₦airaland Forum

If you buy the Bible and never read it, you will probably become a catholic.

If you buy the Bible and only read what suits you, you will become a Pentecostal and then lie that the Holy Spirit directed you.

If you read buy a Bible and allow someone else to interpret it for you, you will become a normal Christian.

If you buy the Bible, read it, analyze it, reason it, research it, you will become an atheist.

I have read the Bible from Genesis 1 to revelation 22 thrice, ponder on it, looked correlations with reality, thought about all the contradictions and incoherence without bias I ended concluding that this book is like any other history book with exaggerations.

The funniest thing is that most people will tell you that you need the holy spirit for understanding, this is a subtly way of telling you that you shouldn’t read the Bible with you brain.

Because......?

The bible is the reference book for all religions. They study to know what to avoid to stay alive

So True

Haven't you heard that even the devil can quote scriptures.
The Bible is just like a reference book for every religion.

ATHEISTS don't know the BIBLE. They're trained to oppose THE TRUTH. AND ATHEISTS KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE SPIRITS, THE LIGHT, THE GOOD & BAD, ABOUT LIFE. THE HEART, THE SOUL, THE MIND , THE FLESH IN THE BODIES AND THEIR SHADOWS REFLECTED WHENEVER THERE'S ILLUMINATION AROUND. ALL ATHEISTS SUFFER CJD.

If you read the Bible foolishly, blindly, and ignorantly, proudly, carnally, you could become a Pharisee, a Sadducee, an atheist, etc.

If you read the Bible wisely, humbly, sincerely, with help of the Spirit of God, revealing the Truth and the mysteries of the Kingdom of God to you, you would know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free. And if the Son of man sets you free, you shall be free indeed.

The knowledge of God/the Truth can only be revealed by God, so if you like read the Bible from now til the day you die, if God doesn't reveal that knowledge to you, you'd never know the Truth but only remain and die in your ignorance!

May you not perish in your ignorance of the Truth.

Now say amen to that prayer.

ATHEISTS don't know the BIBLE. They're trained to oppose THE TRUTH. AND ATHEISTS KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE SPIRITS, THE LIGHT, THE GOOD & BAD, ABOUT LIFE. THE HEART, THE SOUL, THE MIND , THE FLESH IN THE BODIES AND THEIR SHADOWS REFLECTED WHENEVER THERE'S ILLUMINATION AROUND. ALL ATHEISTS SUFFER CJD.

ATHEISTS DON'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEN, NOW AND LATER AND THEIR CONTENTS.

ATHEISTS don't know the BIBLE. They're trained to oppose THE TRUTH. AND ATHEISTS KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE SPIRITS, THE LIGHT, THE GOOD & BAD, ABOUT LIFE. THE HEART, THE SOUL, THE MIND , THE FLESH IN THE BODIES AND THEIR SHADOWS REFLECTED WHENEVER THERE'S ILLUMINATION AROUND. ALL ATHEISTS SUFFER CJD.

ATHEISTS DON'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEN, NOW AND LATER AND THEIR CONTENTS.

ATHEISTS ARE SUPERSTITIONS.

ATHEISTS DON'T KNOW THE BIBLE. STOP INSINUATING NONSENSE YOU fatherofBarabas.

FatherOfJesus:
If you buy the Bible and never read it, you will probably become a catholic.

If you buy the Bible and only read what suits you, you will become a Pentecostal and then lie that the Holy Spirit directed you.

If you read buy a Bible and allow someone else to interpret it for you, you will become a normal Christian.

If you buy the Bible, read it, analyze it, reason it, research it, you will become an atheist.

I have read the Bible from Genesis 1 to revelation 22 thrice, ponder on it, looked correlations with reality, thought about all the contradictions and incoherence without bias I ended concluding that this book is like any other history book with exaggerations.

The funniest thing is that most people will tell you that you need the holy spirit for understanding, this is a subtly way of telling you that you shouldn’t read the Bible with you brain.

lol you forget to write "do more research on the original Jewish tradition and the other books removed from the Bible"

FatherOfJesus:
If you buy the Bible and never read it, you will probably become a catholic.

