quote:
to the OP: the simple answer is that the entire Bible is God's inerrant word. Whether it is Jesus being quoted in one of the gospels or whether it is a letter written by Paul to a church, it is all equally inerrant and all the word of God.

I understand this is the line of thinking, but I don't quite follow why some Christians believe this.

It seems intuitive that words spoken by Jesus would the inerrant Word of God, but He didn't write down anything. Paul was never a divine being to begin with, and was never any more qualified to speak on these things than anyone else at the time (and certainly LESS qualified than a person with the immense amount of knowledge available to them today).

Any claim pointed back to the Bible requires the concept that it is the literal word of God, and I think therein lies the issues most others can take. IF you are of the belief that it is this infallible book, then anything that can possibly contradict it must, regardless of anything else, MUST be false.

That feels like a very closed of method of reasoning to me. It is likely why I was never comfortable in church.

"You MUST think this way."
"But I think this way..."
"Well, then, enjoy Hell."

It's also why I firmly believe that, if there is a God, He is either:

Very different in many ways than what is portrayed in the Bible, or...
He is neither "just" or "loving"

My point is the concept of Hell. In no way is it just to condemn a person to infinite torment for finite sin. Including, of course, simply being born in a place that never even heard of Jesus.
"Good person but wrong beliefs? Hell."
"Bad person but right beliefs? Come on in."

The concept of love and justice have very strong definitions in my core, and the God of the Bible adheres to neither. So, I cannot accept all the passages in there as literal truth.

Because I questioned, I was ostracized. I find more cohesive thought and debate on internet forums than I did in church.