalists in that they both are driven not by God but be a socio-political point of view.  

So, I am not an obama supporter, he supports abortion and catholic doctrine on this is clear. I cannot support him because of his stand on the life issues.  Thsi has put catholics in bed so to speak with fundamentalists evangelicals, beacuse we share the same view and fervor on abortion.  To us it is a teachinf of trhe Pope and the magisterium.  John Paul II wrote extensively on this it is part of our faith.  to them it is part of a conservative political doctrine.  But there our similarity ends.  Because abortin is the number 1 lkife issue it is not the only one.  For catholics in Jesus's teachings the life issue include fightening poverty, helping the less fortunate and aboloishing the death penalty.  Thes eviews are from the Holy spirit, and we being the church that Jesus founded do not need to bend scripture or quopte individual verse out of context to support the gosple of life.

Fondies on the other hand support the death penalty because it is part of their conservative socio-poitical agneda.

The subtly and proof out doctrine is driven by the Holy sprit lies in the fact that the doctrine cannot be described in socio-politcal terms as conservative or liberal.  A true catholic supports the conservative anti-abortion view and the liberal abolish the death penatly view.  A fundie cannot they must be coherent in their conservative socio-political point of view becasue it not Jeswus is fudnamental.

So, when we see candaites like Mrs. Palin we can the dnager when she says she is an evangelical.  Anti-abortion yet pro cxapital punishment.  This is completly coherent in the conservative sense, but it is not christain.  so, we can understand how she will look down on the poor, becaue in the fundie venacular "the chooose to be poor."  I cannot support her either.  McCain is not an evangelcal, and I don't vote for the vice presedent althoughI wish he had not picked her.

Sola Scriptura ?

Go get a copy of the marine corp. manual, take it home study it. Don't forget to rip out the five chapters that contradict what you are doing.

Get other people together to study it, implement it in your life, get the people who you study it with to implement it in there lives.

Oh, don’t forget to get your official marine corps manual concordance, so you can look up words and phrases like “simper fi”, “Iwo Jima”, “Helmet”, “Grenade”, and “Honor”,  etc.  

Now does this make you guys marines?

I think not.

You are missing pretty much everything that it means to be a marine. You haven't had the training that they have done for years you don't have the history -- the understanding of what it means to BE a marine as passed on from the founder of the marine corp to his first lieutenants and on down through the ranks through the years – the direct link to the founder of the marine corp. and writers of the manual, nor do you have  the word of mouth testimony (those unwritten instructions that the founder himself – who by the way did not write the manual -- passed on to his first lieutenants, things the marines have been doing for years),  nor do you have the true meaning of what the manual says. Because, of course, outside of the marine corp., the manual is MEANINGLESS.

People who belong to bible studying fellowships who believe in the doctrine of solely scripture, scripture first, scripture only -- sola scriptura are no more Christians than are the people who got together to study the marine manual are marines.  

Now that you and your friends have studied the marine corp manual. Go out in front of a marine corp. recruiting station and as people walk in hand them a tract from the manual and get them to come join you. Go to a marine corp. camp and do the same thing see if they will join you marine corp. manual studying fellowship. But don't call yourselves that. Call yourselves, "marines". Go to the veterans day parade and hand out tracts from the manual there, and tell them to come to your marine barracks. Let people know that you have the way that all they have to do is study the manual with you and they too can be marines.

Oh yes and erect marine corp. manual studying colleges and graduate what?

Experts in misunderstanding the marine corp. manual.

And OHHHH yes don't forget to call yourselves not just marines but "heroes(saints)", because after all everyone who is part of your marine corp., manual studying fellowship is a "hero(saint)", after all the manual says that doesn't it?  Forget about honoring real marine “Heroes(Saints)” like Colonel Louis C. Plain and Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone;  or Gunnery Sergeant Donald A. Levesque (RET); or Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham ... etc.; for after all the manual tells us not to do that, right?

Then, go up to a real marine (if you dare) tell them what you are doing, and ask them what is wrong with it?

Answer 9

The Bible does tell us that in the latter days there would an increase of knowledge.  The Bible also tells us how the heavens and the earth were created.  Even evolutionists reluctantly agree that the sequence listed in Genesis one for the creation of animals is the correct sequence in which animals appeared.

While the Bible is not a book of science when ever it speaks about anything it speaks with accuracy.

For example, Isaiah told us the earth was round, more than 500 years before a Scientist figured it out.

Don't forget that all of Science is based upon the Bible.

Answer 10

You never heard of evolutionist/ christians???

Answer 11

Why does science back up almost all the events of the bible? Try watching the History channel and see the facts that scientific community has proven to be true that the bible claims had happened. Like the fall of Jericho.

Answer 12

All things pertaining to life and death are covered in the bible. It may no be a science book in the sense that teaches to evaluate all things in an empirical method, but it lays the foundation for the reason for science and all that exists. It is the standard by which we can judge all things created.  

Answer 13

Jesus himself teaches that the sick should see a physician. (Matthew 9:12.)

What arrogant ignorance. Please read a Bible before commenting on it.

Answer 14

It's inevitable that some Christians will misuse the bible, since there is no consensus amongst the Christian communities as to its correct use.   The "misuse" will appear depending on which group you are measuring from.

Unless one group is declared by another as not really Christian at all.

That happens too.

Answer 15

because its so broad you can say anything oh god created man and man created antibotics through the power of jesus

Answer 16

No, it is not a science book.  In fact, it contains numerous scientific errors and direct contradictions to observable reality.

However:  The Bible can, and usually is, useful for justifying virtually any political, social, or moral position.  One can justify injustice, oppression, and even murder if one tries.  There doesn't seem to be a real "purpose" of the Bible beyond rationalization and storytelling.

Answer 17

because the bible is so revered, all you have to say is the bible says so and you can get people to believe pretty much anything. not all people, of course, but a good deal of them.