Why Catholic? There are many people who didn't attend a mass in catholic, and some who converted from catholic to other denomination, and still dry. Mind you, I am.not a catholic.

If you buy the Bible and only read what suits you, you will become a Pentecostaland then lie that the Holy Spirit directed you.

You are right ONLY when you remove the crossed out phrase. You do not have to be a pentecostal before you lie the Holy Spirit directs you..

If you read buy a Bible and allow someone else to interpret it for you, you will become a normal Christian.

I agree with you based on your definition of christianity. But really, the real definition of christianity is "personal relationship with God through Christ Jesus". When you apply this definition, you see that the normal christian will study it with others, and not allow others interpret it for him. A normal christian is a researcher. But your definition and the world's definition of christianity has been distorted.

What you have described is a normal religious fellow. Let me help you. This is what you should have written:
If you read buy a Bible and allow someone else to interpret it for you, you will become a normal religious person.

If you buy the Bible, read it, analyze it, reason it, research it, you will become an atheist.

You became an atheist because you dived in wrongly. Listen to me, everything you described above is almost true except the corrections I made. Guy, you are almost correct that there are strange things in the book. Now, let me ask you, why not Quran? The Bible is powerful. You almost got it right, but you missed it. Relax bro! I am happy you are still alive. I still do not get it why Athiests do not talk about Quran. Maybe cos it is a less powerful book. Or athiests are afraid of being slaughtered? Hmmmm! Well! I leave readers to judge that.

I have read the Bible from Genesis 1 to revelation 22 thrice, ponder on it, looked correlations with reality, thought about all the contradictions and incoherence without bias I ended concluding that this book is like any other history book with exaggerations.

You are not 100% right, the correct way to say it is that there seems to be contradictions and incoherence in what we have (infact the enemies tried hard even through King James and many others, but God is God, and secret things belong to Him. He chooses whoever to reveal them to).

Guy, let me ask you...how many have masters degree, not to talk of PhD. Why do you call it a research? Guy, you haven't gotten it right yet. And out of the very few PhD holders, how many get grants for their researches? Start thinking bro. "Oh! You can think deeply....start thinking deeper now".

The funniest thing is that most people will tell you that you need the holy spirit for understanding, this is a subtly way of telling you that you shouldn’t read the Bible with you brain.

What qualify a researcher to get millions of dollars grant while many others are busy engaging in strikes for non payment of salary in Nigeria? O boy! Start thinking. Of course you need your brain while reading the Bible...without your brain how can you get it? Guy, you have tried to define those who told you this, but I have corrected you.

The clue to what you missed is in the bolded phrases above. Let me advise you, leave all the categories of people you have mentioned. If you had applied the wisdom of the Bible, you wouldn't have even mentioned them. It is why you must be a researcher who is very attentive and receptive before you get it right.

Let me give you an example: Bible says narrow is the way to eternal life, and broad is the way to death. This is the part you should have applied here..when you apply it you know that there are too many people who speak rubbish and say the ways to death. So why would you listen to them? You need to find people who are on that narrow way. Unfortunately, you even engage these empty barrels in debate, and you likely always win and feel good. Lol. You are hurting no one, but yourself more.

Guy, it is very true you need the Holy Spirit to really understand it, but you need your head too.

Why don't you politely list out the areas that have confused you, and trust me, out of many useless answers you will get, when you listen attentively, you will get the right answer even here. Trust me....do it. You need to be specific and not just muddle everything up. Talk about the scenarios which are inconsistent and listen. Yeah! You will get useless answers, but just listen attentively. Please, look at the underlined word. Be polite. When you asked mockingly, you will not get it.

Goodluck bro!

