As an atheist, I deeply appreciate these videos. And I would like to thank you for explaining the Bible and Christianity on a sufficiently basic level to where I can understand and appreciate the reasoning behind the Christian faith. People like you help me, as someone who does not share your faith, keep an open mind and understand that believing in god is reasonable and a logical conclusion for people. Thanks!
We are all praying for you brother. And we are all blessed by your message. When your feel its the right time & the Holly Spirit will bless you & you will decide that you are ready to be born again we all be rejoicing and very happy for you. ....There is no greater joy. GOD BLESS
Mats Næss Your comment is deeply refreshing and I would like to personally thank you. As a person who is in your own words an athiest you were endearing and graceful. at the same time you were saying I don't necessarily see things the way you do but you were respectful and honest. That is something that is becoming very rare especially directed at someone if faith. Thank you.
I like to say that every science or math problem has a starting point, a list of assumptions. Some philosophers start with, "I think, therefore I am". Due to the claim of the bible, 1) Romans 1 knowing the nature of God from creation and 2) Hebrew 11:6 faith that God rewards those who seek him, I start with the assumption God is, therefore I am. This leads me down a whole different path than many philosophers. It is logical, it just depends on your starting point.
I have to say, I’m honestly amazed at the kind and gracious responses to my comment. The fact that I can openly state my differences and be met with such love and compassion is unbelievable, especially seeing how the rest of the internet is so toxic and fractious towards disagreements. This whole ordeal just made me really happy and optimistic! Hope you all are doing great.
Awesome!!! Can't wait to see the videos to follow. Matt, you really have a great way of thoroughly digging into a subject and taking it apart, bit by bit.
Thank you so much Matt! My daughter, her agnostic friend , and I had church at home due to weather. We played this as part of the study. You helped the friend understand a lot he said. (all of us are adults ) we talked about free will having an impact in the writing. I let him know that sure, these people didn't have to write it but they were motivated by things and urgency to let people know.
I’m coming from a apathetic atheist position to now looking into and reading the bible (I’m in Numbers) and I’m so thankful for you and your channel. Everything you need to know in bite sized chunks, laying out the facts, which is what I’m looking for. So again, thank you.
We were travelling today ( Sunday) So we did not go to church :-( instead, we listen to pastor Matt while driving in the car. Learned more today than the whole year!!!! Great job. We are all very blessed by your knowledge, faith & the Holly Spirit. GOD BLESS
I would love to see a series where you go through the Old Testament and show the parallels of what they were doing and how it correlated with Jesus' works and teaching!
Good video, Matt! Looking forward to seeing the rest of the series. Will you have time to go into your thoughts on the documentary hypothesis regarding the authorship of the Torah, specifically the 4 sources (JEPD)? Love, mom.
Even after nearly 2,000 years of its existence, and centuries of investigation by biblical scholars, we still don’t know with certainty who wrote its various texts, when they were written or under what circumstances.
As an atheist, I would fall under category 1 but in this video I find you to be quite reasonable, not preachy at all. I'll check out your other videos and may change my mind.
As an atheist, I too deeply appreciate these videos. I grew up under some of the best evangelical minds of our time, most of whom are/were professors at the southern baptist theological seminary. I disagree, but appreciate your candor.
I will point out that 2peter 1:20-21 and 2 timothy 3:16 were both written before the new testament was compiled. And therefore they are both referring to the old testament scriptures. Just a small detail that we often overlook. Thanks for the videos.
Will Harris-Braun what's to think about?Some alchemist genius melted down blocks of swagger, sexiness, and brute strength, poured it into a perfectly crafted manatee mold and then slapped it on my desk. It's the pinnacle of art in the Western tradition.
awesome topic and coverage, thanks for the details and cannot wait for you to cover the merits of Bible books, quite curios on how they were tested and all... hmmm... think i need to research this myself too :P Keep it up!
So, upfront, I am an atheist, but I understand that you are leagues smarter than me and I really enjoy your videos and how you simply and concisely explain concepts about Christianity. Frankly, though, as fascinating as the Bible is as a historical document is, and as cliche as this statement might be, the reason I would say that I am atheist is primarily because of the contradictions that the Bible has to the evidence that science points us towards, as well as some of the arguments that can be made against Christianity. I'm not sure if you've talked about it in a past episode or on an episode on the podcast (I'm on episode ten, it's amazing by the way), but I would love to see your response to these. For example, the Big Bang. Science says the evidence points us towards it, billions of years ago, but the Bible says otherwise. Furthermore, the theory of evolution vs the notion that God created the first humans Adam and Eve. Also, some of the stories in the Bible that are seemingly impossible. Based on y'all's recommendation I listened to Divides Aside, and I would love to hear your response to the point she made about Noah's Arc and the impossibility of getting every animal in one arc, or Jonah somehow getting swallowed by a whale. Maybe these stories aren't meant to be taken literally, but I was raised under the impression that they were. Furthermore, why Christianity over the thousands of other religions? Why do you think this is the right one? Also, I'd like to hear your opinion on stuff like the Bible calling homosexuality a sin. I'm (pretty) sure it's in there, as well as calling a bunch of other stuff since, like having a child out of wedlock, I believe. Do you think all those things are sins too? If not, why are you allowed to choose what you do and don't believe are sins? Is a perfectly nice and humble person who happens to be gay going to hell because he loves another man? Maybe my interpretation of what the Bible says about homosexuality is wrong, but I would love to hear your take on that too. I've tried to discuss this with some of my Christian friends, but it was obvious they weren't too interested and their answers were more or less "God can do what he wants." Maybe that's your answer too, but I would love to hear why you think that. In the Ready Player One episode you said how you, at one point, used to believe in what Wade did, and I would love to hear your explanations for why you don't anymore. Again, you might've already talked about this. If it was on the podcast, I'll eventually get to it. If it was in a video, I'll hopefully eventually get to it. Again, love your channel and I am a proud subscriber :)
+SirRickTheNick Thanks for the thoughtful note! Also DANG that's a lot. In this little series I plan to cover about half of your questions (all of which are fair and smart), so I'll ask you to stick with me through a few and see what you think. I hear people hand wringing over the big bang on both sides of this conversation, but I don't see any reason that idea would be incompatible with God as the originating force behind it. It seems plausible to me that there would be a spontaneous exertion of force, energy, and matter if a being initiated existence as we experience it. I get your frustration with your friends who seem to you to be ducking the questions, but not everyone (regardless of perspective) is ready to process it out that way. I find patience is in order; everybody is working it through in their own way at their own pace.
SirRickTheNick since you gents brought up the big bang I would like to bring up for your consideration the following. The big bang theory was developed and proven by a Catholic priest named Georges Lemaître. There were of course others that helped but he was the first to really prove it and develop it. The divide of science and religion is largely a false divide that is a hold out of the enlightenment. A narrative that is most evident in the story that Christopher Columbus was the only one that believed that the earth was round and other mind numbingly stupid things like that. Remember Copernicus, Newton, Galileo just to name a few all devout Christians. All scientists.
How do you know you would have to be God? If you don’t “believe” God inspired-wrote the Bible you’re obviously not a child of God-Romans 8:16. You’re a child of the enemy who thinks he’s god-1 John 3:10.
One of the most important things that MUST be discussed in this series is the fact that the fairly young Holy Roman Catholic Church decided which writings, out of hundreds of writings were appropriate to include in the Bible. I don't believe they added to the Bible, but it's highly likely they did not include all the writings that were truly inspired by God. Case in point: the books of Enoch. The Bible says Enoch was a holy man who walked with and communed (talked with) God directly, and *possibly* the only other human in the history of mankind, besides the resurrected Jesus, to be taken to heaven in a living state. Even Jesus spoke about the righteousness of Enoch and talked about the content of the scrolls of Enoch, and yet the church decided his writings were not God inspired. I sometimes wonder what other writings were left out that have become so obscure and forgotten, but may have shed light on things the Bible, as we know it, seem somewhat ambiguous.
