Original Scriptures?

[Guest medicine]

Anyone Help!!!!

I have just been speaking with a young lady attending college for her first year

and came accross some information I need clarification on. FYI she is a strong Christian who is exploring the origins of the written bible. My original understanding was that the Dead Sea Scrolls were the original writings that the

bibile was translated from. After speaking with this young woman, I am confused.

My understanding of her explanation was that the Scrolls were letters upon letters

not even written as a bible and not even written in the time of Christ. I may have

misunderstood what she was actually saying but if my understanding was correct

it would mean that the bible is translated from letters which would have to have been written based on word of mouth. The other concern I seem to recall was that

the Scrolls were not written in Christ's diciples own dialect which means they would not havve been written by the diciples at all.

I am a stuggling Christian at this time in my life and this letter may be completely

incorrect. I need some help though. The bible is my lifeline and I am walking by faithright now. Understanding in this matter will be one of the fundamentals of my

readings and understand with more than faith that these words are true.

[nebula]

I am a stuggling Christian at this time in my life and this letter may be completely

incorrect. I need some help though. The bible is my lifeline and I am walking by faithright now.

Woah!

I know what you are going through - I've been there.

What you need to understand most right now is this:

"They overcame the accuser by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death."

I had been challenged in my Christian college against the Bible (go figure!). These liberal profs with their doctorates were all over the place with their tearing apart of the Bible as "the inspired word of God" as I had come to know it.

But I remember what I did. I went on a long prayer walk, and I just cried out to God. The gist being, "Father, I'm so confused. Their arguments are so strong. I don't understand. But I believe in You! I chose to believe in You!"

A day or two later, I was in a converstion with someone, and he just happened to say some things that helped me to feel secure. It was just the words I needed at just that time.

"To the Law and to the Testimony!"

There have been times in my life where I was in the deepest pits of despair (I had a chronic depression problem, and circumstances were tough, and I had fallen into a major depressive episode - didn't know that's what it was at the time; this is hind-sight speaking). But as I was reading the Bible, I saw a verse that just "jumped out of the page at me." It was so what I needed! And I just clung to it like crazy! Every morning, every night, every time I thought about things, I would quote that verse over and over and over and over.

It quite literally kept me alive.

There was another time at a Christian youth camp when the speaker had said in his teaching to the whole lot of us, "If you are stuggling with believing that you are saved, read I John every day." His words pierced me. I had this exact struggle - for years! I was inspired! I read I John every day, like he had mentioned. You know what? It worked!! I don't know how, but it did!

You see, Medicine, it does not matter the "origin" as such as one would "like" to think. There is power in those words we have collected together in that book we call the Bible. God's spoken word is not so weak as to be bound by our sense of rigidness. It is much more living than that. The only words of God that were cut in stone (that we know of) were the 10 commandments and a pronouncement of judgement against Babylon just before the Medes and Persians invaded.

God's word is like a breath. It is living. The words we have transcribed on paper are the experiences that man has had with God over the ages. It's a shame Christianity has restricted the fresh infilling of God's word to the end of the 1st century.

I believe God is above and beyond that.

God spoke to men in the past. Those words were recorded. God spoke through men in letters and prophecies and psalms and proverbs, and they were recorded. Men spoke of their experiences with God, and those got recorded.

But guess what God speaks to you and me even today! Just as He spoke to men of all ages in their own way.

So hold on to your faith! Remember, your ancor is in Jesus, and not a book. The book is valuable, yes - but ultimately it is Jesus. The book confirms Him and teaches you of Him and His ways. But the book is not God; it is a written communication between God and man over a prolonged period of time.

Make sense? OK?

Blessings!

[ginakay]

Nebula, that is a good answer.

Also, Medicine should do some research on his/her own and look into the origin of the Bible we have. It would give confidence. The OT was written in the distant past, some by Moses or Joshua or both as well as the ones who chronicalled the two kingdoms, and then the prophets of course. David and Asaph who wrote most of the psalms. The dead sea scrolls are quite old but the way they mainly benefit us is that they show that the OT that we have is very correct when compared with anciet writings. The dead sea scrolls would not have any of the NT in them. the NT was written by the disciples of Jesus following his resurrection. Some were inspired to write about his life and things he said and did. Then Luke set about writing the history of the early church for the first number of years after christ ascended. Many of the other books are pastoral letters written by Paul and (of course) John wrote his Revelation.

God has blessed His Word and it is powerful in giving us His message.

[nicholas]

Medicine,

The dead sea scrolls are not where the bible originated from. They were written before the new testament time and contain none of the new testament.

the Scrolls were not written in Christ's diciples own dialect which means they would not havve been written by the diciples at all.

Correct, the Apostles wrote the new testament. The dead sea scolls only contain old testament writing.

I agree with Ginakay, go find a good book about where the bible that is now in our hands came from, and how it came to be.

Nicholas