The Word of God

[Lyly]

I was wondering why do people call the Bible the Word of God? Where did they get that idea? To me, the Word of God is not only the Bible, it is everything he says(and he speaks through many other ways than the Bible). I feel like saying the Word of God=the Bible is putting God in a box and putting limits to a God without limit. What do you think?

[MontanaMomma]

I think the Bible is called "the Word of God" because it is. LOL! Bad explanation. Let's try again...

Because, like the Bible says, it's God-breathed. God/the Holy Spirit told the writers what to write and they wrote it. It doesn't mean God can't speak to us in other ways, because He can and does. But the Bible is the universal Word, it's applicable to everyone.

In my experience, when God speaks through say, a song, it's more personalized. Example: When I first heard Forgiven by Skillet I bawled like a baby. My husband thought it was a good song but he didn't get what I did from it.

So I don't think saying the Bible is the Word of God is putting Him in a box or limiting Him. It's acknowledging that what is in the Bible is what God wants everyone to know. If that makes sense.

[stacfo]

I like John 1 where it says

"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. "

God created everything with the Word, but more than that, the Word is the epitome of God's nature. So to me, the bible being "the Word" is like God leaving a guide to himself for us to have a tangible piece of Him. We are called to be holy as He is holy. What better way then, to have the essence of His nature at our fingertips?

[MontanaMomma]

I like John 1 where it says

"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. "

God created everything with the Word, but more than that, the Word is the epitome of God's nature. So to me, the bible being "the Word" is like God leaving a guide to himself for us to have a tangible piece of Him. We are called to be holy as He is holy. What better way then, to have the essence of His nature at our fingertips?

Good words.

Something interesting I've heard about the passage you quoted is that "the Word" is Jesus. I'll see if I can find something written up about it somewhere.

[stacfo]

Good words.

Something interesting I've heard about the passage you quoted is that "the Word" is Jesus. I'll see if I can find something written up about it somewhere

I think this passage is being used to show that the Word, God, and Jesus are all of the same essence. There is no beginning or end, but a ongoing continuity that is in perfect agreement. Jesus also says in Revelation, "I am the Alpha and the Omega" (the beginning and the end). Interesting to think about, makes your brain hurt a little too, lol.

[Ric]

It's interesting to note that yes, the Word was with God and the Word was God, and that the Word became flesh, etc. The very essence of the Bible points the reader to Jesus! He says in Revelation that He is "the beginning and the end". Now, I'm just swapping "beginning" and "end" with "Jesus", but it still makes perfect sense:

Gen 1:1 - In(or through) Jesus, God created the heavens and the earth.

Matthew 24:14 - And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then Jesus will come.

What other piece of literature can you do stuff like that with and it still make sense?! Let alone remain unchanged in its teaching?!

[Lyly]

What I meant is WHERE did they find that Bible=Word of God? And I meant that in the context of the protestant church and the "Sola Scriptura" concept. Because usually, when people say that the Bible is the Word of God, they mean that there isn't anything else than the Bible for which we can be sure that it says the truth about God and all that. That was my question. I should have been more precise, sorry ^^

PS : and by the way, Ric, I'm sure you can do such things with other books too.

[Ric]

I can honestly say that I don't know where the basis is. I have read in the Bible where God says He'll watch over His Word to keep it, that His Word won't return to Him void, amongst other places that I can't remember at the moment.

And if you can do that with other books, I've yet to read them... but then I don't read much else. I know that you definitely can't do it with Hot Rod/Car Craft/4wd/guitar/gun magazines.

[WanderingStar]

I don't have much time now, but I will say that within the Scriptures there's a specific word/concept used to refer to the Bible itself, a word that for the Jews encompasses the idea of sacred teachings and the things spoken by God. It's used to refer to Old Testament texts initially, and then it begins to be used to include the New Testament writings as well.

I spent about a month on this topic last year, which was exciting because I'd had a lot of questions about it too. I'll have to dig up my notes and add more when I have some time.

[Lyly]

I can honestly say that I don't know where the basis is. I have read in the Bible where God says He'll watch over His Word to keep it, that His Word won't return to Him void, amongst other places that I can't remember at the moment.

Well, the problem is, these verses talk about the Word of God, but never say anything about the Bible being the Word of God(with the meaning I said before). On the contrary, all the verses and passages that I read about "the Word of God" either talk about simply what God says and reveals to the humans, or about Jesus.