I have always wondered why no text has been considered for addition to scripture in the last 1700 years. If God inspired people to write it before, has He stopped? If He still inspires people today, why don't we look for those texts today?
Matt, how much do you think was lost and modified? For many years the books were controlled only by the church and passed by manuscript. (Sorry for bad english, cheers from Brasil!)
I'm still listening, please keep up the explanations of these truths. Peter's description of Paul's writing is also interesting. The claims about knowledge of God and those who seek him in Heb 11:6 and Rom 1:20 are some pretty compelling things to think about. Since your background is history, the whole process to select the cannon of scripture would be interesting. Many people dismiss the Bible's claims saying it was just a random political process that selected these books out of a myriad of options. Still the claims that not one word will pass away are still in the Bible, and it seems like there has to be a work of God, even in that council that selected the cannon.
I would really be interested in a video concerning Paul's teachings about women in the church and what they mean for us today. I think also in this category I would like to know more about how we decide how different parts of the Bible apply to us today. When is something in Paul's letters only for a specific group of people and when can we apply it to ourselves? How do we know which laws from the Old Testament still apply to us?
I tend to share the same opinion as you about who wrote it and how it was inspired originally, but the I know it's been translated and translated and people have had their hands all over it. Do you think the translations we have today are still 100% what God intended? Do you think he inspired or guided the translators too? Thanks, love your videos!
A topic I'd like to see you cover in a future video is why they canon of scripture is closed. As in, why do most Christians not believe that things like the Book of Mormon can be part of the canon of scripture. Relatedly, why Protestants don't include certain books in the canon that Catholics do would be interesting!
Grace C Good question, I'll answer the best I can and we can both hope that Matt will sometime in the future. In short, Christians ( and I'm talking about generally what we call evangelicals today) agree that after Revelations was written, no more inspired works have been written. What was included in the Bible was decided by a couple of different councils of church leaders back in the day. One of the major reasons that a text would be excluded is if doctrines are substantially different then the rest of the texts, both the book of Mormon, the catholic texts and what the jews have called the apocrypha fall into the general category. However, certain parts of the apocrypha are considered to be correct accounts of history, just not inspired by God. Hope that all makes a little bit of sense :)
horsekid98367 if that is the case all of the books of the apochrapha should be included as they predate revelations. Also some of the new testament books had not even been written yet. Even John had more writings after revelations.
I'd always heard the distinction between authors explained as a metaphor of writing something with a crayon, then a sharpie, then a mechanical pencil. God was the writer, the authors were the implements. Another great video, dude. Looking forward to the next one!
Hey, great videos. I'm not sure if I'm the only one to notice this, but sometimes when you hit the table it vibrates the microphone and it makes a deep sound that's kinda distracting, I've noticed it in a few videos, thought you might like to know. Keep up to great work!
Thanks for the great new content! I was actually searching for something like this a few weeks ago. My question for you would be.. Since you said you support "option #5", can you explain HOW you think God inspired the authors of the Bible? Thank you very much, this is a question I've been struggling with.
Hey Matt, Thanks for making your videos! I can tell you have done your homework and you have put a good deal of thought and effort into each video. I appreciate your style, very logical thinking that is presented with facts, and context, and cohesion, and passion, all while being entertaining and hysterical. I hope that we can cross paths in our lifetimes, I think we would get along greatly. (aka will you be my friend?.....that's not creepy, right?....asking a complete internet stranger to be your friend?...no, I think I'm good) Anyways, talk to you in the future. Andy PS: This is NOT your mother
What about how I find a lot of the years don't line up? Aren't the authors dead when the books were written? Is this a second person aggregating the letters? Or am I misunderstanding something? Also can you do a video about how camels weren't around when the Bible says they are?
Awesome video, thanks! Just an idea for a future discussion...the verses you used to support God inspiring the authors both came from new testament books where they referred to "scripture". From their contexts, what would they have meant by this? Maybe the Tanakh or the Septuagint? Can we apply what they said to what has since become scripture, including those books themselves? Obviously there's no definitive correct answer but keen to hear your thoughts from your knowledge of their contexts, thanks again
In this passage the apostle Peter states that Paul's letters ARE inspired Scriptures: "... just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures." 2 Peter 3:15-16 Here is a good article: www.gotquestions.org/NT-authors-inspired.html
+EmethMatthew True thing. Group 3 would say that The Bible is not of divine origin at all, but rather that really enlightened spiritual people wrote it, and because they are such special people their documents point toward something transcendent. Group 5 would say that God specifically partnered with human authors and inspired them to say exactly what he in tended. Group 3 does not need God to be part of the equation for their position of human Enlightenment, but group 5 requires the work of God for the human authors to accurately explain stuff that God wanted explained.
Ah, ok that makes sense. When you got to Group 3 I was expecting the whole "Rule of Threes" thing pastors (and other writers) love so much, so I was partially distracted by realizing you couldn't be done with groups because I was expecting a fourth group who believes God inspired the Bible by verbatim dictation that I missed the nuance in details in Group 3. Thanks for spelling it out for me. :-)
It makes sense to me. No one would travel all over the world and preach about something that the just thought happened .They had to have the first encounter with God to believe that what they were doing was not just a fertile exercise .Who wastes their life for fun ? Glory be to God .in the name of Jesus.
First of all, great video. This is important stuff. Second, the only thing I'm yelling at my screen is to tape that page. Finally, (not even politically motivated, just curious) is that a hillary cinton action fugure on your shelf?
0:03 I'm with you for most of the bible, but what about revelation 2-3? They are dictated letters from Jesus to some churches, using John as a scribe; the same way Romans is a dictated letter by Paul to a church, using Tertius as a scribe. 1:46 I notice you don't have Hebrews in your list of things written by Paul, so who do you think wrote Hebrews, and why do you think that? 3:39 Does Luke like journeys or did he just navigate for Paul and therefore spend a lot of time talking to him about it? There's quite a lot about boats in Acts but I don't see much about it in the Gospel of Luke (indeed, in there, he misses out entirely the gigantic journeys of the Magi and of Mary/Joseph/Jesus to Egypt, which I imagine someone really interested in journeys might want to include).
+IamGrimalkin I agree, and noted that in the description when I published. Even there, it isn't God who's putting pen to paper, and certainly serves as the outlier.
+IamGrimalkin Sort of, but even there it was originally published in the context of scripture in the writings of Moses. I know we're saying the same thing, but just for the sake of being semantically stubborn: the Bible definitely claims to record things that God directly said (even wrote), but God is not the author of any of the books.
The Ten Minute Bible Hour Yeah I think I am still being a bit semantically stubborn, but just for the sake of completeness: I don't see any reason why you couldn't print off a bible where Revelation is split off into the Epistle from Jesus to the Ephesians, the Epistle from Jesus to the Laodiceans, etc, and then have Revelation itself separately. I would think originally the letters would probably have been first sent out individually, before a summary of how they were all written was published as Revelation. The way it is set up in our bible is for historical reasons, but it didn't need to be so. In the same way, the ten commandments were originally carried around separately in the ark of the covenant, and were later on only bundled into part of Exodus. That's part of what I was getting at by citing Revelation 2-3, but I didn't spell it out as explicitly.
+IamGrimalkin You're making sense, but I think the distinction that Jesus said those things after his death and resurrection to John in private is a really crucial distinction that the current packaging on the book of Revelation acknowledges. I think it's right for christians to acknowlege those remarks to the churches in Asia minor as being epistles of Jesus, and even to read them that way, but to package them in the same way as the epistles of the rest of the New Testament are packaged wouldn't make sense to me.
How far back does the bible and historical record correlate? Like, is there a point in history where this whole Christian/Jewish thing started? Or can we collaborate events in the bible before the bible, as a book, started? I don't know much about the bible. But I seem to recall that genesis had some events that, if I understood them right, to have happened long before the bible was written. I'm curious if that is correct and if that can be corroborated. Maybe a better way of putting it is this. Does the bible's timeline and history's timeline mostly match up. I hope that makes sense.
+610GARAGE That's a great question. Things start to lineup neatly after the conquest and in the early era of the Kingdom, because record keeping was more prominent at that point and written language was commonplace. The further we get back into very ancient history, the less likely we are to have original sources and as a result details become much harder to corroborate. So I think of the simple dividing line as being king David. We have a lot of clarity on stuff after him, and moments of clarity and stuff before him. The only place where I could point to overt contradiction between Christian assumptions about The Bible and history has to do with Christian renderings of the historical timeline through the centuries. Those renderings are not inspired, but a lot of christians act like they are, and they can be problematic in lining up with the few things we do know for certain about ancient history. The Bible itself is not problematic necessarily in this way, but we have to think very critically when it comes to our attempt to put it all on a neat tidy time line. Apologies for grammar and spelling errors. I did this one with voice recognition on the run.
Cool. Thanks. I think that's what I was getting at. Is there a blaring (or even super controversial) contradiction. But it sounds like the only thing that contradicts the bible and history is us. :)
To me the Pentateuch was written down by multiple people, but as a way to preserve a oral tradition or something that might be lost. Perhaps Moses did write the first 4 books, (excluding the last) but didn’t physically write it down, and it was later written down based on what people remember hearing. This is kinda like the New Testament, Jesus didn’t sit down and write the New Testament, his followers heard what he said and passed it on and wrote it down for others to know.
I have watched several of your videos and continue to watch more. Your videos are both entertaining (If you were not handsome, would so many watch?) and instructive. I see a conflict between (non?-) literal fundamentalism and inspiration as understood at that time. The question I ask is does God change or does man (and woman) change in their understanding of God? Or both? (I do not use the word evolve purposefully, as it is now politically charged.)I am not a biblical scholar. Yet I strive to live by the Golden Rule and seek to better understand the Divine. Thank you for your videos.
I like to tell people that the Bible is "The Word Of God" if they ask me if it was written by God. I would love to now point to this video when someone asks me.
This often confused me as a kid. People would say God's word. But I would wonder, why would He write multiple books then? And why do they have authers? I eventually figured it out. :) And while I do agree with you Matt, I would still say that it is written by God. Yes, I do think that God inspired the authors to write the bible. But it kinda comes back to my 3d printer. I keep using that as an analogy. But, if I make something with my 3d printer, I made it. Even though I didn't tell my printer exactly what moves to make, I still made the part. Even though God didn't tell the authers exactly what to write, God still wrote the bible. He made the thing that wrote the bible and he told(or inspired) this thing what to write. Does this difference matter much in the grand scheme of things. Probably not. Is this semantics. Yup. Am I still going to argue it because I like friendly arguments. Absolutely. LOL :) I have a very important question. What is that to your right? A sword? LOL :)
That could work. :) Or maybe a better analogy would be the slicer program. That program takes the 3d model and converts it into 2d path's that the 3D printer then follows. Mabey, were the 3d printer...... ;)
Interesting analogy...so the user hitting "print" controls the overall design, and the printer itself accomplishes the mechanics? That's fun to think about. In other news, yes that does appear to be a saber, of Scottish design if I'm not mistaken.
I hate to be that guy who's always arguing, but using that analogy, God is writing this comment right now. God surely inspires Matt's videos. Do you call that "the word of God"? This whole universe is His 3D printer. I posted another comment on this video somewhere making the opposite point that you did. Honestly, the more I write and think about it, the more I realize I have no idea. I think I have a concept in my head but I can't seem to clearly define where God "ends" and the writer "begins". Look for my other comment and give me your opinion. I wrote a lot (too much to repeat here anyway).
Written by many people, inspired by God. How could they know which one was inspired and which one was not? Who decides which one to include and which one is not to include?
If we believe number 5, then all types of sin can creep into the Church by way of "oh they only meant that for that specific time period." That's why women today don't wear head coverings and homosexual marriage has taken a grip in many churches.
Matt, do you want to get into any sort of epistemology in a video sometime? Like, is there a difference between 'factual,' 'historical,' and 'true'? You know, you could quote CS Lewis about 'true myths' and be all Christian hipster cool.
I gotta say, man, I think group 5 falls much more closely in line with group 4 than you care to recognize. Whether the Bible is the verbatim word of god (which it can't be since there about a thousand different translations of the translations of the translations of the Bible), or it's the exact message that god wanted to get across in the words of the authors through the lens of the historical context they occupied at the time. There are still loads of contradictions, things we know to be absolutely false and loads of things which, even if I knew god existed and that this was its actual message I would refuse to do because many of those things are cruel and inhumane. In any event, I enjoyed the video.
Moses DID NOT write the first five books. How could he have written books in which his own death is described? Please someone address this if you think I'm wrong, I need to understand.
Question - If the bible is a compilation of books written by people influenced by the holy spirit, then why cant people, whom are also inspired today, add to the bible? And it seems like the authors of the Bible are receiving some form of revelation from God, in which case, why are they not considered prophets?
Thank you for this. As someone who is in the early stages of exploring the Bible for the first time, this is my biggest hurdle right now. Is it real?? Other than just because it says it is 🤔
caio Ventura most current translations also have current language I assume. I find that some translators that try to make the bible "more readable" for people tend to focus more on readability and let accuracy slide. I also find that if you get used to the average language of the bible you can also understand the more literal translations better. for me it's accuracy > readability in all but the hardest cases because it also makes me think more about what I read. understanding everything is not easy in the easier translations, either and in some cases even leads to inaccurate understanding. at least that is what my experience with less-literal translations is.
Marvin Klein I see your point! I could even say I agree with you. When I asked for this kind of language, I was considering the english is not my mother tongue language. I've tried to read King James version, for example, but the translation make it harder to understand. God Bless you :)
caio Ventura The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is a good English Bible that is available in Catholic and Protestant editions. I'd also suggest a bilingual Bible with English and your native language. There should be a few to choose from depending on the language.
Jaimie Boyd I would be interested in the difference between a 'catholic' and 'protestant' translation. Are there many ways to translate words? I actually never heard of denomination-specific translation besides the one of jehova's witnesses, if one would consider that
caio Ventura I tried KJV as well and found it readable, but not quotable if you know what I'm trying to say. I do have to say that german is my mother language so I might have other problems with the (old) english language. I would suggest getting a translation in your mother tongue. I find that I understand german translation better than english ones even though I have some experience reading english texts or listening to the english language. If you have christians in your area that speak your language, ask them, too :)
Nice. Heard all those "views" at one time or another. But never in just one easy to understand list. And in all under 12 minutes. Well, under 12 minutes edited, I'm pretty sure any pastor on must speak for a minimum of 15 minutes once they start. :-)
Cosmonaut cries can't know for sure, but I believe that life on earth is not as old as science seems to have found, coming from a biblical viewpoint. many reasons for that, these questions often lead to firey discussions about existential things so I won't encourage that. I'd say we will see and that this is not the most important thing for us to know for now
Terry Mitchell He "met" him on his way to Damaskus (Acts 9). We don't read exactly what Jesus told him, but I, for myself, believe that it was much. After he believed in him he received the Holy Spirit, who lives in (for example) me, too. The Holy Spirit, who is one with Jesus, told him everything that he wrote to people and churches, because he lived in relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit talked to him direcly like we see in the beginning of Acts, we don't know. But we do know that He also inspires people to do stuff, to write stuff, to say stuff. He does that all the time. Paul even testifies that in his letters. This is how we know how Paul knew what he should write
I was screaming at the video, sure, but it was "Yes! Yes!". I've heard 1000 times, "The bible is God's word". Yet its obvious that Paul's letters are from Paul, and Psalms is David talking to/about God, not God talking about how great He is. This is at the heart of the religion/ science conflict, because people use Genesis as a literal science book written by the Creator. If people wrote it, context matters, whether referring to creation or the whole world flooding. Their idea of the earth and what the whole world consisted of were different than today, unaware of the Americas, arctic regions, Australia, etc. If God wrote it, it must be literally true, because the Creator of the universe should know exactly how it was done. This also applies to the NT. If Paul said women shouldn't speak in church, there could be cultural reasons making it inappropriate. If God wrote it, then women shouldn't speak in church. I'm glad you addressed this, and some may think its blasphemous, but it couldn't be more important today.
