Did I suddenly become evil after reading the Bible?---?

Question

I was very religous until I read the entire Bible in college,and I honestly found the stories to be childish and very unlikely to be true.
If you answer, please don't use quotes from the very book that I can't believe.

I am not ignorant. I graduated from I.U. w/ honors. And I'm not young. I'm73, and i"ve been very sucessful in life.
Most people who preach to me have never read the entire Bible, and certainly haven't been tested on their comprehension

After readig some answers below, I'm shocked at the superior tone of some and how gullible and naive these religous people are. I would bet they have no credintials for assuming such superior attitudes.
No wonder I can't believe; hearing the people who do. Talk about closed minds: wow.

I asked for honest answers,not a bunch of know-it-all B.S.

Don't these religous nuts have a sin regarding arrogance?

How can these arrogant Christions hope to understand the Bible when they can't even understand my simple question?

Christians should be constantly searching for truth, not talking like they own the truth.

Sorry for the typo , misspelling Christian.

Of course I was being facetious when I asked about becoming evil.

Most of the religous nuts answering this are not mature enough even to read the Bible.

These religious nuts have just proven how childish and gullible you must be to believe this B.S. They see everything in terms of good and evil.

Answer 1

It is a difficult book to make sense of by yourself. It's written in the language of Shakespeare's time and look how long we have to study that to make sense of it.

It's even sadder when you ask for help and the people who believe in the book yell at you for having a question (like the lady above).

You'll find as you get older you find a lot of things you were taught just don't make sense to you. Question all you like until you find the answer that feels right. Seeking the truth doesn't make you evil. You may find you go full circle back to being a strong believer.

Answer 2

I once was told that it would take an eternity to fully understand the Bible.

I think it is easier to disbelieve than it is to believe. Especially from words and a culture that is very different from todays culture. Story telling and metaphors from the days of Jesus were very different than they are today and because scholars have translated the Bible over the years in attempts to desipher and learn from it, it's hard to say how much has been lost in translation. Their are a lot of superficial and shallow reasons why one should ignore the Bible but i've yet to hear any real intelligent, non bias arguments.

It has always appeared to me that the Bible is very poetic and more metaphorical than literal, even though their are very literal elements to the Bible.

I would encourage you to keep your mind open and continue to question and challenge everything and continue your research just to make sure you're not becoming a victim of your own bias and life experiences. We all are limited by our own psychologies and need to work hard at ensuring that we are not shutting out real possibilities that may even require emotional intelligence and instinct. Things like instince and learning the difference between instinct and desire are important.

No you have not suddenly become evil after reading the Bible, but you have identified some things that don't seem realistic based on your own sense of reality and life experiences and i urge you to continue your research and evaluation with an open mind.

Answer 3

You know it funny that you ask that question. I went through the same thing around in my early 20's ( I am now in my early 30's). I was trying to study the bible and I found so many questions that not even my pastor could answer. It seemed to me that there were more incoincidies, then anything making any since. I doubted my faith and soon became wiccan. After a few years of that I got tired of it as well. So I became Athesist. To believe nothing was there to question at all seemed the easiset route to me. And then something stranged happened. At first it was just like a whisper and then it became a loving cry. Come back to me child. Come back to me now. Under a compulsive instinct that I could no longer ignore I picked up my bible and began to read it again. My husband soon went to jail for a probation violation (driving while suspended). I was crushed. I was sucidal. But instead of cutting my wrist I sank to my knees and begged for God's help. I surrendered my life to him like I had never before had done. A peace came over me. Then suddenly things began to clear. The words and the stories made since. I started to go to church again. I became stonger in Christ. Then finally it was like my mind exploded with knowledge. How could I have been so dumb I wondered not to understand it...not to get his message. And then I understood. It was a learning process. Somthing I had to go throught to be taught. I had to be stripped to be made anew. I was blind and then when i became anew I could see. I am not kidding!!!! I hope you don't follow the same route as I did. But if that is the Lord's will for you I pray that he will never be far away and that you will learn faster then I---for it truelly was no fun.

Answer 4

You were born with sin nature, so NO you did not suddenly become anything.

You were born with a modicum of faith, and nature itself cries out that there is a creator.

I know you do not want to go back and re read the bible, but if you ever decide to, look first to the book of Romans Chapters one and two. They describe the very thing I just did, only a bit better than I have done it.

Why you do not believe is also addressed. Reading that particular book might be a huge help to you now that you are older and know what in particular that you are looking for.

As you feel led, look into some of the major stories of the bible, and re read them and use secular writings from the scientific arena addressing the very same stories, read views from pro and con writings and see where you are left feeling and thinking.

A very good magazine might be archeological review, it has some very interesting finds that do not always make mainstream media.

Answer 5

It seems as if you missed the whole point of scripture.

Not only are the stories (except for those which are intended as allegorical or as parables) absolutely true, they all fit together in a away that paints a literary picture of only one man, Jesus Christ.

The Gospels chronicle his words and deeds.

The scriptures which come after him explain who he is, what he accomplished, and what will happen next.

If it seems childish to you, perhaps so, but maybe you're just way smarter than the average person.

Simplicity doesn't change the truth of the matter, though.

At your age, there is still time to make the most of it, so get some qualified help and give it another go.

Drop me an email and I'll send you a free CD contaning stuff that's guaranteed to challenge even the most eminent scholars.

Answer 6

Dear J.R.,

No, you did not become evil after reading the Bible. I do not intend to be rude, but you and everyone else was wicked before they read the Bible. You see we are born in sin (rebellion to God). That is why you do not have to teach a child how to lie or disobey because it is in them from birth. You have to teach a child to do right, but even then they eill disobey. The Bible says, The wicked are estranged from the womb, they come forth speaking lies... The Lord says in Pslams 51:5, ...and in sin did my mother conceive me...
The Bible is completely true and trustworthy. But we do not like the things God says about us in the Bible, and particularly the penalty for disobeying the Lord! It is not palatable to most people because of our pride. There is a solution however, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. "For many are called, but few are chosen>"

Answer 7

I agree. I personally can't see how someone can read the Bible honestly and still be religious. There is some good wisdom in the Bible, and that's what most religious people dwell on. However, much of the Bible is quite bad and teaches harmful viewpoints. I think you would be more evil if you read the Bible and actually believed what it said uncritically.

Answer 8

I don't know that you became evil so much as just mislead. Sometimes you have to go through a state of godlessness to realize what you lost when you were following Him. The good thing is, if you decide to ever come back to God you simply need to pick up where you left Him as he is still waiting.

Answer 9

Anyone just reading the Bible doesn't mean that they will understand it. It says in the Bible that it is not for personal interpretation. Furthermore, Scripture was never meant to be a catechism to be taken by itself. In Old Testament days, people had the Traditions handed down by those who sat on the seat of Moses to interpret Scripture for the people.

Today, the Catholic Church is the interpreter of Scripture given to us by Jesus through His Apostles which are now the bishops of today. The seat of Moses was given by Jesus to Peter, and the current Pope is the successor to the office of Peter.

The Old Testament has to be read in the context of the New Testament and the New Testament has to be read in the context of the Old Testament. But, above all, the Bible has to be read in the context of the Church that it came from.

I suggest that you try reading what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about how to understand the Bible.

Answer 10

I don't think that it should make you evil..but personally I'm not religious because I don't believe 90% of what is in the bible. I believe there is a higher power so I'm not religious I'm spiritual. I think the bible has it's positives though because it does teach you moral responsibility but it also causes people to become overly judgmental fanatics. Don't get mad at me it's just MY opinion..