How do you check your belief in God’s ways for accuracy?

It is important that we do not create a God that is not the true God. That is what the Muslims do. Yet the Christian community cannot agree about God or how God works in our life.

How do you decide what is correct and what is not when you hear these conflicting ideas of what God is like? Each belief is based on a separate interpretation of scripture, so to just read scripture doesn’t always work.

As an example of something that can be done, here is what I did. I went to history books to find the history of each conflicting statement. I found that history books must be carefully selected because different views of a historical happening can be reported so only one side is presented. I found that historians trained by Harvard or Yale were most dependable, and I had to be careful to read all sides. That gave me the background of the people who came up with an interpretation. Then I read the reports of each year’s church council meetings. For the first 800 years it was the Catholic Church that was the Christian leaders and they keep good records of the yearly councils.

In this way I could check where each differing interpretation came from and why they interpreted as they did. Then I went to scripture and made sure that there were two scriptures saying the same thing, and also, I kept in mind that the new testament is a fulfillment of the old testament, so I checked each interpretation in both testaments.

1 Corinthians 13: 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Different ways work for different people. It's great that you can do all that studying! An illiterate person wouldn't be able to study in depth like that. I think they would have to rely on the spirit to guide them. thanks be to God who gives us the spirit who guides us into all truth!

If it was true that the Holy Spirit guides to the truth then there would be great agreement in the church and there isn't. Either there are multitudes of church members without the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Spirit needs a mind that is filled with the word to work for us.

1. The Bible (the 66 books of the Bible) is God's revelation to man. Therefore what man needs to know about God is contained therein. And we can ignore all other writings.

2. The Bible reveals that the one true God is in fact the triune Godhead -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Therefore the first mention of God in the Bible calls Him ELOHIM. That is a uni-plural word which tells us that there is one God eternally existent as three Persons.

3. God shows us that this is true when He talks about the creation of man:
And God [ELOHIM] said, Let us [PLURAL] make man in our [PLURAL] image, after our [PLURAL] likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Gen 1:26,27)

4. God also tells us that even though the triune Godhead was involved in creation, it was primarily God the Word (the Lord Jesus Christ) who was the Creator. And this further confirms the triune Godhead as the true God.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Gen 1:1)

In the beginning was the Word [JESUS], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (Jn 1:1-3)

And, Thou, Lord [JESUS], in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. (Heb 1:10-12)
I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee. (Ps 102:24-28)

As you can see, Scripture interprets Scripture, and you do not need to go outside the Bible to know the truth about God. Invest in Nave's Topical Bible (King James Version) and you will find the Scriptures grouped by topics. It is one of the best Bible study tools you could find.

These two statements aren't mutually exclusive.
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You are a Christian and I am a Christian and we disagree. I think it is necessary to know the culture and thinking of the populations of the time scripture was given and that takes outside reading. As an example, what is the meaning of water that is often a symbol in scripture? What were the problems in the churches Paul wrote to, what was going on that Paul was addressing? How was salt used in the OT, and what all is it symbolic of? What caused the wickedness of the people before the flood, and can it compare with the wickedness of today?

It is not necessary to know these things to be saved, but it is necessary to know our God and Father the best we can.

Respectfully, your terminology leads me to question your meaning. What is "necessary" about something that is not "necessary" for salvation?

In more ways than one.

Apparently there are no beliebers in the house.

It Is scripture that gives us right and wrong, not the culture of any time. What the culture tells us is what the scripture is addressing. As an example, there are scriptures about how long men should wear their hair. It is important that we know the culture of the time and what it meant in that culture to have long hair.

I do not think the Holy Spirit can give scripture, nor does God mean for it to when God sends it to us. I think it is sent to guide us and uses the information we put in our minds. That information needs to have scripture as the foundation for everything.

As Christians, God is the center of our lives, the information of the world around us. God works in our world and we understand God better when we see how that action is. You could look to Justin Bieber as a leader, but as a Christian there would be no way you would do that. God is your leader, and crowds following him is an example of how our world is. Scripture is the foundation for all.

I think all that research, and scholarship is wonderful. Its just not available to the vast majority of believers, and in many ways its just not necessary.
It may be a bit of a stretch to use this scripture but I think the principal applies.
Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
LUKE 10:38‭-‬42 NASB

Mary was listening to his words, not being distracted by the many things. I think many times we become so caught up in reading what Thomas Aquinas, or Augustine, or even Martin Luther had to say that we fail to spend time reading what the Bible says for itself, which is the better part.

So just as you find history books written by authors who studied at Yale or Harvard more accurate, I find reading the letters of the folks who lived in those times to be a more accurate source.

There again let me reiterate that I am not against scholarship. In fact I find it to be very useful, and those who do the research a valuable resource. Just don't let it become a substitute for reading the Bible and letting it speak to you with it's own voice.

If the Lord was addressing truth then within the Church, then that truth still holds for the Church today. Culture never dictates truth, but truth should dictate the culture.

This is a dangerous false dichotomy. While it is generally true, divorcing Scripture from its cultural context commonly leads to error.

Does the idea of uprooting a mulberry tree mean anything to you? Probably not, unless you've tried to dig one up. Do you believe that "lily of the valley" and "rose of Sharon" are special flowers used to represent rare beauty? Possibly... unless you've done your homework on the culture.

Your view would close its ears to the relevance that cultural context gives the text. If Corinthian biological/medical understanding regarding hair was wacky by today's standards, it's possible that Paul's comments about hair were also wacky by today's standards. God didn't download 21st century scientific knowledge to the writers of Scripture.

What do you mean, conflicting ideas on what God is like? He's revealed to us in His son, Jesus Christ.

I dont see any conflict, if we know the son, we know the Father.

this is evil

you are secretly saying we know better now. i cant take it anymore

"Take a little wine for your stomach and your frequent illnesses" (1 Timothy 5:23).

Relevant today or not? Sound medical advice today for every ailment, or not?

Drink up, Melach. : )