Thanks Andy. While clearly God didn't put pen to paper, I do think God is fully responsible for the Bible. That might seem like a tiny little nuance, but it's a big deal in terms of interpretation.
Actually, I believe that I can take the bible literally. I can take Genesis literally and I can also take Paul's letters literally. I deeply believe that God communicates exactly what He wants through the people that wrote the scriptures using the Holy Spirit. Therefore I also believe that no word is to be thought less of than others. Even passages that are not conform to our current view of the world (like women being silent in the church for example, because you mentioned it). I believe that every passage is inspired by the Holy Spirit. These ones, too! Every passage that goes completely against everything I find important, fair or right. God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts. And through these passages that we as humans seem to find hard because we want to be tolerant and everything, in these passages I find that His Thoughts are so much bigger than mine. I even find the creation of separate continents in the bible (in Genesis it mentions Peleg, "the name of the one was Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided"). This just as an example because you mentioned they had no idea of the american continents. Jesus even says that his words will not pass away. And given that Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are both God, I believe that this is true for everything that the Holy Spirit has breathed out to be written down by these people. Reading the bible I realize time and time again that no one but God could have inspired these words. Even when I don't understand them fully, and this is so wonderful to me!
You mentioned two of the issues that I have struggled with. I know many people believe that the Bible is 100% literally true, but I don't think that makes sense taking into account the various genres of the Bible. Many parts are poetic and almost all poetry uses metaphors and figurative language that is not literally true. Even Jesus spoke in parables and doesn't claim that everyone one of them literally happened. I believe the Bible is true, but I think it makes a lot of sense to remember that the human writers of it couldn't use words they didn't possess. They could only describe the things of God with the language they knew and the language the people they were writing for could understand. The Bible speaks of the sun rising. We now know that the Earth actually rotates around the Sun, but if the authors of the Bible had talked about this everyone would think they were crazy and just get confused.
Laura Ingouf yes, in many parts of the bible this seems to be the case. for example, I do not have water flowing out of my body literally, neither did Jesus. so in this case we know that this should be handled as a metaphor. BUT this is not always the case, of course, which is probably the hardest part about the bible
The Ten Minute Bible Hour (and everyone else) I agree, but I'm having trouble finding the words. I don't think God said "Paul, in your next sentence, tell Timothy to drink some wine to help his stomach". God was in control the way He always is. We've all seen God working through people. Do you think you're coming up with this great content on your own? You can't be THAT talented! That doesn't mean you're infallible. God knows your content is on YT and Paul's letters are scripture. I think God expects us to think. Literature is written for contemporaries. They can't understand future context, but we understand the past. Taking the bible literally means Paul was the world's greatest sinner. I think he had sincere humility. The gospels are 4 witnesses describing events. There are inconsistencies as you'd expect. Was there one crazy possessed guy in a cemetery or 3? What exactly did Jesus say on the cross? This adds credibility to the bible. Everyone wasn't sticking to a story. They remembered different details. They're human writers, telling the truth from their perspective, inspired by God. That means details can't be correct all the time. Again, 1 possessed guy or 3? Either way, someone was inaccurate. If the bible shows us the writers are not 100% literally accurate, why insist its literal? We miss what's important for details. If I say "There will be a hurricane at sunrise", I'm not saying the sun orbits the earth. Im warning about a hurricane!
“If you start with the premise that God wrote the Bible, you’ve already started with the premise that he exists. So let’s be fair, right? Some _people_ wrote the Bible, and in the Bible, _they_ defined God a certain way. And what you’re doing is you’re taking that definition and saying, ‘Ah-ha! According to this definition, he exists!’-well people can make up anything, and include in their definition that it exists, or they can include characteristics in it, which run through elaborate philosophical justifications _imply_ that it must exist. But that doesn’t mean it _actually_ exists.” -Jeff Dee
What if the authors of the bible were not authors, but wrote a diary about there life and what they sore around them. And they kept a record of there life by writing the stories down and each person past down from each generation continued the diary until they finished keeping a record of all the stories.
As an atheist, I deeply appreciate these videos. And I would like to thank you for explaining the Bible and Christianity on a sufficiently basic level to where I can understand and appreciate the reasoning behind the Christian faith. People like you help me, as someone who does not share your faith, keep an open mind and understand that believing in god is reasonable and a logical conclusion for people.
Thanks!
We are all praying for you brother. And we are all blessed by your message. When your feel its the right time & the Holly Spirit will bless you & you will decide that you are ready to be born again we all be rejoicing and very happy for you. ....There is no greater joy. GOD BLESS
John Kosinski your kindness is deeply appreciated!
Hope you’re having an amazing day.
Mats Næss Your comment is deeply refreshing and I would like to personally thank you. As a person who is in your own words an athiest you were endearing and graceful. at the same time you were saying I don't necessarily see things the way you do but you were respectful and honest. That is something that is becoming very rare especially directed at someone if faith.
Thank you.
I like to say that every science or math problem has a starting point, a list of assumptions. Some philosophers start with, "I think, therefore I am". Due to the claim of the bible, 1) Romans 1 knowing the nature of God from creation and 2) Hebrew 11:6 faith that God rewards those who seek him, I start with the assumption God is, therefore I am. This leads me down a whole different path than many philosophers.
It is logical, it just depends on your starting point.
I have to say, I’m honestly amazed at the kind and gracious responses to my comment. The fact that I can openly state my differences and be met with such love and compassion is unbelievable, especially seeing how the rest of the internet is so toxic and fractious towards disagreements.
This whole ordeal just made me really happy and optimistic! Hope you all are doing great.
"I like boats." -Luke
Not funny...
@@alvonwz why
Finally a new video!!!! Love, Mom.
Harrison William
Yes, we have a lovely child don't we? He's smart and intuative in the way he teaches the bible.
Love, also mom.
Always in my corner mom. Thanks!
Awesome!!! Can't wait to see the videos to follow. Matt, you really have a great way of thoroughly digging into a subject and taking it apart, bit by bit.
I have nothing to ad to this I'm just commenting to boost your algorithm stats.
+吳佾澈 Jason Lane I accept! Thanks!
+
I can get onboard with that
lol nice
Dito
Thank you so much Matt! My daughter, her agnostic friend , and I had church at home due to weather. We played this as part of the study. You helped the friend understand a lot he said. (all of us are adults ) we talked about free will having an impact in the writing. I let him know that sure, these people didn't have to write it but they were motivated by things and urgency to let people know.
I’m coming from a apathetic atheist position to now looking into and reading the bible (I’m in Numbers) and I’m so thankful for you and your channel. Everything you need to know in bite sized chunks, laying out the facts, which is what I’m looking for.
So again, thank you.
We were travelling today ( Sunday) So we did not go to church :-( instead, we listen to pastor Matt while driving in the car. Learned more today than the whole year!!!! Great job. We are all very blessed by your knowledge, faith & the Holly Spirit. GOD BLESS
I enjoy your systematic approach to complicated and weighty biblical topics.
Thanks for taking the time to do these, Matt.
S Wilhelm You bet, hope it provided a pleasant break from house building.
Love the shirt Matt - Go Griz! Another great video; I very much appreciate your insight and intellectual honesty. God bless brother.