And if you can do that with other books, I've yet to read them... but then I don't read much else. I know that you definitely can't do it with Hot Rod/Car Craft/4wd/guitar/gun magazines.

Haha Definitely! (well, actually, who knows? lol)

I don't have much time now, but I will say that within the Scriptures there's a specific word/concept used to refer to the Bible itself, a word that for the Jews encompasses the idea of sacred teachings and the things spoken by God. It's used to refer to Old Testament texts initially, and then it begins to be used to include the New Testament writings as well.

I spent about a month on this topic last year, which was exciting because I'd had a lot of questions about it too. I'll have to dig up my notes and add more when I have some time.

Oh yes! Thank you very much! I'd love to know more!

[stacfo]

You definitely make a person think, lol

Ok- coming back to John Chapter 1 Verse 1, here are some things I dug up. I don't know the first person that coined the phrase "Word of God", but my perception is that it has been a practice of God's people even back to the time of Torah (Old Testament). Anyway, I chose to start back at the John verse to see what I dug up....

the greek word for "Word" here is {logos}, which I then looked up in Strong's concordance, and this is what I dug up.

in reference of speech:

a) a word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea

b) what someone has said

1) a word

2) the sayings of God

3) decree, mandate or order

4) of the moral precepts given by God

5) Old Testament prophecy given by the prophets

6) what is declared, a thought, declaration, aphorism, a weighty saying, a dictum, a maxim


The Bible has long been accepted by the Jewish people, as the teachings and mandates given by God, and recorded by his chosen to share with all. So many times, you see in the books of the prophets, they begin with... "the Word of God came to " whichever prophet you choose. Hosea 1 starts this way Ezekial 1 does as well. Jeremiah 26 also. I could keep going, but then I am probably getting boring So, I think the ancients understood that the writings were God's Word sent to us, and eventually it became natural to call it such.

What are your thoughts?

[Lyly]

You definitely make a person think, lol

Ok- coming back to John Chapter 1 Verse 1, here are some things I dug up. I don't know the first person that coined the phrase "Word of God", but my perception is that it has been a practice of God's people even back to the time of Torah (Old Testament). Anyway, I chose to start back at the John verse to see what I dug up....

the greek word for "Word" here is {logos}, which I then looked up in Strong's concordance, and this is what I dug up.

in reference of speech:

a) a word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea

b) what someone has said

1) a word

2) the sayings of God

3) decree, mandate or order

4) of the moral precepts given by God

5) Old Testament prophecy given by the prophets

6) what is declared, a thought, declaration, aphorism, a weighty saying, a dictum, a maxim


The Bible has long been accepted by the Jewish people, as the teachings and mandates given by God, and recorded by his chosen to share with all. So many times, you see in the books of the prophets, they begin with... "the Word of God came to " whichever prophet you choose. Hosea 1 starts this way Ezekial 1 does as well. Jeremiah 26 also. I could keep going, but then I am probably getting boring So, I think the ancients understood that the writings were God's Word sent to us, and eventually it became natural to call it such.

What are your thoughts?

Mmmm... Interesting. Thank you You know, you could have gone on and on, you aren't boring at all. Well, then, do you think we could call other "things", the Word of God? Because I'm sure that the many people who contributed to writing the Bible aren't the only ones who received "things"(that includes all the definitions you said^^) from God and shared them.

[red_converse]

I'm actually kind of seeing a fallacy in your argument/question. It sounds like you're saying that the Bible doesn't refer to itself as the Word of God, and therefore there's basis for questioning why it is called such. It's an argument from silence, meaning there's no evidence to support it's true therefore it must be false. The Bible also doesn't use the word "Trinity" or "Bible," but we believe those two things to be true (I hope! D: ). But the Bible does say that Scripture is the Word of God.

A lot of people say that the Bible isn't the Word of God but it just contains the Word of God. (I'm getting a little of that vibe from you, but you can correct me if I'm wrong.) But this isn't consistent of what the Bible has said about itself. The collection of 66 books that the Christian Church recognized as being inspired speaks as the very words of God in many places:

"Thus says the Lord" occurs over 400 times in the Old Testament.
"God said" occurs 42 times in the Old Testament and 4 times in the New Testament.
"God spoke" occurs 9 times in the Old Testament and 3 times in the New Testament.
"The Spirit of the Lord spoke" through people in 2 Sam. 23:2; 1 Kings 22:24; 2 Chron. 20:14.

