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by Artemus on September 15th, 2009
In my opinion, most Christians approach the bible in a far more bigoted way than most atheists. Christians KNOW they are right, while Atheists admit there is much they don't know.
by fantasy child on September 12th, 2009
I know GOD is real, before I read the bible, based on my parents beliefs.. as I read the bible I learn they are correct..
by Phillis - Zacks little sister on September 16th, 2009
I have nothing against Athiests, but this is like comparing apples to oranges. Christians DO read the Bible, then suss out what they believe and don't believe. That's what Sunday school is for....teaching Bible verses and such. I don't often hear of Athiests who do, although there are a few who converted after becoming disappointed/disillusioned with their religion.
I've said it before on AB, and I'll say it again. I'm so disappointed in my Christian peers! The hate and blatant disrespect for fellow human beings spewing forth like a never-ending font has hurt my heart on more than one occasion. Mr.Josh, your saying you've been "accused" is merely one incident in thousands that plainly demonstrates that this "Christian" approach DOES NOT WORK.
At what point did Christians decide that, if they could just be NASTY enough, they might win an argument, or convert a soul? Come on, guys.....God wants a THINKING Christian, not a hapless sheep. +5
by true love conquers all on September 12th, 2009
well i was raised catholic and i always believed that the bible is true.
by Trissinger on September 16th, 2009
That's a fair question MrJosh. (And thanks for asking it respectfully.)
I decided through a long process of questioning it and my faith, in a reasoned way. (Bible school; does what's taught in the Holy Writ 'work' in real life; seen tons of miracles; on and on like this, for me.)
I've read the Bible through from cover to cover at least 4 times now.
(Not that I claim to be any kind of 'definitive authority' on the topic, but having at least read what one claims to believe IS, usually, at least a good start!) ...
(+4)
by Moongrim on September 13th, 2009
They accuse you of what they themselves are guilty of.
Apparently we're supposed to read the bible with the same 'spirit' of gullibility as they do.
Never mind that 2 billion christians all read the bible and darn near come up with thousands of differing interpretations.
by my2cents--Vote for Paul on September 16th, 2009
Most yes. Many started reading to prove it wrong but something happened along the way. And they began to believe. My former preacher was that way, he did not believe until he researched and every point he thought of he found in the Bible.
by ScienceSwamy on September 13th, 2009
That is the only way one could EVER believe in Bible!
It starts falling apart from the first page:
Day 1: God 'made' light, calling it the day.
Day 3: Plant vegetation appeared without sunlight!
Day 4: God 'made' sun ('greater light' to govern the day) and moon ('lesser light' to govern the night) and also stars (no particular reason).
Q: Where did the 'daylight' come from on Days-1-2-3?
(A: God's shiny fragrant arse!)
Obviously god knew less of light than Newton & Einstein!
(But He 'must' have inspired them to know the truth, while He told a different, less pertinent Truth
to Jesus Christ!) Bah, humbug!
by autumn leaves on September 23rd, 2009
as a christian, it has taken me some time to research the bible before i could make the decision of its validity. i have never accepted bible truths simply because they were told to me, but have always verified my convictions through indepth personal study.
by Kensum1 on September 18th, 2009
Well the bible was wrote by man and has been changed many times over the course of history.
But most christians have not even read the bible.
by Thinker on September 16th, 2009
The Old Testament of the Bible is the setting up of the way of life and struggles of the Hebrews and the laws they lived by. It is in effect their history. Various people show up with various writings giving different situations during these thousands of years of history, wars, being conqured, set free etc. Then there are the prophets that tell more bits and pieces of the story of the Old Testament.
The New Testament has the four gospels that tell of the life of Jesus the Christ then a group of letters mainly written by Paul to various congregations around the areas he preached and taught in.
The Bible is very true in its original state but unfortunitly we have none of the original. The entire Christian belief system is based upon the various books of the Bible as a guide line. To understand the Bible you must understand the reasoning behind it and take it in its entireity not in segments.