Paul meets Jesus. It is after the ascension but he still met him.
Love these videos!!!. Just one thing at the beginning of this video you said Paul never met Jesus. He did meet Jesus on the road to Damascus.
Good video Matt- looking forward to seeing more in this format.
I would love to see a series where you go through the Old Testament and show the parallels of what they were doing and how it correlated with Jesus' works and teaching!
Ryan Sullivan Don't rule this out. I may or may not have just finished writing the exact series you described ;)
The Ten Minute Bible Hour Praise Jesus! Keep up the great work.
@@MattWhitmanTMBH did this happen?
Thanks Matt, I'm just starting to dig in all this and your videos really help. Keep up the good work
Good video, Matt! Looking forward to seeing the rest of the series.
Will you have time to go into your thoughts on the documentary hypothesis regarding the authorship of the Torah, specifically the 4 sources (JEPD)?
Love, mom.
Like that you’re tackling these type of topics. Looking forward to more details👍
Joel Harry Thanks brother! Please give the kids just-shy-of-bone-crushing hugs for me.
Even after nearly 2,000 years of its existence, and centuries of investigation by biblical scholars, we still don’t know with certainty who wrote its various texts, when they were written or under what circumstances.
I was just explaining this to a lost person of peace. Great video.
As an atheist, I would fall under category 1 but in this video I find you to be quite reasonable, not preachy at all. I'll check out your other videos and may change my mind.
+Desirable man Cool man. Thanks for the kind words; means a lot!
Leaving us hanging ;) Looking forward to the next one.
You have some of the best Christian videos on youtube. I can very easily enjoy and learn from them even as an agnostic.
Matt's Mom is Agnostic?
cubs0110 Thanks man. Means a lot!
Hi Matt (I’m not your mom) this is now my new favorite Christian Chanel. Think you for helping me with my Faith
Cosmonaut cries I'm honestly honored. Thanks for saying that.
As an atheist, I too deeply appreciate these videos. I grew up under some of the best evangelical minds of our time, most of whom are/were professors at the southern baptist theological seminary. I disagree, but appreciate your candor.
David Bloom Sounds like our stories have some overlap. Appreciate you swinging by David.
I will point out that 2peter 1:20-21 and 2 timothy 3:16 were both written before the new testament was compiled. And therefore they are both referring to the old testament scriptures. Just a small detail that we often overlook. Thanks for the videos.
As a non-native (and not totally awake) English speaker, your questions were hard to read within such a short time..
I like the video... Still can't decide how I feel about the manatee statue.
Will Harris-Braun what's to think about?Some alchemist genius melted down blocks of swagger, sexiness, and brute strength, poured it into a perfectly crafted manatee mold and then slapped it on my desk.
It's the pinnacle of art in the Western tradition.
Haha... I laugh on this comment. Surely Matt is not irritated with that statue .😂😂😂😂✌✌✌
awesome video; as always, can't wait for more.
Moses didn’t write ALL of the Torah since it mentions his funeral in Deuteronomy.
The church agrees on that. Probably completed by Joshua.
awesome topic and coverage, thanks for the details and cannot wait for you to cover the merits of Bible books, quite curios on how they were tested and all... hmmm... think i need to research this myself too :P
Keep it up!
So, upfront, I am an atheist, but I understand that you are leagues smarter than me and I really enjoy your videos and how you simply and concisely explain concepts about Christianity.
Frankly, though, as fascinating as the Bible is as a historical document is, and as cliche as this statement might be, the reason I would say that I am atheist is primarily because of the contradictions that the Bible has to the evidence that science points us towards, as well as some of the arguments that can be made against Christianity. I'm not sure if you've talked about it in a past episode or on an episode on the podcast (I'm on episode ten, it's amazing by the way), but I would love to see your response to these.
For example, the Big Bang. Science says the evidence points us towards it, billions of years ago, but the Bible says otherwise. Furthermore, the theory of evolution vs the notion that God created the first humans Adam and Eve. Also, some of the stories in the Bible that are seemingly impossible. Based on y'all's recommendation I listened to Divides Aside, and I would love to hear your response to the point she made about Noah's Arc and the impossibility of getting every animal in one arc, or Jonah somehow getting swallowed by a whale. Maybe these stories aren't meant to be taken literally, but I was raised under the impression that they were.
Furthermore, why Christianity over the thousands of other religions? Why do you think this is the right one?
Also, I'd like to hear your opinion on stuff like the Bible calling homosexuality a sin. I'm (pretty) sure it's in there, as well as calling a bunch of other stuff since, like having a child out of wedlock, I believe. Do you think all those things are sins too? If not, why are you allowed to choose what you do and don't believe are sins? Is a perfectly nice and humble person who happens to be gay going to hell because he loves another man? Maybe my interpretation of what the Bible says about homosexuality is wrong, but I would love to hear your take on that too.
I've tried to discuss this with some of my Christian friends, but it was obvious they weren't too interested and their answers were more or less "God can do what he wants." Maybe that's your answer too, but I would love to hear why you think that.
In the Ready Player One episode you said how you, at one point, used to believe in what Wade did, and I would love to hear your explanations for why you don't anymore. Again, you might've already talked about this. If it was on the podcast, I'll eventually get to it. If it was in a video, I'll hopefully eventually get to it.
Again, love your channel and I am a proud subscriber :)
+SirRickTheNick Thanks for the thoughtful note! Also DANG that's a lot. In this little series I plan to cover about half of your questions (all of which are fair and smart), so I'll ask you to stick with me through a few and see what you think.
I hear people hand wringing over the big bang on both sides of this conversation, but I don't see any reason that idea would be incompatible with God as the originating force behind it. It seems plausible to me that there would be a spontaneous exertion of force, energy, and matter if a being initiated existence as we experience it.
I get your frustration with your friends who seem to you to be ducking the questions, but not everyone (regardless of perspective) is ready to process it out that way. I find patience is in order; everybody is working it through in their own way at their own pace.
SirRickTheNick since you gents brought up the big bang I would like to bring up for your consideration the following.
The big bang theory was developed and proven by a Catholic priest named Georges Lemaître.
There were of course others that helped but he was the first to really prove it and develop it.
The divide of science and religion is largely a false divide that is a hold out of the enlightenment. A narrative that is most evident in the story that Christopher Columbus was the only one that believed that the earth was round and other mind numbingly stupid things like that.
Remember Copernicus, Newton, Galileo just to name a few all devout Christians. All scientists.
How do you know you would have to be God? If you don’t “believe” God inspired-wrote the Bible you’re obviously not a child of God-Romans 8:16. You’re a child of the enemy who thinks he’s god-1 John 3:10.
Paul met the resurrected Jesus.
Good stuff! as always it is amazing how much can be taught in 10ish minutes.
One of the most important things that MUST be discussed in this series is the fact that the fairly young Holy Roman Catholic Church decided which writings, out of hundreds of writings were appropriate to include in the Bible. I don't believe they added to the Bible, but it's highly likely they did not include all the writings that were truly inspired by God. Case in point: the books of Enoch. The Bible says Enoch was a holy man who walked with and communed (talked with) God directly, and *possibly* the only other human in the history of mankind, besides the resurrected Jesus, to be taken to heaven in a living state. Even Jesus spoke about the righteousness of Enoch and talked about the content of the scrolls of Enoch, and yet the church decided his writings were not God inspired. I sometimes wonder what other writings were left out that have become so obscure and forgotten, but may have shed light on things the Bible, as we know it, seem somewhat ambiguous.
Nice!!! You have one of those scab-pickers too?!?!?!! -- hehe, awesome video; as always, can't wait for more.
Great that people are "thinking" again! Job well done.
I have always wondered why no text has been considered for addition to scripture in the last 1700 years. If God inspired people to write it before, has He stopped? If He still inspires people today, why don't we look for those texts today?
