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Post by joshuadaryl on Apr 20, 2014 19:35:59 GMT -5
I realize that there are hundreds of Apocryphal books, and the vast majority, if not 99.9% are pure blasphemy. But the book of Enoch surely is not one of them. Jesus, Paul, and many others in the New Testament regularly quoted from the book. I have read it, and I will not claim to be wise enough, nor a scholar, but the book reads true to the spirit of God, and surely expounds on subjects mentioned in Genesis, and to me it seems to shed light on some vague areas. It helped me understand the fall better, and the reason for the flood. I am curious on others point of view on this subject, as I believe it wise to test ones convictions , especially those a bit off the beaten path, against the opinions of the brethren. I would like to hear some opinions on why the book got the axe. As I understand it, it was once included in the Old Testament, and in some parts of the world still is.
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Post by Brother Randy on Apr 20, 2014 21:17:15 GMT -5
Josh, I will have to admit I have never looked into this book or any of the other Apocryphal books. That being said I believe we can gain some insite into things as you say you have. But I believe in reading such that it needs to be carefully compared to the word that we do have. If we start questioning that these book should of been it the KJV Bible then we fall into the danger of believing that Maybe God did not inspirer the putting together of the KJV. It is one of the problems / dangers with the newer translation that use other writing. Not saying not to read , but I think prayerful care need to be taken.
If time allows I will try and look into it some.
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Post by Guadalupe on Apr 21, 2014 7:44:08 GMT -5
From my husband: Agreed with Randy. The original KJV did have the Apocrypha which were a part of the original Jewish Scriptural texts. The reasons for later revising the KJV and excising the Apocrypha from it are varied. Some of the reasons were scholarship disputes. Some reasons were political.
At the end of the day, we must answer for how we live and fulfill our walk in Christ. Anything that distracts us from that, even if its disputes over scholarship, can be a deception of satan to get us involved in disputes. Homework assignment: research what the Apostle Paul has to say about disputes and debates full of pride and vanity.
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Post by joshuadaryl on Apr 21, 2014 8:30:03 GMT -5
This discussion is not whether or not the book is vital, because it is not, this is purely academic, curiosity, interest. I enjoy studying history, especially from ancient Biblical times, and I found this one particular book, which does not detract, nor really add anything to scripture, merely expounds on, gives greater detail, the detail is not necessary, but is interesting. God preserved the necessary scriptures, those needed to lead people in his plan of saving grace, no doubt. But as a born again devout follower of Jesus Christ, who enjoys a bit of armchair archaeology, I find this interesting.
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Post by Guadalupe on Apr 21, 2014 9:43:24 GMT -5
From my husband: As an encouragement and edification, Josh: With such a full schedule for fellowship, family, and livelihood a truly salient question is how to best use our study time. Do we read to improve our walk with Jesus (2 Tim 2:15) and do we truly study how to best live our faith and put it into practice daily even hourly. If we have a full schedule I always advocate that the limited study time be focused upon the Psalms (for emotional maturation); the Proverbs (for social maturation); and the New Testament (which directs us in Jesus' teachings and is the fulfillment of the prophetic Old Testament). When these things (Psalms, Proverbs, and New Testament) are learned, memorized, and put into practice in one's daily life, while our families are growing, God will fruit these efforts in your children. Right now, your best use of study time is one these three things for your children's sake.
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Post by Brother Ben on Apr 21, 2014 21:03:26 GMT -5
A good way to look at these spurious books is like we'd look at interesting articles or sermons we hear. They contain, or are based on bible truthes or concepts, but they are not "the" word.of God. Paul refered to "other writings" when making a point:
Titus 1 [12] One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.
Paul was not endorsing this "prophets" writings carte blanche, but was using a "truth" he had said to exemplify something he was pointing out. There is the obvious age old disagreement whether angels bred with human women. I've read alot about it, but still am not convinced it's a valid theory.
My 2 cents worth
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Post by joshuadaryl on Apr 21, 2014 22:38:47 GMT -5
A good way to look at these spurious books is like we'd look at interesting articles or sermons we hear. They contain, or are based on bible truthes or concepts, but they are not "the" word.of God. Paul refered to "other writings" when making a point: Titus 1 [12] One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. Paul was not endorsing this "prophets" writings carte blanche, but was using a "truth" he had said to exemplify something he was pointing out. There is the obvious age old disagreement whether angels bred with human women. I've read alot about it, but still am not convinced it's a valid theory. My 2 cents worth That is pretty much my thinking Brother Ben. Since I have given up t.v. , there are evenings that I just want a little amusement, and I being a nerd, enjoy history, historical writings, puzzles, and mysteries. I love old musty books, I like research, old research that requires searching old books, then findinding contradicting books, compare them against each other. I like the new libraries popping up on the internet, and I like that they are preserving old books by scanning them online, which also enables one access to books and papers they may never have been able to access before, and some of the books and papers that are written in foreign languages, the computer is able to translate. This is just a hobby I have really taken up since the banishment of the idiot box. I do not spend countless hours on it. It definitely comes after all the other things, . My days generally go morning devotions, breakfast, the kids and I go to the school bus, (I am the driver) finish bus route, farm chores, lunch, afternoon time with God, farm chores, bus route, evening farm chores, dinner, evening devotions, kids to bed, my time. This is just the day in broad overview. I went to a small IFB Bible college in Greenwood Indiana for 2 years, 1994-1996, I studied the KJV scriptures there thoroughly, I wrote many outlines on books of the bible from the old and New Testament. I still have them to this day. I have studied the scriptures since my salvation in 1993 to this day. The recent hobby is after 20 years of sound strait Old King James study, with many concordances, and thesis, and dissertations, comparing different translations, while in Bible college I had a class where we compared 12 different translations to the original King James, then we had to write several papers on the comparisons and our findings, the hard part, since I was not a Greek or Hebrew scholar was having to use Greek and Hebrew dictionaries, talk about time consuming. Now my Bible College "Heritage University" was not an accredited school, its main function was for christians wanting a head start for larger schools, high school students preparing for college, and lay people just wanting to have a deeper understanding of scripture, so I hold no degree or claim to be more than a well read well studied layman. But I do feel comfortably rooted in my doctrine, I have a strong foundation in my faith, that I will not be led away by strange new doctrines. These extracurricular studies are for no more than amusement, I will not advise a young christian to look into them. I say this to allay worries that Brother Josh is going into some weird new whatever, or that he is going to argue or debate new bible translation, no this was just for entertainment, maybe a peek into what some in the past may have been thinking, or how they thought etc. I hope I have not put undue worry on anyone, I was just trying to make conversation, as well, it seems fairly quiet here, I tried to get a conversation on simple living earlier with no bites, so I figured I would try this topic, one can only try to start a conversation on things of interest and at least possess a little knowledge of. Brother Ben had asked for members to create some chatter, thats all I was trying.
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Post by Brother Randy on Apr 22, 2014 8:18:35 GMT -5
Josh, Thank you for trying to get some conversation going here. I hope you did not feel that I thought you might be going off track, because I was not. Alot of times when I reply I try to choose my words and thoughts carefully. Not only to answer the poster , but also to keep in mind those that will be reading it. I have enjoyed your thoughts so please continue sharing.
Brother Randy
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Post by joshuadaryl on Apr 22, 2014 13:24:15 GMT -5
its all right brother Randy, I being new here I figure folks will be careful, until they truly know where I stand, so I was just clarifying. I myself am cautious when I meet new brothers and sisters, until I can inspect there fruits, we have to be that way, no hurt feelings, and the draw back from talking this way is we lose out on body language and facial expressions, that is why I try to use those smiley face things, to hint at my expression
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