Not everything in the Bible is true...

[slamtaz]

So I guess within the Bible-reading crowd alone, there's no consensus that the book you're using as a guide to your lives as factual and is its interpretation is limited to the human mind's capability of twisting the reading to suit one's belief, am I safe to assume that?

sir theveed, i think you just hit the nail right smack on the head! imho, we, as humans and with the very limited capacity of our minds, populate a humongously wide spectrum of mindsets that interpret whatever it is we read (e.g. the Bible or Quran included) in the most varying ways because of a multitude of factors and/or experiences, be it internal or external..

I guess you can assume that sir. Based on my experience, God communicates to man through the Bible on a personal level. So one message from the Bible may mean differently to several readers, kaya nagkakaiba-iba ng interpretations.

In the first place, God did not say "interpret my messages"; but rather "study and meditate on it".

this, i believe, is one very personal relationship based on sir psalm136:2's experiences and/or factors that affected him, all through out his life, until now. it may or may not jibe with the belief of others within or outside the realm of Bible readers/believers but that does not necessarily put said group in the wrong path nor the same can be said of any other group. We may all be treading a different path but who knows exactly where it will lead us to, you're opinion or belief may be as good as the rest..

it may however, also be likened to going to a certain place like for example "monumento", each & everyone of us have our very own way of going to monumento based on where we are coming from, either thru (means) walking, running, bus, car, jeep, taxi, lrt, bicycle, etc., (routes) edsa, taft ave., nlex, slex, etc.. but for sure, regardless of how we do it, we believe that we will eventually reach monumento..

applied to our lives, i opine that we all believe in a certain "goal" (i.e. like monumento in my analogy above) and whether the Bible, Quran, etc. were used or not in reaching said goal depends entirely on where we are coming from.. di ba parang mahirap yata gamitin ang nlex papuntang monumento kung manggagaling ka sa batangas? at kung ang alam lang ng isang tao ay ang sumakay ng bus via edsa eh parang mahihirapan mo siyang kumbinsihin sumakay ng jeep via taft o di kaya mag lrt/mrt sa katwirang baka pa siya maligaw?

in the end however, it is only when we reach our goals or not, can we say whether the means or routes we took were right or wrong. consequently in real life, most can't relate whether they reached their goals or not anymore coz by that time eh patay ka ng bata ka..

just my :twocents: and as always, i could very well be wrong

pasensya na po kung :offtopic:

IMO, there's no need to go into a debate. Believers should simply do their part as they are "inspired" to do. It may be that your role is just to plant the seed. The watering and the harvesting may be the tasks of others in God's perfect time. IMO, to do more than what God assigned you to do is to go against His will.

:peace: to all