Matt,
Thanks this stuff is great!
Keep it up
Loving your work
Matt, how much do you think was lost and modified? For many years the books were controlled only by the church and passed by manuscript.
(Sorry for bad english, cheers from Brasil!)
Mateus Hokari Great question Mateus! I'll make a video about this very soon - your question is definitely on the list for this series.
Very reasonable, informative, and interesting. Thank you.
I'm still listening, please keep up the explanations of these truths. Peter's description of Paul's writing is also interesting. The claims about knowledge of God and those who seek him in Heb 11:6 and Rom 1:20 are some pretty compelling things to think about.
Since your background is history, the whole process to select the cannon of scripture would be interesting. Many people dismiss the Bible's claims saying it was just a random political process that selected these books out of a myriad of options. Still the claims that not one word will pass away are still in the Bible, and it seems like there has to be a work of God, even in that council that selected the cannon.
You should make an intro clip it would make videos more interesting
08:40 Grew up un group 4. Slowly phased out in the past five or so years. Didn't realize how silly it sounded until you put it that way.
I would really be interested in a video concerning Paul's teachings about women in the church and what they mean for us today. I think also in this category I would like to know more about how we decide how different parts of the Bible apply to us today. When is something in Paul's letters only for a specific group of people and when can we apply it to ourselves? How do we know which laws from the Old Testament still apply to us?
I tend to share the same opinion as you about who wrote it and how it was inspired originally, but the I know it's been translated and translated and people have had their hands all over it. Do you think the translations we have today are still 100% what God intended? Do you think he inspired or guided the translators too? Thanks, love your videos!
A topic I'd like to see you cover in a future video is why they canon of scripture is closed. As in, why do most Christians not believe that things like the Book of Mormon can be part of the canon of scripture. Relatedly, why Protestants don't include certain books in the canon that Catholics do would be interesting!
Grace C
Good question, I'll answer the best I can and we can both hope that Matt will sometime in the future. In short, Christians ( and I'm talking about generally what we call evangelicals today) agree that after Revelations was written, no more inspired works have been written. What was included in the Bible was decided by a couple of different councils of church leaders back in the day. One of the major reasons that a text would be excluded is if doctrines are substantially different then the rest of the texts, both the book of Mormon, the catholic texts and what the jews have called the apocrypha fall into the general category. However, certain parts of the apocrypha are considered to be correct accounts of history, just not inspired by God. Hope that all makes a little bit of sense :)
horsekid98367 if that is the case all of the books of the apochrapha should be included as they predate revelations. Also some of the new testament books had not even been written yet. Even John had more writings after revelations.
Great video I am looking forward to what your going to cover in the future.
As your mother I think it's so cute when you do these internet things.
Dimes On His Eyes I know mom, and that's cool, but please stop pinching my cheek in public.
I'd always heard the distinction between authors explained as a metaphor of writing something with a crayon, then a sharpie, then a mechanical pencil. God was the writer, the authors were the implements.
Another great video, dude. Looking forward to the next one!
I like to think of it more like ghost writing.
Hey, great videos. I'm not sure if I'm the only one to notice this, but sometimes when you hit the table it vibrates the microphone and it makes a deep sound that's kinda distracting, I've noticed it in a few videos, thought you might like to know. Keep up to great work!
Kevin Hahn There's nothing that can be done to reduce my clumsy animatedness, and I'm sorry for that :)
Thanks for the great new content! I was actually searching for something like this a few weeks ago. My question for you would be.. Since you said you support "option #5", can you explain HOW you think God inspired the authors of the Bible? Thank you very much, this is a question I've been struggling with.
So…. Which denominations align with the second or third perspectives you listed? I’m so tired of church hopping and am having the hardest time.
Hey Matt,
Thanks for making your videos! I can tell you have done your homework and you have put a good deal of thought and effort into each video. I appreciate your style, very logical thinking that is presented with facts, and context, and cohesion, and passion, all while being entertaining and hysterical. I hope that we can cross paths in our lifetimes, I think we would get along greatly. (aka will you be my friend?.....that's not creepy, right?....asking a complete internet stranger to be your friend?...no, I think I'm good)
Anyways, talk to you in the future.
Andy
PS: This is NOT your mother
Andy Wiedemann Aww mom, I love how you're always thinking of new ways to prop me up. You're the best!
The Ten Minute Bible Hour Love you sweetie!
What about how I find a lot of the years don't line up? Aren't the authors dead when the books were written? Is this a second person aggregating the letters? Or am I misunderstanding something? Also can you do a video about how camels weren't around when the Bible says they are?
Is there anyway you could do a video about practical ways to get in a rhythm of reading the bible daily?
Awesome video, thanks! Just an idea for a future discussion...the verses you used to support God inspiring the authors both came from new testament books where they referred to "scripture". From their contexts, what would they have meant by this? Maybe the Tanakh or the Septuagint? Can we apply what they said to what has since become scripture, including those books themselves? Obviously there's no definitive correct answer but keen to hear your thoughts from your knowledge of their contexts, thanks again
In this passage the apostle Peter states that Paul's letters ARE inspired Scriptures:
"... just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures." 2 Peter 3:15-16
Here is a good article: www.gotquestions.org/NT-authors-inspired.html
Thanks heaps, interesting link
And as I mentioned elsewhere above, in 1 Timothy 5 Paul cites Luke as scripture.
So would you clarify the differences between Group 3's approach to the Bible and Group 5's? Perhaps I should watch again; more view counts, right? :-)
+EmethMatthew True thing. Group 3 would say that The Bible is not of divine origin at all, but rather that really enlightened spiritual people wrote it, and because they are such special people their documents point toward something transcendent. Group 5 would say that God specifically partnered with human authors and inspired them to say exactly what he in tended. Group 3 does not need God to be part of the equation for their position of human Enlightenment, but group 5 requires the work of God for the human authors to accurately explain stuff that God wanted explained.
Ah, ok that makes sense. When you got to Group 3 I was expecting the whole "Rule of Threes" thing pastors (and other writers) love so much, so I was partially distracted by realizing you couldn't be done with groups because I was expecting a fourth group who believes God inspired the Bible by verbatim dictation that I missed the nuance in details in Group 3. Thanks for spelling it out for me. :-)
It makes sense to me. No one would travel all over the world and preach about something that the just thought happened .They had to have the first encounter with God to believe that what they were doing was not just a fertile exercise .Who wastes their life for fun ? Glory be to God .in the name of Jesus.
Who are the two people over your left shoulder
footnote at 5:08 makes this video more interestinger ;)
Just found you and subscribed...enjoyed the video. :)
First of all, great video. This is important stuff.
Second, the only thing I'm yelling at my screen is to tape that page.
Finally, (not even politically motivated, just curious) is that a hillary cinton action fugure on your shelf?
Really like the new logo. Oh and the v video was cool too I guess. :)
Bill Fucile Thanks Bill, I'm pretty dang happy with how the logo turned out. The gal who did it is a genius.
How about the canonization of the Bible? Why some books made it in, but also, why some of them did not.
+Grant Dietz next up!
Yes and no
God did not physically write it or dictate it but inspired it
What is the sound byte during the transitions?
I don't know what it is but I find it extremely disconcerting. I always expect a second hit to come but it never does.
Sounds like something striking a drum. But a very tight drum filled with insulation so that there is no echo in the drum chamber.
It's the awesomest one-hit and then leave you wondering sting in the history of stings.
0:03 I'm with you for most of the bible, but what about revelation 2-3? They are dictated letters from Jesus to some churches, using John as a scribe; the same way Romans is a dictated letter by Paul to a church, using Tertius as a scribe.
1:46 I notice you don't have Hebrews in your list of things written by Paul, so who do you think wrote Hebrews, and why do you think that?
