So we dont have to have all the answers after all huh, thats such a relief! I love this so much more than the BS answer man who makes me barf... hehe Mary

Mary, I understand that sense of relief!! It has been a relief in so many ways. Not only did I not have to come up with an answer for everybody else's questions, I didn't have to come up with answers for all of my own questions!!

When I was in Bible College we were instructed that if the question came our way we were obligated to provide an answer. Now, these teachers knew we didn't know all the answers so their solution was simple: tell the person something to the effect that even though we didn't know the answer right then we would find out and then get back to them. That sounds so honest, doesn't it? All it did was to make us dependent upon the collected wisdom of our Bible College teachers. After all, who did we run to?

Of course there's NOTHING inherently wrong with asking those you respect for some insight on something that stumps you, but consider the whole process together. We were under the gun to come up with the "right" answer to give to the person who had asked it. Well, since we were taught that God demanded this of us and also taught that God would provide answers if we asked, did it even cross our minds that the answer we got from the person we asked was not the "right" answer? And then when we got back to the person who asked the question in the first place and gave him/her the answer we received, didn't that only help seal the matter for us since we felt an obligation to stand by the answer we gave? It's the concept that Paul states so well when he does that tongue in cheek, "That's my story and I'm sticking to it." routine (Made popular by the movie, "Beverly Hills Cop", where the Police Chief tells an elaborate made-up story to cover Eddie Murphy's butt). Don't worry Paul, I won't use it anymore, okay? :)

It was pure manipulation promoted under the guise of "winning souls for Christ". I'm not suggesting that we weren't "sincere" in our desire to "win the world for Christ", but we allowed ourselves to be blind-sided to so many things that grated against everything within us. The simple fact is that a truly accurate Bible answer does not replace LIFE, and the truly accurate answer will DEMAND that this is the case!!

I've stated this in many ways but I think it's worth repeating: the MAIN thing that has convinced me that the Bible is NOT our "answer book", or our "text book", or our "owner's manual", or that it in itself is NOT the life, is the Bible itself. That's right! The BIBLE tells me not to put my trust in IT, but in CHRIST who is the focus of its testimony. The BIBLE tells me that it DECLARES the righteousness of God that has now been put within us!! And I LOVE its testimony. I can't help but see it EVERYWHERE I examine its pages.

Love, Jim :)