How did they know these books were legitimate scripture?
(and how do you know that)
Discussion
The ultimate ground of my beliefs is experience - I set my leg on the ground and it proves to be solid. I then interpret these experiences according to reason.
Is there such a rock on which your church is built? I know they like to say there is, but is there really? Or is it just faith (meaning: a decision to believe in the absence of evidence or reason) ?
And how did you determine which "Evangelical Christians" were possessed of the truth?
I don't have time right now to give you short answers, and that would be trite anyway. For long answers you can go here:
https://thenarrowpath.com/topical_lectures.php?v01#Authority_of_Scriptures
Coolio said "I can't live a normal life, I was raised by the State." For me it's "I can't live a normal life, I was raised in the Faith." I consider myself blessed to have been raised in Christian home, otherwise... and even then, there are a lot of kids raised in Christian homes that don't continue to follow Christ.
I suppose one should start with Jesus of Nazareth: What do we know about him, what have his followers written, and how do we know they are reliable witnesses? What did Jesus believe about the Bible, which only consisted of the Jewish scriptures, the Old Testament, in his day? Why did he consider them authoritative?
So what do you believe about Jesus? Who do you say he is?
I view Jesus as a tragic figure - a man espousing a twisted (in my view, evil) moral code in response to a twisted situation (namely, overbearing religious authority conflicting with overbearing legal authority)
Jesus said: “by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
https://ref.ly/Mt12.37 via the Logos #Bible Android app.
On what basis are you judging the moral code that Jesus espoused to be twisted and evil?
"A man has no greater love than this, that he lay down his life for his friends"
I am no sacrificial animal, and I regard as twisted and evil a moral code which glorifies my assuming that role.
Do you mean that it would be wrong for you to be sacrificed, or for Jesus to be sacrificed?
It is Jesus Christ my friend! He is the rock on which we built! He fulfilled more then 300 prophecies from the Old Testament!
Have you ever felt love? How do you prove love?