3:39 Does Luke like journeys or did he just navigate for Paul and therefore spend a lot of time talking to him about it? There's quite a lot about boats in Acts but I don't see much about it in the Gospel of Luke (indeed, in there, he misses out entirely the gigantic journeys of the Magi and of Mary/Joseph/Jesus to Egypt, which I imagine someone really interested in journeys might want to include).
+IamGrimalkin I agree, and noted that in the description when I published. Even there, it isn't God who's putting pen to paper, and certainly serves as the outlier.
The Ten Minute Bible Hour
Although an example of God putting pen to paper would be the ten commandments, right?
+IamGrimalkin Sort of, but even there it was originally published in the context of scripture in the writings of Moses.
I know we're saying the same thing, but just for the sake of being semantically stubborn: the Bible definitely claims to record things that God directly said (even wrote), but God is not the author of any of the books.
The Ten Minute Bible Hour
Yeah I think I am still being a bit semantically stubborn, but just for the sake of completeness:
I don't see any reason why you couldn't print off a bible where Revelation is split off into the Epistle from Jesus to the Ephesians, the Epistle from Jesus to the Laodiceans, etc, and then have Revelation itself separately. I would think originally the letters would probably have been first sent out individually, before a summary of how they were all written was published as Revelation. The way it is set up in our bible is for historical reasons, but it didn't need to be so. In the same way, the ten commandments were originally carried around separately in the ark of the covenant, and were later on only bundled into part of Exodus.
That's part of what I was getting at by citing Revelation 2-3, but I didn't spell it out as explicitly.
+IamGrimalkin You're making sense, but I think the distinction that Jesus said those things after his death and resurrection to John in private is a really crucial distinction that the current packaging on the book of Revelation acknowledges.
I think it's right for christians to acknowlege those remarks to the churches in Asia minor as being epistles of Jesus, and even to read them that way, but to package them in the same way as the epistles of the rest of the New Testament are packaged wouldn't make sense to me.
How far back does the bible and historical record correlate? Like, is there a point in history where this whole Christian/Jewish thing started? Or can we collaborate events in the bible before the bible, as a book, started?
I don't know much about the bible. But I seem to recall that genesis had some events that, if I understood them right, to have happened long before the bible was written. I'm curious if that is correct and if that can be corroborated. Maybe a better way of putting it is this. Does the bible's timeline and history's timeline mostly match up. I hope that makes sense.
+610GARAGE That's a great question. Things start to lineup neatly after the conquest and in the early era of the Kingdom, because record keeping was more prominent at that point and written language was commonplace. The further we get back into very ancient history, the less likely we are to have original sources and as a result details become much harder to corroborate. So I think of the simple dividing line as being king David. We have a lot of clarity on stuff after him, and moments of clarity and stuff before him. The only place where I could point to overt contradiction between Christian assumptions about The Bible and history has to do with Christian renderings of the historical timeline through the centuries. Those renderings are not inspired, but a lot of christians act like they are, and they can be problematic in lining up with the few things we do know for certain about ancient history. The Bible itself is not problematic necessarily in this way, but we have to think very critically when it comes to our attempt to put it all on a neat tidy time line.
Apologies for grammar and spelling errors. I did this one with voice recognition on the run.
Cool. Thanks. I think that's what I was getting at. Is there a blaring (or even super controversial) contradiction. But it sounds like the only thing that contradicts the bible and history is us. :)
To me the Pentateuch was written down by multiple people, but as a way to preserve a oral tradition or something that might be lost. Perhaps Moses did write the first 4 books, (excluding the last) but didn’t physically write it down, and it was later written down based on what people remember hearing. This is kinda like the New Testament, Jesus didn’t sit down and write the New Testament, his followers heard what he said and passed it on and wrote it down for others to know.
I have watched several of your videos and continue to watch more. Your videos are both entertaining (If you were not handsome, would so many watch?) and instructive. I see a conflict between (non?-) literal fundamentalism and inspiration as understood at that time. The question I ask is does God change or does man (and woman) change in their understanding of God? Or both? (I do not use the word evolve purposefully, as it is now politically charged.)I am not a biblical scholar. Yet I strive to live by the Golden Rule and seek to better understand the Divine. Thank you for your videos.
I like to tell people that the Bible is "The Word Of God" if they ask me if it was written by God. I would love to now point to this video when someone asks me.
This often confused me as a kid. People would say God's word. But I would wonder, why would He write multiple books then? And why do they have authers? I eventually figured it out. :) And while I do agree with you Matt, I would still say that it is written by God.
Yes, I do think that God inspired the authors to write the bible. But it kinda comes back to my 3d printer. I keep using that as an analogy. But, if I make something with my 3d printer, I made it. Even though I didn't tell my printer exactly what moves to make, I still made the part. Even though God didn't tell the authers exactly what to write, God still wrote the bible. He made the thing that wrote the bible and he told(or inspired) this thing what to write. Does this difference matter much in the grand scheme of things. Probably not. Is this semantics. Yup. Am I still going to argue it because I like friendly arguments. Absolutely. LOL :)
I have a very important question. What is that to your right? A sword? LOL :)
Very good point. computer printer = apostols? Am I close?
Matt, what is the thing on your right
That could work. :) Or maybe a better analogy would be the slicer program. That program takes the 3d model and converts it into 2d path's that the 3D printer then follows. Mabey, were the 3d printer...... ;)
Interesting analogy...so the user hitting "print" controls the overall design, and the printer itself accomplishes the mechanics? That's fun to think about. In other news, yes that does appear to be a saber, of Scottish design if I'm not mistaken.
I hate to be that guy who's always arguing, but using that analogy, God is writing this comment right now. God surely inspires Matt's videos. Do you call that "the word of God"? This whole universe is His 3D printer. I posted another comment on this video somewhere making the opposite point that you did. Honestly, the more I write and think about it, the more I realize I have no idea. I think I have a concept in my head but I can't seem to clearly define where God "ends" and the writer "begins". Look for my other comment and give me your opinion. I wrote a lot (too much to repeat here anyway).
Written by many people, inspired by God. How could they know which one was inspired and which one was not? Who decides which one to include and which one is not to include?
I'd like to see a series where you address the absence of the deuterocanonical books in the Protestant version. *inno*
+Timothy Hall right on! That will come up in either the next one or two from now.
If we believe number 5, then all types of sin can creep into the Church by way of "oh they only meant that for that specific time period." That's why women today don't wear head coverings and homosexual marriage has taken a grip in many churches.
Stephen Amell has a slightly older twin. Yep
Nice sword
Can you please make a video on how to become a christian ?
+Bink De Jong Yes I will. Very soon.
Matt, do you want to get into any sort of epistemology in a video sometime? Like, is there a difference between 'factual,' 'historical,' and 'true'? You know, you could quote CS Lewis about 'true myths' and be all Christian hipster cool.
ua-cam.com/video/j4hzi50kxqU/v-deo.html
UA-cam's heuristics decided I should watch this gem after your video. You should, too.
I gotta say, man, I think group 5 falls much more closely in line with group 4 than you care to recognize. Whether the Bible is the verbatim word of god (which it can't be since there about a thousand different translations of the translations of the translations of the Bible), or it's the exact message that god wanted to get across in the words of the authors through the lens of the historical context they occupied at the time. There are still loads of contradictions, things we know to be absolutely false and loads of things which, even if I knew god existed and that this was its actual message I would refuse to do because many of those things are cruel and inhumane. In any event, I enjoyed the video.
Is that a Scottish sword in the background? I bet there is a story behind that.
Selamun aleykum, thank you for the videos
Moses DID NOT write the first five books. How could he have written books in which his own death is described? Please someone address this if you think I'm wrong, I need to understand.
It's widely accepted that he wrote everything other than that part. No one claims he wrote the part where he died.
What about the Roman manipulation?
I wish any of my priests were this hot (and seemingly intellectually genuine) in Catholic high school.
John Kostik can prove the fingerprint of God. Just watch his videos.