The highlighted reminds me of what God told Daniel:
Please seal this book my friend because it was not written for your generation to comprehend what is written in it, many will strive to understand it but due to the wickedness in their in their hearts they will never grasp anything out of it, but you don't bother just go to your grave in peace, when it's time for faithful ones to get the benefits of what you're writing you will be brought back to life to receive your own portion! Daniel 12:8-13

Jesus didn't just send out his disciples to distribute those words you read my friend, they are to TEACH you what is written in it {Matthew 28:20} so the spirit of understanding was released upon certain individuals {Act 2:16-18 compare to Joel 2:28} Jesus is the word of God {John 1:1} meaning this young Jew existed before the earth {John 8:58} so if Jesus' true followers didn't connect you to this wonderful counselor {Isaiah 9:6} (who speaks in parables) how are you going to read and understand what he conveyed to the inspired writers in our book? Matthew 13:13

FatherOfJesus:
If you buy the Bible and never read it, you will probably become a catholic.

If you buy the Bible and only read what suits you, you will become a Pentecostal and then lie that the Holy Spirit directed you.

If you read buy a Bible and allow someone else to interpret it for you, you will become a normal Christian.

If you buy the Bible, read it, analyze it, reason it, research it, you will become an atheist.

I have read the Bible from Genesis 1 to revelation 22 thrice, ponder on it, looked correlations with reality, thought about all the contradictions and incoherence without bias I ended concluding that this book is like any other history book with exaggerations.

The funniest thing is that most people will tell you that you need the holy spirit for understanding, this is a subtly way of telling you that you shouldn’t read the Bible with you brain.

Most were good Christians before they stopped believing in God due to unanswered prayers or one thing or the other

orisa37:
ATHEISTS DON'T KNOW THE BIBLE. STOP INSINUATING NONSENSE YOU fatherofBarabas.

They absolutely do more than millions self acclaimed christians. I'm a christian, and I know what I am saying. Goodluck sir.

PeaceJoyLove:
Why Catholic? There are many people who didn't attend a mass in catholic, and some who converted from catholic to other denomination, and still dry. Mind you, I am.not a catholic.


You are right ONLY when you remove the crossed out phrase. You do not have to be a pentecostal before you lie the Holy Spirit directs you..


I agree with you based on your definition of christianity. But really, the real definition of christianity is "personal relationship with God through Christ Jesus". When you apply this definition, you see that the normal christian will study it with others, and not allow others interpret it for him. A normal christian is a researcher. But your definition and the world's definition of christianity has been distorted.

What you have described is a normal religious fellow. Let me help you. This is what you should have written:
If you read buy a Bible and allow someone else to interpret it for you, you will become a normal religious person.


You became an atheist because you dived in wrongly. Listen to me, everything you described above is almost true except the corrections I made. Guy, you are almost correct that there are strange things in the book. Now, let me ask you, why not Quran? The Bible is powerful. You almost got it right, but you missed it. Relax bro! I am happy you are still alive. I still do not get it why Athiests do not talk about Quran. Maybe cos it is a less powerful book. Or athiests are afraid of being slaughtered? Hmmmm! Well! I leave readers to judge that.


You are not 100% right, the correct way to say it is that there seems to be contradictions and incoherence in what we have (infact the enemies tried hard even through King James and many others, but God is God, and secret things belong to Him. He chooses whoever to reveal them to).

Guy, let me ask you...how many have masters degree, not to talk of PhD. Why do you call it a research? Guy, you haven't gotten it right yet. And out of the very few PhD holders, how many get grants for their researches? Start thinking bro. "Oh! You can think deeply....start thinking deeper now".


What qualify a researcher to get millions of dollars grant while many others are busy engaging in strikes for non payment of salary in Nigeria? O boy! Start thinking. Of course you need your brain while reading the Bible...without your brain how can you get it? Guy, you have tried to define those who told you this, but I have corrected you.

The clue to what you missed is in the bolded phrases above. Let me advise you, leave all the categories of people you have mentioned. If you had applied the wisdom of the Bible, you wouldn't have even mentioned them. It is why you must be a researcher who is very attentive and receptive before you get it right.