I hope this helps for you to know the Bible in and of itself is true but too many Christian and non-Christian try to make more of it than it is. I am a Christian and through many years of reading and study I think I pretty well know the Bible as a book of a people. And yes I have read it many times.
by Elfie on September 16th, 2009
I'm not a Christian, but I will answer based on what I have experienced as I've grown up.
There are a large number of Christians who simply believe. They do not read the Bible to make this choice. They believe because their parents believed (as answers to your question will confirm). The only bible verses they know are the main ones and whatever was brought up in church the last time the happened to go there.
I had large arguements with people as I was growing up because I had read more of the bible than the majority of the "Christian" people who spent their time condemning me and often was able to poke holes in their arguements.
There are people who have their faith cemented by what is in the bible, but there are also a large number of people following the faith blindly without having sat down and read the book they preach.
by PhileoTruth on September 15th, 2009
Valid question and thank you. +4
I did not become a Christian until I was an adult. (I did not grow up religious.) Even then, once I came into the faith, I wanted to ensure that I was following the right faith and to make sure that no one was going to seduce me into anything cult-like. I became a student of the Bible and its history for a solid five years. Almost exclusively for five years, I read the Bible and supporting materials to help explain it historically and interpret it.
From my study of the Bible, I saw that it is internally consistent and verifiable as a historical document. I had to prove to myself that it stands as the source of truth, because I did not want to be religious for the sake of being religious. I had to know for myself that I could trust it-- especially because it was now going to inform how I would live the rest of my life. If my skepticism (even as a young Christian) had not been put to ease, then I would have doubted whether or not I was actually a Christian.
To answer your question-- I had to convince myself through study if it was true. Thankfully, I found that it was.
Good question. Very earnest. Thank you.
by guardian on September 15th, 2009
great question +2
yes... but still great question...a lot of time we get into something that we don't really know about, or we just say ...ummm yeah i believe... but look deep inside and you will find out if you really believe or just thought you did.
by Anonymous on September 13th, 2009
no. as a kid i was very skeptical and honestly didn't believe a word of it. after reading it i found some faith and as i grew older i became more faithful.
by Mr. Black on September 13th, 2009
The memes associated with religion run deep.
by Cowboy-Matter of Fact on September 12th, 2009
That's like asking if you decided you would get hungry before you became so.
by Wind in the Willow on October 27th, 2009
You have to prove God doesn't exist. Can you do that? How can you be an athiest? You are merely ignorant.
by Kagekyuubi on September 16th, 2009
Nice turnaround. I can tell you make for a fun conversationalist. I'd have to say that a lot of people are like that. If their friends or heroes say it's true then for them it's got to be true. It really annoys me when someone actually tries to use that as proof of something being true.
by RSean on September 16th, 2009
Great question. I am a Christian and was raised that way. Last year I read the bible. The one that has it organized and broke it into days. Very interesting. My mom is VERY religious. I have asked her the same question you have asked. When she talks of other religions, etc I ask her if she has read or studying other religions, etc. How does one really know if they have not looked at all sides?
by MyGiveaDamnsBusted on September 16th, 2009
Sweetheart, you need to ask the specific Christians that asked you that in the first place. Not all Christians are the same and have the same beliefs. Or for that matter would even care about what you thought about the Bible or not.
by Tom on September 16th, 2009
That's a fair question. I would imagine that most people would believe in the truth of the Bible before they decide to read it because it is a long text and it takes most people a year to read it if they read it a little at a time. If you don't believe in the truth in the Bible, then I wouldn't imagine you would put yourself through this great effort unless you were very curious. I do agree with the part that is is hard to be totally committed to Christianity before reading the Bible. I've been a believer all my life, but once I read the Bible, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that I had made the right decision. Now that I have read throught the Bible a few times, I am taking the time to study it in more detail because there is so much in there that helps me live my life to the fullest, and I want to take full advantage of all this wisdom.
