Crimson Red Sports

I am an amateur historian, I know when the books were written, I know a lot about Jeshua the person, also I am a scientist, and I have issues with the Bible.

You're thoughts?   I could go into detail but I don't want it to sound like an attack.

Hope you don't mind me jumping in.  Can you be a little more specific what it is that troubles you?

I'm a seminary student and work in ministry.

By the way, it's 1:00 AM for me so I'll disappear soon.  I'll check back in the morning.   :gn:

Hey General, good to see you. I have my own testimony that completely shows me going from rags to riches. No, I am not rich in money but I am rich Spiritually.
One reason I believe the Bible is because I have seen the miracles that came to me personally. I was Saved and my heart made that change the Bibles tells us about. If you would have known me before, you would absolutely not liked me at all.
When I felt JESUS come into my life all the meanness went away. Do I still sin, sure I do. Where in the past I would have done things to hurt people on purpose I now love that person I hated so bad.
I have been through the Bible and through the Bible, and I never found any mistake in it.
I said my testimony some what to say this. The Bible has to be read unlike a book or magazine. The Bible even says it is babbling to fleshly man. I will say this in my own feelings I find the Bible to be my life and then after I am dead, I will read it at the feet of JESUS.
My brother anytime you want to talk of the Bible and scripture, I will never take it as an attack. Love you all. RTR! God Bless.

the stated age of the earth, several other facts, the contradictory nature of Paul's writings, the fact that there are many books not included, chosen by the canon much later.  Lots of things.  Not trying to be disrespectful and I do believe, just don't get it.

I don't think it's disrespectful at all.  Trust me that as a seminary student I've wrestled with these issues long and hard, except for the supposedly contradictory nature of Paul's writings. I find the Bible to be, humanly speaking, impossibly consistent to have been written by nearly 40 authors over a period of at least 1500 years.

Just a few things to consider: 

The Bible never actually states the age of the earth.  I'm more inclined to believe in a young earth than an old earth, but even among conservative Christians there's some disagreement about whether the six days of creation means literal days or is more figurative and whether the earth is young or old.  We don't know if the genealogies if in Genesis are complete.  Even if we accept the youngest age of the earth possible Moses was writing Genesis 2500 years after the earliest events.  I believe God created the universe and I believe he created man and woman in His image.  The Bible can't be true if either of those things are untrue, but we don't have to believe the earth is 6000 years old in order to trust Jesus.

The books in the canon are the books that were never seriously questioned by the Jews (Old Testament) or the early church (New Testament).  By and large the New Testament books were the canon long before they were formalized as the canon.  Some other writings were considered by early church leaders, but being far from unanimously accepted were not included.  The early church never accepted the Apocryphal books as Scripture.  The Roman Catholic Church included those books many years later to support doctrines they had adopted, such as purgatory, that were not found in the canon.  There are all kinds of  conspiracy theories surround the formation of the canon, but a careful reading of church history, especially the writings of the early church leaders following the Apostles, leaves little doubt which writings belong in the canon and what the early church believed and taught.         

I think I understand a little better. I have looked at the age of the earth and I have come to understand, that man is the one who has tried to interject ages on the earth. We can only know for sure that the earth is at least 2014 years old. This has been how long ago CHRIST die on the Cross at Calvary for us. We know of course that JESUS was 33 yrs old when he died but most of that time was as spent here on earth, and the A.D. time only started when he died.
Paul's writings was what JESUS gave him to explain to the people on earth. Some to the JEWS and most to the Gentiles. I have read what I think is all of Paul's writings and I do not get confused myself. One thing we have to keep in mind, that when Paul wrote ROMANS he told them that the BIBLE was foolishness to the worldly man. He spoke of having to be in the Spirit to read the BIBLE for understanding. The reason is the Holy Spirit was given to us to fill us with the truth and understanding from of all Truth. ST. JOHN 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
This is the one part of the trinity that taught Paul what to say.  ;D, I hope this explains some. I love doing this so anytime I can try and explain something I will my friend. GOD BLESS. AMEN

It's my opinion that evolution is fact, and that the earth is very, very old. approximately 4.6 Billion years. 

Remember I am a geologist, I understand these things.

Do you believe in the resurrection?

Hey general, I think you are on the right path here. The earth in my opinion seems to be very old. How much I don't really know. I do know that God could have done any other things on earth before man was placed here. Now think, you hear all these things of what man says but these same things, are called abomination by GOD.
The Bible tells us of the very things that are happening today. Paul's writings tells us how to have righteousness with GOD. ST. John wrote in the Revelation what would happen today and so it is happening. The Bible makes me understand that it was written by inspired men of GOD. Faith and Belief are of the utmost importance when believing GOD's WORD. God Bless! RTR!

I know what follows is long, but please read.

I'm not a geologist, physicist, or biologist.

I'm a sinner saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, and here is what I know:

The purpose of the Bible is to make one wise to salvation through faith is Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15).  From Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 the Bible reveals Jesus.