Let me give you an example: Bible says narrow is the way to eternal life, and broad is the way to death. This is the part you should have applied here..when you apply it you know that there are too many people who speak rubbish and say the ways to death. So why would you listen to them? You need to find people who are on that narrow way. Unfortunately, you even engage these empty barrels in debate, and you likely always win and feel good. Lol. You are hurting no one, but yourself more.

Guy, it is very true you need the Holy Spirit to really understand it, but you need your head too.

Why don't you politely list out the areas that have confused you, and trust me, out of many useless answers you will get, when you listen attentively, you will get the right answer even here. Trust me....do it. You need to be specific and not just muddle everything up. Talk about the scenarios which are inconsistent and listen. Yeah! You will get useless answers, but just listen attentively. Please, look at the underlined word. Be polite. When you asked mockingly, you will not get it.

Goodluck bro!

atleast you got message

chuksville:
Haven't you heard that even the devil can quote scriptures.
The Bible is just like a reference book for every religion.

That's why atheists go a long way to refute Christians using the bible but Christians can hardly refute atheists using empirical and scientific methods

He is the hearer of prayer {Psalms 65:2} He will never ever forsake the plea of His loyal ones {Luke 11:11} no matter what they ask according to His will HE WILL GRANT! 1John 5:14

But the big question is this:
How many are those seeking to know his will?
Billions are praying in CONTRARY to God's will that's why Jesus never commanded us to pray for them {John 17:8-9} rather we are to TEACH them God's will {Proverbs 28:9} and that is what will guide them to know what He wants for them not just their individual selfish wants! Psalms 119:36

EmekaBlue:
Most were good Christians before they stopped believing in God due to unanswered prayers or one thing or the other

MaxInDHouse:
The highlighted reminds me of what God told Daniel:
Please seal this book my friend because it was not written for your generation to comprehend what is written in it, many will strive to understand it but due to the wickedness in their in their hearts they will never grasp anything out of it, but you don't bother just go to your grave in peace, when it's time for faithful ones to get the benefits of what you're writing you will be brought back to life to receive your own portion! Daniel 12:8-13

Jesus didn't just send out his disciples to distribute those words you read my friend, they are to TEACH you what is written in it {Matthew 28:20} so the spirit of understanding was released upon certain individuals {Act 2:16-18 compare to Joel 2:28} Jesus is the word of God {John 1:1} meaning this young Jew existed before the earth {John 8:58} so if Jesus' true followers didn't connect you to this wonderful counselor {Isaiah 9:6} (who speaks in parables) how are you going to read and understand what he conveyed to the inspired writers in our book? Matthew 13:13

If the Bible is that difficult to understand, people like you won’t get it

FatherOfJesus:
That's why atheists go along way to refute Christians using the bible bur Christians can hardly refute atheists using empirical and scientific methods

lol one best answers I have seen in a long time.i believe no mam will read the Bible from cover to cover and remain the same. it same which made me realize this quote, in searching for the truth, you will find something more.

The Bible is THEN, NOW AND LATER.

THE BIBLE IS LIGHT, GOOD, LIFE, FAITH HOPE PEACE AND LOVE.

THE BIBLE IS ENDTIME AND NEW JERUSALEMS

THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD, JESUS CHRIST, THE RIGHTEOUS.

THE BIBLE IS INFALLIBLE.

ATHEISTS DON'T KNOW THE BIBLE. THE MOMENT THEY KNOW THE BIBLE LIKE THE
LEAST IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, CHRISTIANS, THEY BECOME REAL AND KNOW GOD.

ATHEISTS DON'T KNOW THE BIBLE IF THEY DON'T KNOW GOD. FOR IF THEY KNOW GOD, THEY'LL KNOW THAT THEY'RE JESUSES, ANOINTED LORDS, TO GOD.

JESUS IS THE LORD.

ATHEISTS DON'T KNOW THE BIBLE AT ALL.

The Bible is THEN, NOW AND LATER.

THE BIBLE IS LIGHT, GOOD, LIFE, FAITH HOPE PEACE AND LOVE.