Have patience and pay attention. It's a blessing.
Question - If the bible is a compilation of books written by people influenced by the holy spirit, then why cant people, whom are also inspired today, add to the bible?
And it seems like the authors of the Bible are receiving some form of revelation from God, in which case, why are they not considered prophets?
Thank you for this. As someone who is in the early stages of exploring the Bible for the first time, this is my biggest hurdle right now. Is it real?? Other than just because it says it is 🤔
could anyone suggest me a Bible with a current writing/language? I'd love it :)
caio Ventura most current translations also have current language I assume. I find that some translators that try to make the bible "more readable" for people tend to focus more on readability and let accuracy slide. I also find that if you get used to the average language of the bible you can also understand the more literal translations better. for me it's accuracy > readability in all but the hardest cases because it also makes me think more about what I read. understanding everything is not easy in the easier translations, either and in some cases even leads to inaccurate understanding. at least that is what my experience with less-literal translations is.
Marvin Klein I see your point! I could even say I agree with you. When I asked for this kind of language, I was considering the english is not my mother tongue language. I've tried to read King James version, for example, but the translation make it harder to understand. God Bless you :)
caio Ventura The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is a good English Bible that is available in Catholic and Protestant editions. I'd also suggest a bilingual Bible with English and your native language. There should be a few to choose from depending on the language.
Jaimie Boyd I would be interested in the difference between a 'catholic' and 'protestant' translation. Are there many ways to translate words? I actually never heard of denomination-specific translation besides the one of jehova's witnesses, if one would consider that
caio Ventura I tried KJV as well and found it readable, but not quotable if you know what I'm trying to say. I do have to say that german is my mother language so I might have other problems with the (old) english language. I would suggest getting a translation in your mother tongue. I find that I understand german translation better than english ones even though I have some experience reading english texts or listening to the english language. If you have christians in your area that speak your language, ask them, too :)
Nice. Heard all those "views" at one time or another. But never in just one easy to understand list. And in all under 12 minutes. Well, under 12 minutes edited, I'm pretty sure any pastor on must speak for a minimum of 15 minutes once they start. :-)
Thank you Pastor
Would you say that the Bible was inspired by God?
How old do you think the earth is?
Cosmonaut cries can't know for sure, but I believe that life on earth is not as old as science seems to have found, coming from a biblical viewpoint. many reasons for that, these questions often lead to firey discussions about existential things so I won't encourage that. I'd say we will see and that this is not the most important thing for us to know for now
How did Paul know Jesus but, never meet him? He had a relationship with Jesus.
Terry Mitchell He "met" him on his way to Damaskus (Acts 9). We don't read exactly what Jesus told him, but I, for myself, believe that it was much. After he believed in him he received the Holy Spirit, who lives in (for example) me, too. The Holy Spirit, who is one with Jesus, told him everything that he wrote to people and churches, because he lived in relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit talked to him direcly like we see in the beginning of Acts, we don't know. But we do know that He also inspires people to do stuff, to write stuff, to say stuff. He does that all the time. Paul even testifies that in his letters. This is how we know how Paul knew what he should write
I was screaming at the video, sure, but it was "Yes! Yes!". I've heard 1000 times, "The bible is God's word". Yet its obvious that Paul's letters are from Paul, and Psalms is David talking to/about God, not God talking about how great He is.
This is at the heart of the religion/ science conflict, because people use Genesis as a literal science book written by the Creator. If people wrote it, context matters, whether referring to creation or the whole world flooding. Their idea of the earth and what the whole world consisted of were different than today, unaware of the Americas, arctic regions, Australia, etc. If God wrote it, it must be literally true, because the Creator of the universe should know exactly how it was done.
This also applies to the NT. If Paul said women shouldn't speak in church, there could be cultural reasons making it inappropriate. If God wrote it, then women shouldn't speak in church.
I'm glad you addressed this, and some may think its blasphemous, but it couldn't be more important today.
Thanks Andy. While clearly God didn't put pen to paper, I do think God is fully responsible for the Bible. That might seem like a tiny little nuance, but it's a big deal in terms of interpretation.
Actually, I believe that I can take the bible literally. I can take Genesis literally and I can also take Paul's letters literally. I deeply believe that God communicates exactly what He wants through the people that wrote the scriptures using the Holy Spirit. Therefore I also believe that no word is to be thought less of than others. Even passages that are not conform to our current view of the world (like women being silent in the church for example, because you mentioned it). I believe that every passage is inspired by the Holy Spirit. These ones, too! Every passage that goes completely against everything I find important, fair or right. God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts. And through these passages that we as humans seem to find hard because we want to be tolerant and everything, in these passages I find that His Thoughts are so much bigger than mine.
I even find the creation of separate continents in the bible (in Genesis it mentions Peleg, "the name of the one was Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided"). This just as an example because you mentioned they had no idea of the american continents.
Jesus even says that his words will not pass away. And given that Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are both God, I believe that this is true for everything that the Holy Spirit has breathed out to be written down by these people.
Reading the bible I realize time and time again that no one but God could have inspired these words. Even when I don't understand them fully, and this is so wonderful to me!
You mentioned two of the issues that I have struggled with. I know many people believe that the Bible is 100% literally true, but I don't think that makes sense taking into account the various genres of the Bible. Many parts are poetic and almost all poetry uses metaphors and figurative language that is not literally true. Even Jesus spoke in parables and doesn't claim that everyone one of them literally happened. I believe the Bible is true, but I think it makes a lot of sense to remember that the human writers of it couldn't use words they didn't possess. They could only describe the things of God with the language they knew and the language the people they were writing for could understand. The Bible speaks of the sun rising. We now know that the Earth actually rotates around the Sun, but if the authors of the Bible had talked about this everyone would think they were crazy and just get confused.
Laura Ingouf yes, in many parts of the bible this seems to be the case. for example, I do not have water flowing out of my body literally, neither did Jesus. so in this case we know that this should be handled as a metaphor. BUT this is not always the case, of course, which is probably the hardest part about the bible
The Ten Minute Bible Hour (and everyone else) I agree, but I'm having trouble finding the words. I don't think God said "Paul, in your next sentence, tell Timothy to drink some wine to help his stomach". God was in control the way He always is. We've all seen God working through people. Do you think you're coming up with this great content on your own? You can't be THAT talented! That doesn't mean you're infallible. God knows your content is on YT and Paul's letters are scripture. I think God expects us to think. Literature is written for contemporaries. They can't understand future context, but we understand the past. Taking the bible literally means Paul was the world's greatest sinner. I think he had sincere humility.
The gospels are 4 witnesses describing events. There are inconsistencies as you'd expect. Was there one crazy possessed guy in a cemetery or 3? What exactly did Jesus say on the cross? This adds credibility to the bible. Everyone wasn't sticking to a story. They remembered different details. They're human writers, telling the truth from their perspective, inspired by God. That means details can't be correct all the time. Again, 1 possessed guy or 3? Either way, someone was inaccurate. If the bible shows us the writers are not 100% literally accurate, why insist its literal? We miss what's important for details.
If I say "There will be a hurricane at sunrise", I'm not saying the sun orbits the earth. Im warning about a hurricane!
Where am I
“If you start with the premise that God wrote the Bible, you’ve already started with the premise that he exists. So let’s be fair, right? Some _people_ wrote the Bible, and in the Bible, _they_ defined God a certain way. And what you’re doing is you’re taking that definition and saying, ‘Ah-ha! According to this definition, he exists!’-well people can make up anything, and include in their definition that it exists, or they can include characteristics in it, which run through elaborate philosophical justifications _imply_ that it must exist. But that doesn’t mean it _actually_ exists.”
-Jeff Dee
What if the authors of the bible were not authors, but wrote a diary about there life and what they sore around them. And they kept a record of there life by writing the stories down and each person past down from each generation continued the diary until they finished keeping a record of all the stories.