Is the Bible the Sole Authority for God’s Word?

Our conversation around yoga and Christianity continues. What do you believe and why do you believe it?

[Paul D] What are you ultimately seeking? Yoga and Christianity are completely different. You may find some commonalities in all religions but that does not mean they are all the same ultimately. 1) does Sadhguru believe in God? Yes or No. I suspect that one of the reasons you are leaning heavily towards Sadhguru has to do with his doctrine that does not believe in Sin. Is that seductive to you?

[Matt S] I’m seeking Christ’s path. Yoga and Christianity ARE completely different, yes; one is an internal practice, one is a religious belief. I think that’s where many Christians get stuck; they think yoga is a religion! It’s not. Yes, Sadhguru believes in God. Sin is anything that moves us away from God. Sin is originally an archery term which means ‘off the mark’. So, when we are in sin, we are off the mark–off the path toward God.

[Paul D] But you definitely do not seem to believe in the bible as the ultimate word of God. You say you are seeking Christ’s path? How will you know when you find it? What does the bible say about that?

[Matt S] Should I choose a single book as my only input from God? Would an infinite being choose to express all their wisdom through the pages of a single book and disregard all other channels for teaching their children? That is certainly not my experience of God. My God uses people and circumstances and events and all manner of being to express teaching, make us malleable, create growth, and illustrate glory. Over and over, I have seen God’s thumbprint on my life, in good times and in bad. No, I don’t believe God said all He needed to say to us once and stuck it into the Bible; not when He has the entire cosmos as a palette.

And when it comes to following Christ’s path, the Bible is incomplete–again, two decades of Christ’s journey missing from the Good Book. That can’t even be argued, right? How will I know when I find Christ’s path? I don’t know, Paul. That’s my struggle. If you know of any scripture that applies here, please share. Matt

[Paul D] If you don’t know what a path looks like or what it is…how will you know when you find it!? Why do you say you struggle finding a path when you can’t even define what you seek? Where was Christ’s life and talks published? Clearly the Bible. In other words you do not believe it is the sole authority clearly by your answers. Do you believe in absolute truth? That is a yes or no. You also do not believe in the ten commandments as it seems very clear that Sadhguru fashions IDOLS etc..

[Matt S] ??

Again, the Bible is missing about 20 years of Christ’s life. Do you acknowledge this?

So, if I HAVE defined what I seek (to follow Christ’s example), there’s a lot missing from the Bible.

What did Christians do before the Bible was completely pieced together? (http://www.truthnet.org/Bible-Origins/7_The_New_Testament_Canon/index.htm)

Which version of the Bible is considered the ‘sole authority’? Which version do you place your faith in? There are over 50 different translations in English alone (http://www.compassdistributors.ca/topics/compare.htm).

If you were new to the Bible and standing in the book store, which Bible would you choose? What if you picked up a copy of the New World Translation? Would that version be ‘absolute truth’ and ‘sole authority’?

As for idolatry, yes, I see it in Sadhguru and it gives me pause. It was only in recent years that I realized how steeped in idolatry the Catholic Church is. I was raised Catholic, so you can imagine my surprise when a book explaining spiritual warfare listed Catholicism as something to be protected against.

This post is part of an ongoing discussion around the practice of yogic meditation. To see more of the discussion, go here.

UPDATE 02/26/2016

Well, I certainly didn’t understand the Bible at the time of this post, did I? As I hope is evident in my post What Accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior Means to Me, I’m beginning to understand a little more clearly about how grossly I’ve been off in the bushes. Specifically:

That sermon brought out in me a hunger to know Jesus–to study his example. As I reacquainted myself with Scripture, it became painfully obvious there was a huge gap in the account of Christ’s life in the Bible. Only now do I realize this is by design. (Matthew 24:35 is proof of this.) If we could follow Christ’s path step-by-step, we would continue to chase him under our own power instead of allowing ourselves to be shaped by God through faith. This is why so many other methods or false religions for reaching God lead to destruction.