THE BIBLE IS ENDTIME AND NEW JERUSALEMS

THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD, JESUS CHRIST, THE RIGHTEOUS.

THE BIBLE IS INFALLIBLE.

ATHEISTS DON'T KNOW THE BIBLE. THE MOMENT THEY KNOW THE BIBLE LIKE THE
LEAST IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, CHRISTIANS, THEY BECOME REAL AND KNOW GOD.

ATHEISTS DON'T KNOW THE BIBLE IF THEY DON'T KNOW GOD. FOR IF THEY KNOW GOD, THEY'LL KNOW THAT THEY'RE JESUSES, ANOINTED LORDS, TO GOD.

JESUS IS THE LORD.

I've tried to read and understand on my own but all to no avail so i prayed to God to help me out and He began sending His servants (JWs) to me.
Of course i argued with them due to the things i was having in my heart as doctrines until i began considering their persistence then i started listening with suspicion.
When i discovered the efficacy and consistency in handling this book i asked them "Is it a must that i also preach and teach people like this?" they both looked at each other and reluctantly one of them asked "why do you ask?" i replied "you people always go about doing this as if your life depends on it!" then the other guy said "it's because we've got so many things to discuss with our neighbours and we can't just keep it all to ourselves" then i asked again "so how do you think i'm going to be as competent as you guys?" then both of them smiled and said "it's God's Holy Spirit, when we begin praying with you and you sincerely ask for it God will give you the measure you need for His ministry"

A so called Pastor in my neighbourhood said to me after some scriptural discussions "God has given you the wisdom of discernment but you are using it in the wrong place" then tears of joy ran down my cheeks and i told him "all these i never knew, it's the God of Jehovah's Witnesses that gave me the MEASURE OF HIS HOLY SPIRIT to which you have testified today!"
Though he gnashed his teeth at me but i was overjoyed and began asking myself "have i also become that good?"
So my friend, i never knew this by myself it was JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES that taught me all these things, therefore if you think i'm good in correlating what i'm saying with the scriptures then know that it's the work of the SPIRIT of the God of JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES! Luke 12:12

FatherOfJesus:
If the Bible is that difficult to understand, people like you won’t get it

MaxInDHouse:
I've tried to read and understand on my own but all to no avail so i prayed to God to help me out and He began sending His servants (JWs) to me.
Of course i argued with them due to the things i was having in my heart as doctrines until i began considering their persistence then i started listening with suspicion.
When i discovered the efficacy and consistency in handling this book i asked them "Is it a must that i also preach and teach people like this?" they both looked at each other and reluctantly one of them asked "why do you ask?" i replied "you people always go about doing this as if your life depends on it!" then the other guy said "it's because we've got so many things to discuss with our neighbours and we can't just keep it all to ourselves" then i asked again "so how do you think i'm going to be as competent as you guys?" then both of them smiled and said "it's God's Holy Spirit, when we begin praying with you and you sincerely ask for it God will give you the measure you need for His ministry"

A so called Pastor in my neighbourhood said to me after some scriptural discussions "God has given you the wisdom of discernment but you are using it in the wrong place" then tears of joy ran down my cheeks and i told him "all these i never knew, it's the God of Jehovah's Witnesses that gave me the MEASURE OF HIS HOLY SPIRIT to which you have testified today!"
Though he gnashed his teeth at me but i was overjoyed and began asking myself "have i also become that good?"
So my friend, i never knew this by myself it was JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES that taught me all these things, therefore if you think i'm good in correlating what i'm saying with the scriptures then know that it's the work of the SPIRIT of the God of JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES! Luke 12:12

no evidence the Holy Spirit or even God exist.

I can understand!

FatherOfJesus:
no evidence the Holy Spirit or even God exist.

FatherOfJesus:
atleast you got message

It was not easy to convert Saul. There is this guy here - Kobo whatever jungie he calls himself, and he is always running around like a wounded lion going against Paul and spreading junks just exactly like he calls himself. That kind of a junk must be trashed. I will never entertain such a dirt in my life - I will always blast him if he puts his mouth in my posts. Very useless posts here and there from him with boldness causing disunity in the body of Christ. Of course, Paul wrote his personal relationship with Christ in some places where he advised believers. The message I have for you is that christianity is a personal relationship with God. There are mysteries in the WORD. Guy, Paul wrote that there are things beyond human knowledge he was not permitted to write about. Yes, I know because I have experienced so much. When you get to that level, you will not be able to say much again.

There is a lady here who carries her denomination on her head like those ladies who carry calabashes on their head on their way to or from the stream in Nollywood. I am a patient person, but when that holy anger comes, it tears apart deception. It gets to a point one cannot take it further. You start reading stupidity in the name of Jesus. My Jesus is not stupid at all. I cannot write mysteries here cos that kind of person (the lady) who is a doctrinal baby religious person cannot understand them, and many are like that. All her teachings are from booklets a woman founder of her church gave out. Imagine! Yet, we read the same person always telling people there should not be a woman pastor. These are the confusions you read and you allow these things hit you. But funny, I grew up in a church where women arent allowed to be pastors, and I share the same opinion too that women do not automatically become pastors because their husbands are. And to me, I have no problem with a church which insists women should not pastor, but hmmmm...I will rather not discuss such topic than say useless things. The lady doesnt know where Athiests will hit her. But i decided to punch her with the lady founder or her church who taught her ladies should not pastor. What do you call that? Is that not confusion? I may not want to go into details of that, but I mentioned these scenarios so you can get your message clear. You must be specific about the things in Bible you dont agree with.

In all honesty, can you say you agree with some things? Of course I expect you to give an affirmative "yes" answer.

So, if you genuinely want to learn and know, you need to stop playing around. I see you making mockery responses to baby religious answers above. You can mock them and get away with it, but then truth is that you will not get the right answer you are looking for. If you genuinely want to know (I am sure you are searching for the truth), you need to be serious and genuinely listen attentively. The answer you want will come. But it always come like a gentle whisper. If you arent attentive, you will miss it. Forget it bro....as brutal as I am with words, I know when answers are coming, and I withdraw fast.

Ask yourself again: do you want to mock the baby religious boys and girls here? Or do you want answers? For you to get to the stage you are....you have something upstairs. Be attentive and humble ......bro, you will launch into the mystery of the Great I AM.

PeaceJoyLove:
It was not easy to convert Saul. There is this guy here - Kobo whatever jungie he calls himself, and he is always running around like a wounded lion going against Paul and spreading junks just exactly like he calls himself. That kind of a junk must be trashed. I will never entertain such a dirt in my life - I will always blast him if he puts his mouth in my posts. Very useless posts here and there from him with boldness causing disunity in the body of Christ. Of course, Paul wrote his personal relationship with Christ in some places where he advised believers. The message I have for you is that christianity is a personal relationship with God. There are mysteries in the WORD. Guy, Paul wrote that there are things beyond human knowledge he was not permitted to write about. Yes, I know because I have experienced so much. When you get to that level, you will not be able to say much again.

There is a lady here who carries her denomination on her head like those ladies who carry calabashes on their head on their way to or from the stream in Nollywood. I am a patient person, but when that holy anger comes, it tears apart deception. It gets to a point one cannot take it further. You start reading stupidity in the name of Jesus. My Jesus is not stupid at all. I cannot write mysteries here cos that kind of person (the lady) who is a doctrinal baby religious person cannot understand them, and many are like that. All her teachings are from booklets a woman founder of her church gave out. Imagine! Yet, we read the same person always telling people there should not be a woman pastor. These are the confusions you read and you allow these things hit you. But funny, I grew up in a church where women arent allowed to be pastors, and I share the same opinion too that women do not automatically become a pastor because their husbands are. And to me, I have no problem with a church which insists women should not pastor, but hmmmm...I will rather not discuss such topic than say useless things. The lady doesnt know where Athiests will hit her. But undecided to punch her with the lady founder or her church who taught her ladies should not pastor. What do you call that? Is that not confusion? I may not want to go into details of that, but I mentioned these scenarios so you can get your message clear. You must be specific about the things in Bible you dont agree with.

