Sunday, August 14, 2011
I believed in the Bible before but can't anymore?
I'm not doubting the Bible because of evolution or because I don't want to serve God, but because there are just far too many internal inconsistencies in the Bible. Actually, the inconsistencies are nothing new, but in the past I could just rationalize it away. I even read and thought the apologists' explanations were sufficient, but as I found more inconsistencies, and not just the petty numerical ones you find on amateur sites, it became clear that apologists were just rationalizing things too. That apologists even said verses needed to be "harmonized", was an admission that the Bible can't be trusted to mean what it actually says. If a verse clearly says A, then it's simply dishonest to force it to mean B just to "harmonize" it with another verse, as with the different geneologies of Jesus in Matthew and Luke. Unless it's been objectively proven, you have to ume a verse means what it says, otherwise it's all speculation. Many of the messianic prophecies are also clearly just typological patterns taken out of their original historical context, like Isaiah 7:14, which refers to King Ahaz of Judah being threatened by his enemies. Even if you don't have any pre-existing bias against the Bible, why would a sign 700 years in the future be of any use to King Ahaz? Or if you use the dual prophecy argument, how could there have been another virgin birth 700 years before Jesus, uming virgin is the correct translation? I don't feel like there is anywhere for me to turn to get the complete truth. Since the Bible is the cause of my doubts, reading scripture probably is going to do more harm than good. Nor will praying to God for answers, unless God gives me external confirmation like a miraculous sign. I'm not looking for inner feelings of peace or joy after praying as confirmation, as I know that those are untrustworthy and can be experienced by believers of other religions too.
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