HI Lady!
Your questions are very deep but I will try to answer them as honestly as I can.
1. What is your opinion on the Holy Bible?
My opinion on the Bible is that it is and always will be the Word of God. Directly written to give me guidance and peace in my life.
2. Is it the true word of God?
I do believe that it is. I believe that the lessons from the Old Testament and what God said to and through the prophets still stands for us today. The New Testament is a declaration of the possibilities of living a new life through faith in Jesus Christ. I beleive He is the Messiah sent by God the Father to make a way for us to be in His presence in spite of our selfish sinful lives.
3. Was it truely inspired by God?
I believe that it was. For me, everything in my life is directed by God. He knew me before I was born and He knew who and what I would become. Therefore, everything that happenes in my life is in His hands. So, if He can direct my small insignificant life then He can inspire someone to write down something He wants us all to know.
4. Has man corrupted the original message that God was trying to convey?
This is a little tricky... I believe that we have corrupted the message. We just didn't get it. The life style of the flesh can be so alluring that we have devised ways that were not God's ways to bring satisfaction to our lives. As though we might know better than God. I believe that is why Jesus had to come. God knew we wouldn't get it...so He knew he would have to create a way for us to be in fellowship with Him again. God's true desire was to help us live a life that is acceptable for Him. He wants us to live true to the way we were created. He loves us, He made us and He wants to be with us...we're the ones who have turned away.
5. Why is it to this day that even within Christianity, so many are split as to the actual meaning of this Holy scripture?
This will be another controversial answer... after Satan fell to earth and took 1/3 of the heavenly host with him, he set out to divide people and draw them away from God because he was mad. He uses any means necessary to make it impossible for us to live in harmony with one another. He wants us to disagree with each other. He thinks its funny when Christians can't even agree on what God's Word says.
Also, we are just people and sometimes our small minds (not that we are small-minded as in dumb, or that some are smarter than others, just that in comparison with God, we are smaller and our perceptions are smaller) can't grasp what God is truly saying because we want it to make sense to us intellectually. God wants it to make sense to our hearts.
6. Why must so many differing denominations within Christianity itself squabble over its meaning?
Again, to me, it's the controversial Satan answer. The best thing Satan can do is cause believers to disagree with one another. Pride is the oldest tool Satan uses. If he can make one denomination think they are "better" Christians than another, then he has succeeded. That's why we have to always be on the alert. Jesus taught that all were acceptable. The people He called out the most were the "supposed" teachers of the Law, the Pharisees and the Sadduccees. Jesus told His disciples that these guys were the wolves that were leading the sheep of Israel astray.
Today, we have so many different types of churches teaching their own brand of Christianity. This is not what the early church was like. This is a perfect example of Satan dividing Christians. In Ireland they have actually been fighting violently over whose kind of Christian Religion is better.
I believe that Jesus wants us to unite as brothers and sisters in Him. To walk in our faith along side Him towards fellowship with the Father. To love each other with the kind of love God the Father has for all of us. It's not easy to do, but it's what I think we should all strive for. That's the reason Christ died on the cross. So we could be reunited with the Father. Jesus' death was the ultimate act of love from the Father. He sacrificed His Son for you and me. The meaning of the word "salvation" is simply that we are saved from eternity in hell ("hell" being separation from God) by recieving the gift of sacrifice Jesus made for us to bring us close to the Father. That's why so many born-again Christians claim to have a life-changing transformation when they recieve Christ as their Savior. And that's why so many of us push, prode and cajole nonbelivers into doing it too.
I've probably just raised many more questions than I've provided answers. I'll be happy to answer any others you may have. But remember, my answers will have a Christian twist at all times because thats how I see things.... <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />