Do we need the Bible for salvation?

[Divine]

Aussigirl my sisster this is a very interesting question, and I love all the answers, I m looking forwad to hear more answers. The bible says"Faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ" how do we know the Word of Christ? because there is only one thing that gives us all the knowledge about God and His plan for us, when I grew up, I use to ask myself which church is following the right path in worshiping God because there are so many churches and believes in the name of Christ. When I started READING the(bible) is when I was able to have a clear understanding with the path I should take. Not forgetting the Holy Spirit that guides us when the bible is not infront of us. Hosea 4:6 " My people are destroyed (perish) for lack of knowledge"

[Lady Daffodil]

I agree with what Jaquie said.

[DOK Angela 75644]

Wow! I'm in awe of all the ladies who have written great testimony about the Bible!

I'm in agreement ... is it necessary to read & study the Bible to be saved? No ... but how can we learn more about God; how can we know Christ, our Savior; how can we learn to rely on the Holy Spirit; how can we grow in faith and walk closer with God, except by reading the Word and hearing the Word? I want to read every day, as much as I can, and study and learn and grow in understanding. Listening to the Bible from CDs or cassettes is also wonderful ... I particularly like to listen to James Earl Jones read the New Testament. Sometimes I read along, & sometimes I just listen.

I'm also reading a book that discusses the "alternative gospels" (and I expect it will tell why these are not supposed to be part of the Bible) ... it is The Missing Gospels, by Darrell Bock, Ph.D. I've only read a few chapters, & some of it is rather "dry" (academic) but the author is "research professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary," so I trust that he is a Bible-believing Christian and well-informed on his topic.

Someone mentioned another church that used a Bible with some extra books in it ... I wonder if she was referring to the Apocrypha? These are 15 books, or portions of books, that are found in most Catholic Bibles (and some Bibles that are used in other churches) which are generally considered to be "books which are not held equal to the sacred Scriptures, and nevertheless are useful and good to read." (quoted from Martin Luther's German translation of the Bible [1534]) These books have great historical interest "as significant documents of a most important era in religious history" (Professor Frank C. Potter, in Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible [1901]). The Church of England and the Episcopal Church (of which I am a member) read these books "for example of life, and instruction of manners; but doth not apply them to establish any doctrine." (Taken from the Preface to the Apocrypha, found in my mother's 1952 edition of the Holy Bible, RSV [Nelson]) The Puritans were vigorously opposed to these books being included in the Bible, even in their own separate section, as they are in this edition; and most modern American Protestants have probably never heard of any of these books.

Here is a list of the books called Apocrypha, as found in this edition of the Bible:

1 Esdras
2 Esdras
Tobit
Judith
Additions to Esther
The Wisdom of Solomon
Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach
Baruch
The Letter of Jeremiah
The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men
Susanna
Bel and the Dragon
The Prayer of Manasseh
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees

May God bless each of us with understanding as we read His Word!

[Jacquie]

Interesting post! It is probably true that a majority of American Protestants have not heard of the Apocrypha. For the sake of clarity though, here is CWO's position on the Bible: "The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of people. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice." (Our full statement of faith can be found on the Home page>About Us>What We Believe) Welcome to CWO, Angela, and thanks for sharing your thoughts with us here!