In Genesis 1-2 God created the world, over a long period of time or instantaneous rather recently I do not know, and everything in it, culminating with the creation of man and woman in His image (Genesis1:27).  At the end of the six days, literal or figurative I do not know, the creation was "very good" (Genesis 1:31).  

It didn't stay very good though.  Satan came in the form of a serpent and deceived the man and woman, telling them they would be like God if they ate the fruit of the tree that God had forbidden.  They believed the lies of the serpent over the truth of God and ate.  Sin and death entered into the world, corrupting not only the image of God in man but creation itself.  God cursed the serpent, the man and woman, childbirth and the earth.    

But, even in the curse there was a promise.  A promise that the offspring (singular) of the woman would crush the serpent's head and have his heel bruised in the promise (Genesis 3:15).  Then, a beautiful picture of what was to come.  Rather than killing the man and woman, God killed an animal and covered the man and woman with its skin to cover their nakedness and shame before sending them into the now cursed world.  

The Old Testament traces the line of the woman's Offspring.  Who was going to be the one to crush the serpent's head?  Was it Cain? No.  Was it Able? No.  Was it Seth?  No, but we follow his line.  Was it Noah? No, but we follow his line through Shem.  The line of Shem continues until Abram, whom God calls out from his people and makes the following promise in Genesis 12:1-3:

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

From there we follow the line through Isaac to Jacob and his twelve sons.  At the end of his life Jacob blesses his sons, saying the following to Judah in Genesis 49:8-12:

8  “Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
    your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
    your father's sons shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is a lion's cub;
    from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
    and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;[a]
    and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11 Binding his foal to the vine
    and his donkey's colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
    and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
    and his teeth whiter than milk.

Hundreds of years pass as the nation of Israel grows, is enslaved in Egypt, set free and led back into the land promised to Abraham.  Eventually they reject God and demand a king.  God gives them Saul, then because of Saul's disobedience (lack of faith), God rejects Saul and installs David as king.  David, is from the line of Judah.  In 2 Samuel 7, God tells David:

8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. 9 And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.[c] Your throne shall be established forever.’”

Some of what was promised to David was fulfilled in the life of his physical son Solomon, but the promise is now seen that the woman’s Offspring will come through the line of David.  Following Solomon the nation of Israel split into two kingdoms with ten tribes under one king in the north and Judah and Benjamin under the descendants of David in the south.  Both the northern kingdom and southern kingdom continued to embrace the pagan practices of their neighbors until God sent the Assyrians to wipe out the northern tribes and years later the Babylonians to take the southern tribes into exile.  During these years God raised up prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah to call the people to repentance and making promises of the One to come.  70 years after going into exile a remnant of the people of Judah returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the Temple and the city walls.  

Then 400+ years of silence.

Until a child was born in Bethlehem.  A descendent of David named Jesus.

Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin in fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14, he did not inherit the curse of sin passed on since Adam.  In every temptation he refused to sin.  He lived a sinless life, fulfilling the Law (Matthew 5:17).

He was both God and man, and at the end of his life he offered himself as the sacrifice for our sins.  He was the true Passover Lamb, bearing the sins of his people in their place.  Isaiah wrote of this more than 700 years before Jesus lived.

1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?[a]
    And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
    and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
    a man of sorrows,[c] and acquainted with[d] grief;[e]
and as one from whom men hide their faces[f]
    he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
    yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
    so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
    and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
    stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
    and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
    and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
    he has put him to grief;[g]
when his soul makes[h] an offering for guilt,
    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
    make many to be accounted righteous,
    and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,[j]
    and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,[k]
because he poured out his soul to death
    and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
    and makes intercession for the transgressors.
-   Isaiah 53

Jesus was the woman’s Offspring.  The serpent bruised his heel, but in dying and being resurrected he crushed the serpent’s head.  He died in our place, clothing those who believe to cover our nakedness and shame with his righteous blood.  

Sin and death have been defeated.

He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  

The only question that matters is will you come to him and have your sins forgiven?  Will you acknowledge that you have sinned against holy God and deserve His judgment, turn from your sin and turn to Jesus in repentant faith?  

The Apostle John wrote:

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. – 1 John 1:8-2:2

Will you accept the offer of forgiveness that is freely made available to you?  The offer is free but you must repent and believe.

You will one day die and face judgment (Hebrews 9:27).  On that day the only question that will have any consequence is did you have faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins.  Your views on evolution and the age of the earth will be irrelevant.  

So do you believe that Jesus is God?  Do you believe that He lived a lived a sinless life?  Do you believe that He suffered the wrath of God on behalf of His people on the cross?  Do you believe that on the third day He walked out of His grave never to die again?  Do you believe that salvation is found in Him and Him alone?  Have you repented?  Have you placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins?

Bamaphil, I have never in my days seen it explain that well and forthright. Great job you must have been anointed to do it this well.
To answer your question "YES" I have been Saved. AMEN