Bibliolatry

Author: Mopac

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Mopac
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For those who make The Bible an idol before God, as well as the atheists who argue as if The Bible is God, I came across this while reading, and I thought it was well put and worth repeating here....

"There emerged in the Orthodox Tradition the position that the Bible is the record of truth, not the truth itself.. According to the Church Fathers, the truth itself is God alone." ~Father Theodore Stylianopoulos, Professor of New Testament at Holy Cross School of Theology


And I'd also like to note that The Orthodox Church's liturgy is almost entirely scripture, so there aren't many other churches where you'd get a bigger dose of the bible. 





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Mopac
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There are thousands of years worth of Church Tradition preserved in The Orthodox Church. No other church has better knowledge of the bible.


To all the non-Catholics in the west, know that your ancestors were right to break away from Rome, because they are a renegade church... However, you have lost much in the process. Consider joining back up with the rest of us. Give Orthodoxy a look see. It is the Church descended from the Apostles. It is the true church. 


To all the Roman Catholics in the west, consider returning to Orthodoxy. The Roman Church has corrupted the creed, has waged "Holy" Wars, and has done more damage to Christendom than any other institution on the planet. The Bishop of Rome is not king of Christendom, Jesus Christ is. The Catholic Church at the time of the schism was made up of 5 "Popes". What makes more sense, that 4 Popes rebelled against the 1 or that 1 Pope rebelled against the other 4? Consider that The New Testament is written in Greek, not Latin! 


Christians of the west, consider Orthodoxy. It is the Apostolic Church.

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Stephen
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@Mopac
"There emerged in the Orthodox Tradition the position that the Bible is the record of truth, not the truth itself.. According to the Church Fathers, the truth itself is God alone." ~Father Theodore Stylianopoulos, Professor of New Testament at Holy Cross School of Theology

 This should come as no surprise to anyone with a brain cell.

Indeed. This is clearly the church back peddling simply because of all the flaws 21st century man can point out in  the bible. This is a pure case of distancing the works of HUMANS and what the church has been preaching over the centuries, from what they call god and what they NOW wish "god" to be.
They and the bible have been exposed and they know it.
#4
Stephen
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Who can blame the church from wanting to distance itself from BIBLE verses such as these that they have been preaching for millennia? 
"When a man sells hisdaughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the menare. If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to bebought back again." 
Exodus 21: 7-8


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@Mopac
I'd never heard of it, that's very interesting.

From Wikipedia:

"In Christianity, bibliolatry is used to describe extreme devotion to the Bible or to biblical inerrancy. Supporters of biblical inerrancy point to passages (such as 2 Timothy 3:16–17) interpreted to say that the Bible, as received, is a complete source of what must be known about God. Critics of this view call it a form of idolatry, pointing to verses (such as John 5:39–40) to indicate that Jesus asked humanity to relate to God directly rather than seeking God's rules and spurning a relationship with the God who created them."

Fascinating. I'd be interested to know which of those positions the various Christians here lean toward.

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Mopac
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@Stephen
The Church Fathers existed since apostoloic age, this is not a backpedaling. The Orthodox position has never changed. The Orthodox Church has nothing but reverence for the bible, and in my experience, we use it more than other churches. Even let it speak for itself.





You are simply uninformed.
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@Castin
Orthodox consider it a heresy.
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"And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."

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@Mopac
Orthodox consider it a heresy.
So do you disagree that the Bible is a complete source of what must be known about God? Are you opposed to the concept of biblical inerrancy?
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@Castin
He will probably have a better answer than I do.   You don't "know" God, by having knowledge of God.  God is the Truth, and Christianity is the Way.  The Bible is not an instruction booklet to assemble the black friday soul you got on sale from Ikea, and the faith is real, not a set of rules.  Though, you can humble yourself to the wisdom written in the Bible and choose to be obedient in the meantime.  Its all made for our own good.

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Mopac
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@Castin

Scripture removed from Church tradition can be used to deceive people into anything. Look at Stephen. His intention is to use scripture to scare people away from it. As Jesus said, it would be better if a millstone were tied around his neck and he were cast into the sea! By dishonestly making use of scripture, he may be pushing people away from actually getting the message. Besides him, there are hundreds if not thousands of churches in the United States that use the bible to preach the whim of the pastor... The Bible really, is the property of the Orthodox Church, the very church descended from the apostles, and so she is the rightful interpreter of scripture. 

As written by the Apostle Peter...

"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

And as for what scripture is used for, the Apostle Paul writes..


"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."

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Mopac
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@Castin
By the way, the Orthodox Church to my knowledge does not actually take a stand on the bible being inerrant or not. This is a protestant phenomina.

The bible was created by the church, it is our property, so it is interpreted in the light of our tradition.

So all these heretics running around saying, "the bible says this, the bible says that" would be wise to look into what The Orthodox Church says, because if what they are saying contradicts Church Tradition it cannot be a valid interpretation.

Protestant churches are all new churches, and the churches that spring up independently of even protestantism have no history. Well intended though many of these churches might be, they should really consider Orthodoxy, because this is the church of the apostles, and this is the true church.

And I am happy to answer any questions other Christians have about Orthodoxy, because as someone who was not raised Orthodox at all, I know how it can look very different than what it is from a surface glance. 
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@Mopac
You believe the word of God is your property?

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@Castin
The bible certainly is for the chutch to interpret, not heretics or unbelievers. You can use the bible to teach anything. It has been used to teach anything. The church uses the bible properly. The church is the property of Jesus, The Word of God.