Have you ever wondered what the Bible says about a particular topic, but did not know where to begin? Try this web site. You may:

• Request an answer yourself
• View answers already provided
• Contact us to criticize or comment

Many people think the Bible is confusing, confrontational, boring, outdated, and totally irrelevant to today's world, but we hope articles on this web site change those views. We use a lively Question and Answer format to parse subject matter into small, bite-sized chunks for quick understanding and easy access.

Rather than debating whether God exists or if the earth was created in six days, AFTB provides information about what the Bible says from various mainstream viewpoints. AFTB is not for debate. Instead, AFTB provides Bible-centric explanations about specific topics, and lets the reader decide if they are valid and applicable to specific situations.

Caveat: While we are unapologetically Christian and carry a conservative slant, we make every effort to include other views and differing interpretations, all the while adhering to one rule: that all explanations tie directly to two or more Bible passages. Many topics are difficult and complex, so we cannot hope to achieve completeness, or even correctness, in answering questions. But our aim is to be courteous and helpful, encouraging each reader to search independently until the Bible itself ministers the correct answer.

A massive network of Bible-based churches, synagogues, schools, hospitals, and all types of far-flung outposts are dedicated to helping people in their daily lives. AFTB subscribes to the idea that the Bible contains a model for daily living, proven effective over the years, and summarized as follows:

• God loves you, and is gracious to you and to all people
• It is a fact that you are a sinner, and sin brings trouble and God's judgment
• If you acknowledge this, and Bible-prescribed remedies take hold, life is better

Interpretation: Whenever we read written material we apply principles of interpretation (hermeneutics) in an attempt to understand what we read. For AFTB, two overarching factors come into play:

• Submissive predisposition
• Unity, harmony, and consistency of the Scripture

AFTB is conservative Christian. We believe a useful interpretation of the Bible starts with a submissive predisposition. Psalm 119:34 summarizes the prerequisite attitude: [God] give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law. This is a two-way situation: God does something, and you do something in response. If you bring your own agenda to the Bible it is easy to bias interpretation (isogesis), rather than letting the Bible speak for itself (exegesis).

Further, AFTB attempts to interpret the various parts of Scripture in a way that accords with its central teachings. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that All Scripture is inspired by God. Based on this unity and completeness, we interpret less clear passages in light of more clear passages, and favor cross references within the Bible itself, rather than external referencing.

Views of the Bible: Many Westerners believe the Bible is an important, foundational piece of ancient literature, full of lessons and stories conveying centuries of human philosphy, religion, thought, and experience. This is one prominent view of the Bible.

Other people view the Bible as a guidebook for Jews and Christians, but not necessarily for themselves. In fact, the Christian New Testament is an extension of the Jewish Bible, also known as the Old Testament. As such, both testaments serve as repositories of instruction and enlightenment for believers in the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. When Jesus walked on earth, He tenatiously adhered to the Old Testament and practiced the Jewish religion.

Still others subscribe to a fundamentalist view. This view is held by Jews and Christians who take the Bible to be literally true in every respect. They believe the Bible was written by God through the hands of God-inspired men, and has been thus preserved by God throughout the ages. Therefore, according to the fundamentalist view, the Bible contains absolute truth without error. It is God speaking to human beings throughout time, including today.

AFTB attempts to explore biblical topics from these three viewpoints: the foundational view, the guidebook view, and the fundamentalist view. Other views, including those that treat the Bible as nothing more than a piece of ancient literature, are not discussed.

Privacy Policy. AFTB does not collect personal information from you. We do not require e-mail addresses from people who submit Bible questions, and we have nothing to sell, so credit card information is not necessary. Visitors can initiate e-mail exchanges using the Contact Us link. Some AFTB advertisers may use tracking cookies to learn about shopping preferences. When you click on such and advertisement, the advertiser may deposit a cookie on your computer. You can erase such cookies using commands on your browser. Cookies enable advertisers to tailor ads during subsequent visits to AFTB.

AnswersFromTheBook.com is a service of Stat-Matics, Inc., a Florida corporation. We are not doctors or counselors, and can not, and do not take any type of responsibility for anyone's actions that may or may not have resulted from reading the material on this web site. We are diligent to obtain rights for any privately owned text and images we use, and we re-format all images to fit our aspect ratio. None of this material is copyrighted, and you may use any of it for any purpose. Proper attribution, and a link to the AFTB main page, is appreciated.