by thatsJustme on September 16th, 2009
i guess you can say that...really was never a question though...when sitting down to read it, my objective was to UNDERSTAND it and God...and to always REASON...for there is a REASON , a MESSAGE, for every single verse and story...
so, outlook is the whole key...and many ,many,many never UNDERSTAND HIM....even the Bible thumpers.(as they are called)
by Anonymous on September 16th, 2009
I do not have to read the bible to believe it, I believe in God and thats it. If you do not believe in one thing that is fine, totally your decision.
by Millenium - The Mysterious M. . . GONE! on September 16th, 2009
Yes!
by ladyshakespeare on September 16th, 2009
why must we create war among ourselves. Do people on either sde of this arguement ever get the friggin idea of "there is more than one way to live" NOOOOOOO, you have to be right at whatever the cost is. If someone wants to worship Jesus, let them. if others wanna worship jenna Jameson, let them. its none of your friggin business what someone else believes. Stp trying to prove yourself right by trying to make someone else look wrong. This is juvenile BULLSHIT!!!!
by Anonymous on September 16th, 2009
thats true,people give merit blindly,like theres something wrong with questioning what you think you know...like expecting all cops to be cops and not dudes pretending to be cops so they can screw you over...
by Jesus_Saves on September 18th, 2009
God revealed Himself to me long before I started studying the Bible. All I know how to say is that I begged forgiveness, and my eyes were spiritually opened. I fell in love with Jesus, I became totally consumed with reading the Bible,and the words were just popping off the page because God was literally talking to me through His Word.
Before I got saved, the Bible was incredibly boring, and I wondered how much was really true. Now though, God's Spirit inside me confirms that the Bible is true, and I adore reading it.
by Parepidemos on March 7th, 2010
No I didn't. I didn't own a Bible nor did I actually sit down and read one until after I became a Christian. I learned of Jesus Christ and His Salvation through other books and my Christian friends from work. As I stated above, it wasn't until I became born-again that I began to read the Bible in earnest and most everything I read seemed to make sense and accepted it as truth. There were parts of Scripture that I had a problem with but through prayer, study, and a lot of questions, I got the difficulties settled.
by TheJoker on October 27th, 2009
Seems a fair comment..... & if you wanted to expand upon it you could ask them if they read all the major religious books before concluding which was correct.
by Anonymous on October 27th, 2009
Its called atttacking where you are weak. Christians and Republicans are good at it.
Is there a study guide along with"Know the Bible in 30 Days"?
by Answerbag Staff on July 11th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
What year did ronald knox publish the new testament?
by Answerbag Staff on July 6th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
Who publishes the new King James Bible?
by Answerbag Staff on June 14th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
Christians, does the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) still apply and still matter today? This is a follow up of my first question.
by Parepidemos on January 14th, 2012
| 2 people like this
Is there anywhere I can get audio of the King James Bible with an Australian narrator?
by AussieMe on January 12th, 2012
| 1 person likes this
You're reading As an Atheist, I am often accused by Christians of having made up my mind about the bible before I read it, so I ask Christians: Have you already decided that the bible is true before you sit down to read it?
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Comments
On AB at least, the opposite seems to be true. Most Athiests are convinced they are right. Not arguing, just making a point. You can see it all over the pages here.
by Phillis - Zacks little sister on September 16th, 2009
Many atheists are convinced they are right, others are not. You will always get some Christians saying atheists are wrong, and some atheists saying Christians are wrong. These are only small minorities of each group, as you can also find discussions on answerbag where neither atheists nor Christians are saying the other is completely and utterly wrong.
by LeopoldClanner on September 16th, 2009
Phillis: I think that depends on your perspective. I'll bet many Ateists here on AB would argue the opposite. Most likely, reality probably falls somewhere in the middle.
by MrJosh on September 16th, 2009
You're probably right about that, Mr.Josh.
by Phillis - Zacks little sister on September 16th, 2009