I was once a Christian that would let the preacher pick out verses in church, but then one day I actually read the bible from front to back (KJV, one of the oldest) and low and behold the truth came to me......it's all just a fairy tale...boy was I embarrassed.
2006-11-01 03:26:54 · 36 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
You answered your own question. They go to church and have it spoon fed to them.
2006-11-01 03:46:59 · answer #1 · answered by riverstorm13 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
While not every Christian reads the entire Bible, it the percentage that do read it cover to cover is a whole lot higher that 1%. As part of my church, our men's menoring group (about 60 men from the about 150 families that attend) for the last five years have all committed to read through the entire book each year. Many other Christians do the same. So your assumption in the question is off base.
Plus I am equally sure from my pre-Christians days that the number of atheist who have read the whole book is considerable lower that 99%. I know I never did during that time. So again, your assumption is off base.
I can also introduce you to people who were atheist, such as my pastor, but were converted by reading the Bible. He often tells about how he was challenged to read the Bible, so he went out and shoplifted a newer version. When he actually started to read it, he was surprised by many of the things he found in it. He had expected nothing but condemnation and judgement, and instead saw love, forgiveness and a second chance. Convinced that he had a "bogus" Bible, he went back and shoplifted a KJV instead. When it said the same thing, he converted. So not everyone who read the Bible decides it is a fairy tale. Some have the intelligence to believe it.
2006-11-01 03:40:32 · answer #2 · answered by dewcoons 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
So, if the government should not govern morality, then you see nothing wrong with a guy training his dog to mount his wife and have sex. After all, the dog would be willing, the woman willing, the man willing... in their eyes it's moral. So, what would be the problem? It's their personal lives. No one has the right to interfere right? Sorry, but the people of a society decide what rules and morals a society should have, and this should be based on what the majority of the people in a society believe, INCLUDING religious beliefs. Add: If the people involved did NOT involve other people, there wouldn't be a problem. The moment you say that homosexual marriage is approved by the society, then the society as a whole needs to adjust as if it is. Now, this isn't a problem to you because you don't have a problem with homosexual marriage. It's a problem to me because I do. This is why if someone tries to push for something like bestiality being allowable, it doesn't affect just that small group of people. It affects the society since the children will be told that this is not an immoral act, no matter what your parents say, as defined by the society. If someone pushes for polygamy to be allowable, it doesn't affect just that group, it affects the entire society. That's why morals are defined by the people of the society. That's how it works. And like it or leave it, religious folk are part of the society. And those who don't agree with the laws and morals laid by a society either push to have them changed or live on the fringe. And trying to remove religion from the laws is basically the same as trying to remove the right for people to vote as they see fit, and is NO better than one religion setting the morals for a society. Add: Again, you don't get it. What you do in your life DOES affect me if you expect the society to legally agree that what you are doing is moral. If the population of the society agrees that it's moral, then there is no problem. If the population of the society does NOT agree it's moral, then you are forcing your morals on the society. You can't have it both ways. If it's just a matter of "let them do what they want" then most people don't care. How many laws are there saying sodomy is against the law anymore? But it's not. If it's just a matter of "they deserve legal rights" then again, it's more easily passed and passing much more because society as a whole agrees. But it's NOT. Even when given legal rights, homosexuals don't want it, they want marriage, BECAUSE it would imply that society agrees that it's not immoral. And that societal acceptance extends to everything from schools to adoption agencies (if a church is running an adoption agency, and they believe a homosexual couple is not as good as a heterosexual couple, they should have the right to restrict that adoption. But if society makes laws saying you can't, then the morals of the church would have to either adjust or be forced to comply with the morals of the society.) No man is an island. No matter what you might believe, your actions affect others, even when you don't think they should.
2016-05-23 02:51:47 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Where are you getting your numbers from? They're a little exaggerated, if you ask me, considering I used to date an Atheist who had never read anything besides the "Love Chapter" in Corthinians and who would quote "Turn the other cheek" ad nauseum.
I agree that too little Christians have actually dug deep into the Word of God. If they had, perhaps the church would be less divided on important topics and they would be a little stronger in everyday life.
But I disagree with your stats and I am a little unclear as to why you added the bit below it when it really isn't pertaining specifically to the question. I'm even more sorry that you were disillusioned and that your pastor didn't do his job, in your eyes. There's a difference between being active in your faith and cruising by on just fumes... Sounds to me, sorry to say, that you were doing the latter in order for you to be just low and beholdin' the Truth and for you to think it was just a fairytale.
2006-11-01 08:59:01 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
the better question is why don't either perform the proper exegesis necessary to understand the words of the Bible.
Neither understand that there are certain barriers that must be overcome if we are to understand the words of the Bible (first and foremost being that we have to understand the WORDS literally and grammatically).
1. Chronological Gap: We didn't live when the people of the Bible lived, so we have to bridge this gap with outside study and a little bit of historical application
2. Cultural Gap: We don't share many of the cultural quirks that the Bible characters had. To not understand the culture that the Bible is written in is to not see the background set of a play.
3. Language Gap: Most of us don't speak greek, hebrew, chaldean, or aramaic. That could be a problem, seeing as how the English translations (while most are accurate) cannot fully express how a word is used in the context of its original language.
4. Geographical Gap: Most of us haven't been to areas like Rome, Palestine, or Egypt. To understand the implications of the Bible, it is important to understand the geographical are that it takes place in.
I dunno. I guess i dove a little more into this question than i should have. The answer is simple: Christianity is riddled with hypocrasy and superficiality, and for that, i am truly sorry.
2006-11-01 03:34:16 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋
While I applaud your decision to read it for yourself and respect your opinion that it is a fairy tale,I disagree. Many things that seem to be contradictions are truly not. i am a Christian who has read the whole bible and I still read often to make sure I am not missing something in the word. i am very happy with my faith and I do not let anyone tell me what any verse means as i do not believe anyone is 100% correct and I would rather make my own mistakes than believe someone else's simply because I was not considered intelligent enough to read and comprehend on my own.
2006-11-01 03:32:40 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
My best guess is that you didn't do very well in reading and comprehension in school. Because if you actually did read a bible all the way through you would know and understand that it is all the truth. One more thing there is no such thing as an atheist an agnostic maybe but not an atheist. Good Luck your going to need it.
2006-11-01 03:36:46 · answer #7 · answered by mary3127 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
There's only three kinds of lies:
1. Lies
2. Darn Lies
3. Statistics
I have read the Bible through several times, and I find it to be the truth. You are entitled to your opinion also, but that does not make my opinion less valid.
2006-11-01 03:45:12 · answer #8 · answered by Char 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is it true? Has a survey been done to prove 99% of Atheist have read the Bible?
2006-11-01 08:19:22 · answer #9 · answered by linniepooh 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well... That again is a matter of opinion... Cause I was also a Christian... But don't quite beleive in what it says... But I'm not a total Atheist either... And though it may seem to be a fairy tale, remember when the thing was written... And who all wrote it... They all have different oppinions of God... But that doesn't mean it's a fairytale... But I can understand where you are coming from on this subject...
2006-11-01 03:33:29 · answer #10 · answered by Shadow 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Generalizations are generally false.
Do you ignore the fact that many, many Christians not only read the Bible, but devote time to STUDY it?
You say you were "once a Christian". Does this mean that you opened your heart and your mind and accepted the love and mercy of the one true God into your life? That you accepted salvation thru His Son, Jesus? The sad thing is that many people who were "raised christian" are about as far away from God as atheists.
2006-11-01 03:32:07 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 1⤋