dollarsbill
Well-Known Member
For someone to understand Judaism before the NT would mean years of study of the Hebrew OT. They might die before they got to NT salvation. What a waste of time that would be.
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dollarsbill said:For someone to understand Judaism before the NT would mean years of study of the Hebrew OT. They might die before they got to NT salvation. What a waste of time that would be.
Not to mention the time it would take to become expert in the Hebrew Language.Wow. Yes! Ah, yea!
(Rendered speechless by the accuracy of the above statement)
Hestha said:I think I understand what you are saying. Some atheists claim that they were once Christians or raised in Christian families, but became atheists once they actually read the Bible, as if the Bible can make a person turn to atheism. At the same time, some Christians claim that reading the Bible enhances or deepens their faith. So, in reality, reading the Bible is more of a subjective experience. It may either deepen or weaken one's faith. Now, this leads to the question: how can anyone trust a book that can either strengthen or weaken faith? Sometimes, I wonder how some people are reading the Bible or what motivations the people have initially while reading the Bible; people never seem to give that. They may just say, "I read the Bible, and it deepens my faith in God" or "I read the Bible, and it has turned me to atheism." Neither of them provide an explanation on the how the Bible worsens/strengthens one's faith. Since atheists do not believe in God, asking for God's help would probably be useless for them. So, perhaps the best way for atheists to understand the Bible is to read study guides, like SparkNotes, or try to read theological commentaries made by well-established historical and modern Christian theologians.