Jesus called the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms Scripture, and he says that the Scriptures cannot be broken, cannot fail. Jesus never said that the Scriptures contained the Word of God, but that they are (Luke 24:44-45, Matt 15:6, Mark 7:13, John 10:35).

If the Bible merely contains the word of God, but is not the word of God, then I think we might have to ask which parts of the Bible are the Word of God and which are not?

The canonicity of the Bible came in a series of councils. Some books were in question as to whether they should belong in the canon. The Hebrew Canon became our OT, and the NT Canon consists of books written or sanctioned by apostles. I believe that the Bible is God-breathed. I believe it's one way God has given us a part of Himself that we may learn about Him, who He is, and fall in love with Him.

God does indeed speak in many ways. Creation is an example (and Creation was spoken into being). There are times I'm confident I hear God in my heart, and most of those times, those words pertain to me and God in our relationship. Just because God speaks in other ways doesn't mean we put God in a box or nullify His vastness if we call the Bible the Word of God (that's another fallacy), especially when Scripture seems to confirm that it is the Word of God.

I kind of verbal-vomitted on you a little bit. I took Hermeneutics and Text & Canon last year, and a lot of this rang through my mind as I read your question. Hope it helps, and hope it doesn't just sound like I'm throwing knowledge about just cuz I can. (oh the wonders of technology and non-verbal communication >.<")

[Lyly]

I'm actually kind of seeing a fallacy in your argument/question. It sounds like you're saying that the Bible doesn't refer to itself as the Word of God, and therefore there's basis for questioning why it is called such. It's an argument from silence, meaning there's no evidence to support it's true therefore it must be false. The Bible also doesn't use the word "Trinity" or "Bible," but we believe those two things to be true (I hope! D: ). But the Bible does say that Scripture is the Word of God.

A lot of people say that the Bible isn't the Word of God but it just contains the Word of God. (I'm getting a little of that vibe from you, but you can correct me if I'm wrong.) But this isn't consistent of what the Bible has said about itself. The collection of 66 books that the Christian Church recognized as being inspired speaks as the very words of God in many places:

"Thus says the Lord" occurs over 400 times in the Old Testament.
"God said" occurs 42 times in the Old Testament and 4 times in the New Testament.
"God spoke" occurs 9 times in the Old Testament and 3 times in the New Testament.
"The Spirit of the Lord spoke" through people in 2 Sam. 23:2; 1 Kings 22:24; 2 Chron. 20:14.

Jesus called the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms Scripture, and he says that the Scriptures cannot be broken, cannot fail. Jesus never said that the Scriptures contained the Word of God, but that they are (Luke 24:44-45, Matt 15:6, Mark 7:13, John 10:35).

If the Bible merely contains the word of God, but is not the word of God, then I think we might have to ask which parts of the Bible are the Word of God and which are not?

The canonicity of the Bible came in a series of councils. Some books were in question as to whether they should belong in the canon. The Hebrew Canon became our OT, and the NT Canon consists of books written or sanctioned by apostles. I believe that the Bible is God-breathed. I believe it's one way God has given us a part of Himself that we may learn about Him, who He is, and fall in love with Him.

God does indeed speak in many ways. Creation is an example (and Creation was spoken into being). There are times I'm confident I hear God in my heart, and most of those times, those words pertain to me and God in our relationship. Just because God speaks in other ways doesn't mean we put God in a box or nullify His vastness if we call the Bible the Word of God (that's another fallacy), especially when Scripture seems to confirm that it is the Word of God.

I kind of verbal-vomitted on you a little bit. I took Hermeneutics and Text & Canon last year, and a lot of this rang through my mind as I read your question. Hope it helps, and hope it doesn't just sound like I'm throwing knowledge about just cuz I can. (oh the wonders of technology and non-verbal communication >.<")

Well, thank you for this, but that was actually my point. I didn't express myself well when I first asked my question, but what I meant is that people usually call the Bible the Word of God meaning it is the ONLY Word of God. Do you see what I mean? I totally agree with you, I was just wondering why do people call the Bible the Word of God, that's all. I actually got answers to my question and I understand things better. And of course, the word "trinity" never appears in the Bible, and neither does the word "Bible", and I actually also have issues with that "trinity", though it is obvious throughout the Bible and I am still making some research to understand that concept better. As for the Bible, I know where that comes from, so I have no trouble with it. ^^
All that doesn't mean that I don't believe the Bible being the Word of God, or God being Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I simply think that sometimes putting just one word on something so complex(or is it?) is making it smaller than it is. Now, I want to thank you all for your answers and please don't hesitate if you have more to say about it, you are truly helpful. (and my last question still hasn't been answered, actually ^^)

[red_converse]

your last question as in where did they get the idea that the Bible is the Word of God? The verses I included in my previous post shows Jesus calling Scripture the "Word of God."

I really don't think calling the Bible the Word of God puts God in a box at all. It's like saying calling Jesus the Son of God puts Him in a box because He's much more complex (He's the Word, the Lamb, the Lion of Judah, the Bread of life, etc). But if you put all the languages in the world together, we still don't have the vocabulary to express the "bigness" of God. God is also more than good, majestic, and wonderful, but we still call Him those things, and they are true (thank God!).

I want to hear some of your thoughts. Why do you think it makes God smaller? God is ineffably big and more complex than we will ever be able to comprehend, and our human vocabulary can never change that. If our simple human language can make God smaller, then our God is not as big as He is. If in addressing this issue, you can help someone walk stronger in their faith, then sharpen them. If it's just a personal preference, I suggest taking it up with God and let Him show you that we can never contain God in any words of our language, and let Him show you which details matter in eternity.

I also think you're making a generalization that people call the Bible the Word of God meaning it's the only way God speaks. (For the people you're talking about, you'll have to ask them personally.) I think we call it the Word of God because Jesus calls it the Word of God, and it is the Word of God. It doesn't change that God speaks in different ways, but if God spoke to you to tell you to do one thing, it doesn't mean everyone in the world will be called to do the same thing. That is the word of God for you. However, in the Bible, God tells each person who loves and follows Him what He expects and what pleases Him. This is the Word of God for all.

I'm kind of a blunt person, so sorry if I'm a little in-your-face on this (i'm that way with just about everything). But rest assured that there is no box that can contain our God even if anyone tried. It's not wrong to call Scripture the Word of God, and if you think someone is taking it a step beyond where it's biblical, the best way to figure out what they're thinking is to ask and engage and be open to hearing their opinions while offering your own. It's best not to be passive-aggressive about it if you think someone is heading away from what's biblical and is damaging their spiritual life. That's pretty much why I'm blunt about spiritual matters.

[Lyly]

your last question as in where did they get the idea that the Bible is the Word of God? The verses I included in my previous post shows Jesus calling Scripture the "Word of God."

No, did you read all the answers before answering yourself? My last question, I asked it just before you replied to the topic.

I really don't think calling the Bible the Word of God puts God in a box at all. It's like saying calling Jesus the Son of God puts Him in a box because He's much more complex (He's the Word, the Lamb, the Lion of Judah, the Bread of life, etc). But if you put all the languages in the world together, we still don't have the vocabulary to express the "bigness" of God. God is also more than good, majestic, and wonderful, but we still call Him those things, and they are true (thank God!).

You didn't understand me well... But I understand what you mean and yes, I agree.

I want to hear some of your thoughts. Why do you think it makes God smaller? God is ineffably big and more complex than we will ever be able to comprehend, and our human vocabulary can never change that. If our simple human language can make God smaller, then our God is not as big as He is. If in addressing this issue, you can help someone walk stronger in their faith, then sharpen them. If it's just a personal preference, I suggest taking it up with God and let Him show you that we can never contain God in any words of our language, and let Him show you which details matter in eternity.

I never said it made God smaller... What I meant is that sometimes putting just ONE word on something gives people a smaller idea of that thing. Precisely because you can never find just one word that conveys all the meanings it has. That's why I was confused about the Bible being the Word of God, because I never knew what it meant. I was only taught that the Bible was the only Word of God and that appart from what is said in the 66 books of that Bible, nothing else is true because nothing else is the Word of God. And from all the research I made and the answers that I got here, I don't see any reason for the Bible to be the ONLY Word of God. I may be wrong, that's why I'm asking.

I also think you're making a generalization that people call the Bible the Word of God meaning it's the only way God speaks. (For the people you're talking about, you'll have to ask them personally.) I think we call it the Word of God because Jesus calls it the Word of God, and it is the Word of God. It doesn't change that God speaks in different ways, but if God spoke to you to tell you to do one thing, it doesn't mean everyone in the world will be called to do the same thing. That is the word of God for you. However, in the Bible, God tells each person who loves and follows Him what He expects and what pleases Him. This is the Word of God for all.

See the answer above about the first sentence. Thank you for your explanation, though, I understand better now.

I'm kind of a blunt person, so sorry if I'm a little in-your-face on this (i'm that way with just about everything). But rest assured that there is no box that can contain our God even if anyone tried. It's not wrong to call Scripture the Word of God, and if you think someone is taking it a step beyond where it's biblical, the best way to figure out what they're thinking is to ask and engage and be open to hearing their opinions while offering your own. It's best not to be passive-aggressive about it if you think someone is heading away from what's biblical and is damaging their spiritual life. That's pretty much why I'm blunt about spiritual matters.

Well, I wasn't judging anyone, I was just asking a question, because I was sincerely wondering and searching for the truth. Now, I understand better and I won't repeat what I said in my previous post, but I still want to thank you for your help.

[red_converse]

As far as your question about if anything else can be called the "Word of God," (I had seen it, but I thought you referred to your original post) I would have to say no because it is not on the same level as the Bible. It's probably the difference between the big W and the little w; I would describe it as God speaking, but the phrase "word of God" now carries so much weight that there is too much attached to it to call something else by that phrase. "I have a dream" means something much different to an American than it would to a Greenlander. The Word of God is canon. God speaking something to me is for me.

Sometimes in Paul's letters, it sounds like he's referencing letters that we don't have. I'm sure he wrote a lot of letters. I'm going to go on faith that the books that should be in the canon are in the canon. God's a lot smarter than we are. The Bible is the Word of God because Jesus called it the Word of God. In the end, your question linguistically boils down to semantics, but to call something God said to you specifically by the phrase "word of God" will carry all of the weight of the phrase and very likely misrepresent your meaning. It's more accurately described to be word from God, I guess. I don't doubt God says different things to each of us, but these things aren't canonized in Scripture or written or sanctioned by an apostle.

I'm answering as best as I understand what it is you're asking, but you're right, I probably don't understand you. Give me a hand. Can you tell me what makes this issue is so important to you and how important it is? What bothers you about Scripture alone being the inerrant Word of God? Why do you believe something non-scriptural can be labeled "Word of God"?

[Lyly]

As far as your question about if anything else can be called the "Word of God," (I had seen it, but I thought you referred to your original post) I would have to say no because it is not on the same level as the Bible. It's probably the difference between the big W and the little w; I would describe it as God speaking, but the phrase "word of God" now carries so much weight that there is too much attached to it to call something else by that phrase. "I have a dream" means something much different to an American than it would to a Greenlander. The Word of God is canon. God speaking something to me is for me.

Sometimes in Paul's letters, it sounds like he's referencing letters that we don't have. I'm sure he wrote a lot of letters. I'm going to go on faith that the books that should be in the canon are in the canon. God's a lot smarter than we are. The Bible is the Word of God because Jesus called it the Word of God. In the end, your question linguistically boils down to semantics, but to call something God said to you specifically by the phrase "word of God" will carry all of the weight of the phrase and very likely misrepresent your meaning. It's more accurately described to be word from God, I guess. I don't doubt God says different things to each of us, but these things aren't canonized in Scripture or written or sanctioned by an apostle.

I'm answering as best as I understand what it is you're asking, but you're right, I probably don't understand you. Give me a hand. Can you tell me what makes this issue is so important to you and how important it is? What bothers you about Scripture alone being the inerrant Word of God? Why do you believe something non-scriptural can be labeled "Word of God"?

What makes this issue so important to me is that it changes it all. What I mean is that, first, it changes the way I consider what you call "the Word of God for me". I don't understand why something that doesn't appear in the Bible should have less value than what is in the Bible. After all, we christians don't even agree on what is to be put in the Bible. (I mean, Catholics, Orthodoxes and Protestants don't have the same Bible!) Now that is what makes me wonder "who is right?" or, to say it in a better way "where is the truth in all that?". If you read the Coran, for example, you will find that it is about the same as the Bible, and millions of people believe it to be "The Word of God", yet no Christian will tell you it is(or let's say, a very small number). Then I was wondering why and if the Bible alone could be considered "the Word of God", that is, the Truth. Now, to get back to what we were actually talking about because, this is also something that I really don't understand(honestly) : why, for example, if someone tells you something(let's say a pastor), and you don't find it in the Bible, it is surely not true and right? (the whole "Sola Scriptura" concept) I believe that God speaks through the Bible, but he also speaks through the Coran, and he also speaks through other means, and even if the Bible says the truth and points to God, there are many things that God says and are true and not said in the Bible. Maybe I'm wrong, then correct me, please.
And to make it clear, it was not much about the words used, but what they actually mean.