In all honesty, can you say you agree with some things? Of course I expect you to give an affirmative "yes" answer.

So, if you genuinely want to learn and know, you need to stop playing around. I see you making mockery responses to baby religious answers above. You can mock them and get away with it, but then truth is that you will not get the right answer you are looking for. If you genuinely want to know (I am sure you are searching for the truth), you need to be serious and genuinely listen attentively. The answer you want will come. But it always come like a gentle whisper. If you arent attentive, you will miss it. Forget it bro....as brutal as I am with words, I know when answers are coming, and I withdraw fast.

Ask yourself again: do you want to mock the baby religious boys and girls here? Or do you want answers? For you to get to the stage you are....you have something upstairs. Be attentive and humble ......bro, you will launch into the mystery of the Great I AM.

The problem here is that you are talking to someone who isn’t sure that anything is correct in the Bible including Paul’s opinion.

MaxInDHouse:
I've tried to read and understand on my own but all to no avail so i prayed to God to help me out and He began sending His servants (JWs) to me.
Of course i argued with them due to the things i was having in my heart as doctrines until i began considering their persistence then i started listening with suspicion.
When i discovered the efficacy and consistency in handling this book i asked them "Is it a must that i also preach and teach people like this?" they both looked at each other and reluctantly one of them asked "why do you ask?" i replied "you people always go about doing this as if your life depends on it!" then the other guy said "it's because we've got so many things to discuss with our neighbours and we can't just keep it all to ourselves" then i asked again "so how do you think i'm going to be as competent as you guys?" then both of them smiled and said "it's God's Holy Spirit, when we begin praying with you and you sincerely ask for it God will give you the measure you need for His ministry"

A so called Pastor in my neighbourhood said to me after some scriptural discussions "God has given you the wisdom of discernment but you are using it in the wrong place" then tears of joy ran down my cheeks and i told him "all these i never knew, it's the God of Jehovah's Witnesses that gave me the MEASURE OF HIS HOLY SPIRIT to which you have testified today!"
Though he gnashed his teeth at me but i was overjoyed and began asking myself "have i also become that good?"
So my friend, i never knew this by myself it was JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES that taught me all these things, therefore if you think i'm good in correlating what i'm saying with the scriptures then know that it's the work of the SPIRIT of the God of JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES! Luke 12:12

lol I was once like you but unlike you, my taste for knowledge new no bounds. for a fact no jw are one of the only few people who have deep knowledge about the Bible, I have there also. but when I decided to study actually belief system of the ancient Hebrews in relation to other cultures around that period, I discovered they share similarities and some of them are actually derived from the previous cultures

FatherOfJesus:
The problem here is that you are talking to someone who isn’t sure that anything is correct in the Bible including Paul’s opinion.

You aren't sure of yourself. The underlined words show me you are not sure of yourself. You arent even sure the choice to be an atheist is the right one. I was expecting to read: The problem here is that you are talking to someone who is sure everything in the Bible is incorrect.

I suggest you read my posts on your thread again. They will make more sense to you later. And if you are patient with the Bible, it will make sense to you.

So what's your point?

Because i was searching for divine wisdom not just knowledge about stories that correlates i've heard lots of Ìtàn and àló as a Yorùbá child!

Blakjewelry:
lol I was once like you but unlike you, my taste for knowledge new no bounds. for a fact no jw are one of the only few people who have deep knowledge about the Bible, I have there also. but when I decided to study actually belief system of the ancient Hebrews in relation to other cultures around that period, I discovered they share similarities and some of them are actually derived from the previous cultures

FatherOfJesus:
If you buy the Bible and never read it, you will probably become a catholic.

If you buy the Bible and only read what suits you, you will become a Pentecostal and then lie that the Holy Spirit directed you.

