Scripture: Opinion or Fact?

There are two specific issues I wish to discuss in this post- the first is that human opinions are sometimes sourced from actual fact, sometimes not. The second is that if we decide (note that term) the only truly important things in the biblical record are those attributed to Jesus Himself, it is our own reasoning that may well be suspect.

How does it make sense if we judge Paul's or James' or Jude's words to not come from God

but are mere flawed human views of things while at the same time judge Matthew, Mark, Luke and John's quotes of Jesus as divinely inspired, the Word of God?

Further, the idea that any Christ-follower perfectly hears, interprets and thus should act on what "the Holy Spirit told me" when (James 3.2a) "For all of us make many mistakes." the idea of literal flawless perfection isn't even a possibility while we live in this fallen world!

I do believe God speaks to us IF we're paying attention but to think we never got/get it wrong is as ignorant as it is arrogant and I believe often confused with true faith.

Direct revelation happened for thousands of years (see burning bush, etc., etc.), the literal voice of God, etc., and still does. I affirm it! And yet any genuine prophet reading my words in this post still sins, makes mistakes, wrongly judges, has if brutally honest, experienced times they thought they heard Jesus' voice and turned out they were... WRONG. How would I know this? Personal experience my friends!

So why is it we see how obvious this is for others, even ourselves, but fail to judge the four human Gospel writers precisely as we do Paul and others?

Perhaps we don't like various scriptures or are mistaken in our interpretation -I have a LOT of faith in that reality!

No matter the debates re. "how we got our Bible", regardless of "what and when the -church- said it's "the Word of God" as well as "this means thus" I believe all I've written here stands -and much of it as an indictment of the flawed thinking and judgement of humans who love to pick and choose what we believe as opposed to dealing with hard and often self-condemning facts about our own logic and honest reasoning when it comes to the Lord, His calling and indeed His commands which we often would love to bypass if not refute.

I put this out due to many friends who I believe have stumbled ("all often" "in what we -say") says James. Yup. Humility is a gift, may God give you and I more of it please!

Truly, as always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn