"Literal Heresy............."

In reading the Old Testament, some tend to see a different God, one seemingly void of grace when it comes to humanity as a whole. The Jews fared well if, as a nation they toed the line, and a few chosen individuals getting blessed regardless of their character, their relationship with the Almighty more a matter of His patience with them than of their righteousness in an attempt to follow Him. This was an age where kings required only good weather to exercise population control, wiping out entire communities, the victor claiming the spoils; and such practice apparently not only okay with the Creator, but, at times, so ordered by Him. It was a different time, a different world, and surely we, as believers, need to consider such things It was, and always has been, the same “I am”. He who brought forth Christ through Mary via the Holy Ghost is that very One who in the beginning spared Noah, appointed Abraham, and spoke through Samuel, His nature changing not anywhere within the journey. Can it be said, then, that perhaps these sacred verses recorded within the first half of the Book came to us as much from men as they did from on high? Do I dare suggest that even so the second half was put to print, inspiration “tainted” by the very channel through which it flowed? For me, the Bible is special, not because it, in itself, possesses some hallowed state, but because it is “the sword of the Spirit”. The “Word” sits at the right hand of the Father, working in us via the Third Person of the Trinity. One way that occurs is through our perusal of Scripture. We must be careful, however, to never think ourselves as having solved the mystery therein, its promises ours to claim merely because we equate it with having faith. He, alone, remains the Authority, the Kingdom, and the Giver of Life…...