OnceConvinced Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 "Just read the Bible and let the holy spirit speak to your heart " Translation: Just read the bible and anything that hits you in a positive way, you can then claim is God trying to talk to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
★ Citsonga ★ Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 What I always heard from my parents' church was that the bible was so powerful that just reading the bible on its own can convert you yet they never explain why some people leave the faith because they read the bible. After I deconverted but still went to church with my wife (and didn't make negative comments to people at church), there was a man in Sunday school who made a comment about nonbelievers reading the bible. He said that they don't understand it, so they don't believe it. I had to laugh under my breath! This guy could barely read, yet he was making ridiculous assumptions about others' reading comprehension. I had more bible knowledge and understanding than this guy, and it's what led me to stop believing. If all you needed was the Holy Spirit to guide you when reading the bible, why is there so many crappy Christian apologetic books trying to defend the supposed inerrenacy of the bible? Exactly! And even the plethora of apologists defend different versions of christianity, all supposedly inspired by the holey spook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Genesis Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 After I deconverted but still went to church with my wife (and didn't make negative comments to people at church), there was a man in Sunday school who made a comment about nonbelievers reading the bible. He said that they don't understand it, so they don't believe it. I had to laugh under my breath! This guy could barely read, yet he was making ridiculous assumptions about others' reading comprehension. I had more bible knowledge and understanding than this guy, and it's what led me to stop believing. Randomly, one of the elders at my parents' church once asked me if I wanted to lead a bible study class at church and he said I seemed like I knew more about the bible than most Christians did. What's funny is that he doesn't know I'm an atheist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
★ Citsonga ★ Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 After I deconverted but still went to church with my wife (and didn't make negative comments to people at church), there was a man in Sunday school who made a comment about nonbelievers reading the bible. He said that they don't understand it, so they don't believe it. I had to laugh under my breath! This guy could barely read, yet he was making ridiculous assumptions about others' reading comprehension. I had more bible knowledge and understanding than this guy, and it's what led me to stop believing. Randomly, one of the elders at my parents' church once asked me if I wanted to lead a bible study class at church and he said I seemed like I knew more about the bible than most Christians did. What's funny is that he doesn't know I'm an atheist. That is funny. When I was still a believer, I was seen by several fellow-christians as biblically knowledgeable. I still felt that I had (and still feel that I have) a lot to learn, but I did know more than it seemed most christians did. I was even approached by a pastor who and asked about utilizing my "gift of knowledge" and suggested that I consider pursuing the ministry. Of course, I continued to study the bible, and the rest is "ex-christian" history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddbird1963 Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 . . . "gift of knowledge" . . . Of course, I continued to study the bible, and the rest is "ex-christian" history. I never was quite convinced about the so called gift of knowledge. If you study to learn a holy book and retain it's meaning, how can that be a "gift of knowledge?" It's called studious. Or smart. Was it some sort of "psychic" ability where you know something about someone that you could have ever known? There is so much bogus woo to many strains of Christianity. The so called "gifts" of the spirit is some of the wooiest woo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
★ Citsonga ★ Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 . . . "gift of knowledge" . . . Of course, I continued to study the bible, and the rest is "ex-christian" history. I never was quite convinced about the so called gift of knowledge. If you study to learn a holy book and retain it's meaning, how can that be a "gift of knowledge?" It's called studious. Or smart. Was it some sort of "psychic" ability where you know something about someone that you could have ever known? There is so much bogus woo to many strains of Christianity. The so called "gifts" of the spirit is some of the wooiest woo. I agree it wasn't much of a "gift." What I "knew" was basically a hodgepodge of what I was indoctrinated with during my youth, my studies of the bible and christian literature in my teens and twenties, and my own perceptions. I spent countless hours reading that garbage, believing it and trying to piece it all together systematically. I seemed to be better at that than most of the christians my age that I knew, and others considered it a "gift of knowledge." But eventually knowledge started pulling up the roots one by one until the religious tree just tumbled over for me, and what a hell of a crashing down it was! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 If all you needed was the Holy Spirit to guide you when reading the bible, why is there so many crappy Christian apologetic books trying to defend the supposed inerrenacy of the bible? So true! This attitude of many Christians really annoys me. In particular, since I told my parents that I'm no longer a Christian - and I told them that I'd begged God to help me understand the Bible - they've been sending me apologetists' books, links to YouTube sermons, etc, expecting me to read/listen and be wowed. They can't seem to understand this basic idea: If the Holy Spirit "dwelling" in me couldn't help me understand the Bible, why on earth should I believe someone else's interpretation of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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