Non-Christians Can’t Understand the Bible but They Should Read it Anyway

found online by Raymond

 
From The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser:

Evangelical number one says to an unbeliever, you need to read the Bible. Within its pages you will find the good news of the gospel. Through this message you will find the forgiveness of sins and life eternal — that is, if God decrees it to be so and you haven’t committed the unpardonable sin.

Evangelical number two says to an unbeliever, the natural (non-Christian) people cannot understand the things of God (the Bible) because they are spiritually discerned. Since non-Christians are dead in trespasses and sins and the Holy Spirit does not live inside them, they cannot understand the Bible. Unless God gives non-Christians ears to hear and eyes to see, they are unable to discern and comprehend the only supernatural book ever written, the Bible.

Confused?

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One thought on “Non-Christians Can’t Understand the Bible but They Should Read it Anyway”

  1. Gerencser should have used a religion instead of Harry Potter in that last analogy. If a Christian can get away with saying that non-Christians can’t understand the Bible, a Muslim should be able to get away with telling that Christian that he can’t understand the Quran. Like Pascal’s Wager, this argument gets people nowhere because its use isn’t restricted to one religion.

    I would add one very important point to this piece: the most important parts of the Bible are the supernatural claims, which do not require any unusual ability, divine or otherwise, to understand.

    What would Christianity be without the tales of Adam and Eve, Noah’s ark, walking on water, feeding thousands with a bit of bread and fish, Lazarus and Jesus rising from the dead, the book of Revelation, Heaven and Hell, and everything else that establishes the power, wisdom, goodness, and very existence of this god? It would just be a collection of family trees, songs of praise, dubious histories, and strange rules. There might be some wise statements and advice, but nothing so profound that non-Christians couldn’t reach the same conclusions through simple reasoning and experience. No, without the supernatural, there isn’t much incentive to care about the Bible except as a curiosity.

    So when I say that I can’t accept the Bible, it’s not because I lack the divine power to interpret it such that there are no inconsistencies or mistakes. It’s because I see no reason to accept its most fundamental premises. And it’s no surprise that those who do accept them are able to accept everything else–and accuse everyone who doesn’t of “just not getting it.”

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