[Ric]

The Word of God isn't the only place God speaks to us... otherwise we wouldn't have divine visions and dreams. God has spoken to me audibly at times, and it scared me! Not like He was mad or anything, but more like I didn't expect it. The Word of God is for everyone, but He still speaks to us as individual people. Not that some of us are allowed to get away with what others aren't, but that some of us are genuinely seeking Him more earnestly than others, and He rewards those people for it. Others may be struggling, stumbling, or fading away from what He's called them to do, and sometimes He'll encourage, instruct, or exhort them to come back and keep going.

I hafta disagree on God speaking through the koran or other writings. Allah is a renamed sun-god of former polytheistic Arab culture. Mohammed may have written Christian similarities into the koran, but it's still not a God-breathed writing(1st Commandment), and God will not share His throne with any other "gods". Yes, there are millions of people who believe the koran, bhagavad gita, etc are all holy. I believe that further supports the Scripture that points to a time when men will "no longer endure sound doctrine". I may be a bit biased, but just like we don't want to share our spouses, God doesn't want to share His children.

I won't share anyone's life story, but suffice it to say that red_converse is a very knowledgeable person when it comes to things pertaining to God.

[red_converse]

Thanks, Ric. ^^ But I'm a pretty young scholar, and when it comes to God, you can never know everything. XP

Anyhow, my coworker is Russian Orthodox, and from what I've seen, we have the same Bible, except that hers is in Russian. The early church did at one time adopt the Apocrypha as Scripture, but, as you can see, that's no longer the case. Catholics, I believe, still include the Apocrypha as Scripture. The apocryphal books are fictional Jewish literature that were good for teaching. Jewish scholars kept those scrolls in the same place as the Scripture scrolls, but they knew to distinguish between the two. When it came time to put the entire Bible into codex (book) form, Christians didn't know to distinguish them, and the apocryphal books became accepted as Scripture. They looked at it again at one of the Councils (I wanna say it was Nicea?) and realized that they were part of the Jewish writings but not considered by the Jews to be Scripture.

God has woven His story throughout the world. There's a really good book called Peace Child that I would recommend. It's about a cannibalistic tribe in New Guinea at war with another one. The only way for there to be peace between them was for a man to give up his only son to the opposing tribe, making that baby the peace child. Don Richardson, the author, was able to weave this into the Gospel story when he witnessed to them. God has left His fingerprints all over His creation. Peace Child is an example of that, but again, there is too much weight on the phrase "word of God" to impute it on the story. The story has no authority. It gives glory to God, yes, but it has no authority. I think that's what separates the Bible from the pack.

You can definitely glean things from nature and creation that can tell us a little bit about God. This is general revelation. Scripture alone gives us the special revelation required to know Him. The Quran (it is most certainly NOT almost the same as the Bible), Buddhist literature, and other religious texts do not have this power or authority. Only the Bible reveals God's love story to His creation. Only the Bible tells us who Yahweh is. Only the Bible has this kind of authority over our lives. It is the living, breathing Word of God.

Lyly, what kind of things are you asking that needs to be found in the Bible to be true? Your example of the pastor saying, "it's not in the Bible and therefore untrue" is another example of the argument from silence fallacy. Again, "Bible" and "Trinity" are not found in the Bible; does that negate them to be true? This is not an example of arguing for sola scriptura.

Sola scriptura specifically applies to the Bible containing all knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness. It is Martin Luther's argument against the selling of indulgences and other non-biblical things that the Catholic Church was preaching as necessary or helpful for salvation leading up to the Protestant Reformation. Sola scriptura is not a denial of other authorities governing Christian life and devotion. Rather, it simply demands that all other authorities are subordinate to, and are to be corrected by, the written word of God. Maybe with this correct concept in mind, it can clear up a little confusion.

Lyly, you're asking us strangers a lot of questions, which is good, but I hope that you are also asking God and maybe a mentor or pastor that you have personal relationship with just as many. I wouldn't have any of my answers or knowledge if God didn't give me the grace to understand them, and many of my convictions became more grounded the more I could hash them out with someone. I don't know if I helped or just confused you further, but understanding a little more about our magnificent God is worth all of the wrestling we need to do.