All scripture is given by inspiration of God
THE BOOK OF THE LORD
Isaiah 34:16 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
2Peter 1: 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Isa 48:17 Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
Isa 48:6 Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.
Mar 4:22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. 23 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
The Bible contains hundreds of prophecies. Some were fulfilled more than 3000 years ago. Others have been fulfilled since then, and some have yet to be fulfilled.
The Bible is the most-widely published and distributed book of all time. Its a compilation of ancient collections of writings, comprised of 66 separate books, written over approximately 1,600 years by at least 40 distinct authors including kings, shepherds, prophets and other leaders which seemed to have a solid grasp on the people, places and events of history. The Bible is, for many, a key part of their faith, a source of inspiration and a living guide as well as a valuable source of information with different events, cultures, and history not available elsewhere. But this ancient book has been always part of conflict and controversy, as any religious matter is.
For some, it’s a Holy book that connects them with God’s word. But for others, it’s an obscene piece of literature with explicit content.Hong Kong's media regulator has rejected calls to reclassify the Bible as an indecent publication following more than 2,000 complaints about its sexual and violent content.
"The Bible is a religious text which is part of civilization. It has been passed from generation to generation", Hong Kong's Television and Licensing Authority (TELA) said in a statement issued late Thursday on May 17, 2007.
Religious writers and academics often refer to its stories as symbolic, allegorical, or intentionally simplified, with ample use of parables, metaphors and similes. But if we are going to classify such book as the Bible as obscene and violent, isn’t truth that we would have to do it with most novels, TV shows and movies? How about music, magazines or even some sports, the news, Internet and of course, the media in general?
How can a book that teaches morals be classified as immoral?
Just because some stories in the Bible contain obscene words and acts, does not mean that God approved of them. These stories are there for our learning, to teach us that our thoughts and our ways are not God's thoughts, nor God's ways.
2Ki 17:13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.
For example, let's take the story of Lot who had relations with his daughters after they got him drunk, in order to understand the moral of that story.
*~*~*~*
LOT & HIS DAUGHTERS
Lot was the son of Haran and nephew of Abraham. He was spared from the destruction of the kingdom of Sodom and Gomorrah, although his wife was turned into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26). Afterward, Lot has relations with both of his own daughters when they intoxicate him (Genesis 19:32). Lot's two sons from this union were Moab (Hebrew meaning "from my father") and Ben-Ami (Hebrew meaning "Son of my father). These two children were the fathers of the Amonite and Moabite nations.
Those who study the Bible learn that Lot's daughters did not have complete trust in their Creator. Lot's daughters incorrectly believed they were the only people to have survived the devastation. They assumed it was their responsibility to bear children and enable the continuation of the human race. On two subsequent nights, according to the plan of the older daughter, they got their father drunk enough to have sexual intercourse with them, drunk enough that he is described as being unaware of what was happening. By him each became pregnant, and because they used their own vein thoughts and ways, the result of their doings brought chaos in the world.
In order to understand the moral of that story we need to know who the Amonite and Moabite nations where, and what they did. By studying the scriptures, we learn that the Amonite and the Moabite nations went against God's people, Israel.
When Israel came out of the desert wilderness on their way to Canaan, Moses implored the king of Moab to allow Israel to pass through his country, promising to stay on the highway and even offering to pay for any water which the people or animals would drink, but the king refused to grant Moses permission (Jud.11:17). Because neither the Moabites nor Ammonites provided any assistance to the Israelites at this time, God angrily forbade Israel to allow any Moabite or Ammonite to enter into the congregation of the Lord until ten generations had passed (Dt.23:3-6). In these same verses, God forbade Israel ever to do anything beneficial for the nations of Moab and Ammon. Nevertheless, certain individuals from these two nations did find grace in the sight of God; for Ruth, who was a Moabitess, was married to Boaz, and became one of the progenitors of our Lord Ru 4:6,10-22 Ne 4:3,7 13:1,2,23 Isa 56:3
When Israel camped in the territory it had won in battle from the Amorites, the Moabites became fearful, just as Moses had prophesied that they would (Ex.15:15). Apparently, the Moabite king did not know, or did not believe, that God had forbidden Moses to take any land belonging to either of Lot's children (Dt.2:9,19). In an effort to weaken Israel, Moab's King Balak offered an enormous monetary reward and a high position in his government to a world-renowned prophet, Balaam, if he would come and curse Israel (Num.22-24). Balaam came, wanting to curse Israel and receive Balak's reward, but God would not allow him to curse Israel. Having failed, then, in his first desire, Balaam, with the elders of the Midianites (q.v.), counselled King Balak not to war with the Israelites, seeing that God was determined to bless them, but to join them (Num.25:17-18; 31:14-16; Rev.2:14). The resulting intermarriage of the Moabites with the Israelites and the concomitant intermingling of religions enraged the Lord, Who then plagued Israel (Num.25:9). So, while Balaam could not curse Israel, by his craftiness he deceived Israel into great sin against God, Who then punished His people with a grievous plague. Thus did Balaam, in a way, accomplish his evil mission. This sin of Israel, "marrying" the god of Peor Mountain (Baal-Peor, Num.25:1-5), did such enormous damage to the nation's spirit that long after Israel conquered Canaan's land, Israel had not recovered from it (Josh.22:17). Centuries later, the prophets were still talking about this intermingling of Israel and Moab (Ps.106:28-29; Hos.9:10), the infamous "sin of Baal-Peor". Physical beauty is mentioned in connection with the Moabites (Jer.48:17), and in the matter of Israel's sin at Peor, a key feature was Moab's use of its women to lure many Israelites into making a league with Moab and its gods (Num.25:1; 31:14-16).
The Nations of the Bible: Moab and Ammon http://www.isaiah58.com/broadcasters/manda.htm
Those who study the Bible, through the guidence of the Holy Spirit that teaches us all things, KNOW and UNDERSTAND that the moral of that story was to show us what happens when we do not have complete trust in our heavenly Father.
So what is the moral of that story? The lesson we learn is that our thoughts and our ways cause conflict, chaos, and destruction.
*~*~*~*
Those who use their own vein and evil imaginations, get the wrong understanding and call the Bible "corrupt" because their thoughts and their ways are corrupt, just like Lot's daughters.
Eze 20:44 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
All the stories in the Bible are essential to our everyday lives. Both the good and bad events that are mentioned in the Bilbe, are there for our learning. The bad events show us that our own thoughts and ways leads us to distruction, just like in the story of Lot and his daughters who did not base their complete trust in our heavenly Father. They assumed, it was their responsibility to bear children and enable the continuation of the human race, and through their own unholy actions commited incest. The two sons of these two sisters are mentioned as the Moabites and the Ammonites in the scriptures. Most of the Moabites and Ammonites (who were polytheists), caused many of God's faithful people to turn their faces from the true God and worship their false gods instead.
Hag 1:5 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.