If you read buy a Bible and allow someone else to interpret it for you, you will become a normal Christian.

If you buy the Bible, read it, analyze it, reason it, research it, you will become an atheist.

I have read the Bible from Genesis 1 to revelation 22 thrice, ponder on it, looked correlations with reality, thought about all the contradictions and incoherence without bias I ended concluding that this book is like any other history book with exaggerations.

The funniest thing is that most people will tell you that you need the holy spirit for understanding, this is a subtly way of telling you that you shouldn’t read the Bible with you brain.

Hi there.

What an arrogant thing to say. That is exactly like saying that if you read a comprehensive physics text that covers all physics knowledge from elementary principles to complex and advanced cutting edge concepts, you will become anti-physics.

I think you'll agree that that is nonsense. It might be frustrating to make sense of physics without a teacher showing you what it all means, but that does not mean that physics is contradictory and incoherent. The need for a teacher is just natural. Not all knowledge is intuitive. Beyond a certain threshold, all knowledge is learned from experts who in turn learned from other experts etc.

Is self-teaching possible? Yes, but only when a given field of knowledge is still nascent and also when one can take advantage of established standards in a field of learning and access to the works of excellent instructors in that field. That is, self-teaching is a bit of an oxymoron. It still involves dependence on other people's established expertise and upon the degree of advancement in a given field.

For example, 20 years ago - and even today to some significant degree - software development was so nascent that any adventurer could become an expert in it. Although the field is still not quite mature, it has advanced enough for there to be some standards and bodies of work that any interested learner has to work through in order to get anywhere. In time, the knowledge will be too vast for anyone to get anywhere without some structured instruction. We're almost there now.

Contrast this with, say, medicine. It would be quite a feat if anyone learned medicine without structured instruction. It is not impossible, but it is so difficult that it would make little sense to want to do so. The knowledge there is quite mature and diverse. This makes it hard to learn without having proper guidance in putting it all together.

The Bible is a vast field of learning. It claims to teach human beings about God after all. That is hardly to be expected to be an easy navigation. There are bound to be difficulties pulling the many different classes of knowledge together to paint one clear cohesive picture. This is not something that a novice can undertake to do by himself. Structured instruction is therefore critical.

One big difference between the Bible and any textbook you might find is that a textbook looks to interpret knowledge distilled from the physical universe while the Bible is the spiritual universe that we need to have interpreted to us. That is, where Isaac Newton, for example, theorized gravity on the basis of an apple falling on his head, the Bible is the falling of the apple on one's head. It is not itself an observation and interpretation of spiritual reality as a textbook is of physical reality. You could almost say that it is a spiritual factbook. It only gives us information about spiritual realities. The interpretation of this information is only accessible through structured instruction by experts.

Who are the experts? Pastor-teachers who are trained in turn by pastor-teachers. The chain goes back, first, to the Man Jesus Christ--Who is also God--who trained the first set of experts to both complete the writing of the Bible and teach it and, second, to the Lord God in the Garden of Eden who taught Adam and Eve the things that they passed down to their descendants and were eventually captured in the writings of the prophets and interpreted by them and the priests that God also instituted.

That is to say that the Bible is interpreted by a chain of pastor-teachers which goes all the way back to God Himself.

As for the bit about having the Holy Spirit, let us consider the following illustration. Unless a person actually has the ability to process physical reality, that is, unless one has a normal brain, he or she cannot understand anything about physical reality. The ability to process information about the physical universe is the only way to actually make sense of the natural world. This applies to spiritual things too.

It is impossible to understand spiritual realities if one does not possess the faculty necessary for processing information about them. This is the epistemological problem that atheists complain about. That is, if God is not part of this universe, then how can we know anything about Him? It's like how the software program can know anything about the engineer who wrote it. It is impossible for the software code to know anything about the one who wrote it unless there is an intervention by the writer himself.

The solution then to knowing a God Who is not part of the universe is for that God to actually provide information about Himself directly and give us the ability to perceive it. Through a willingness to give Him the benefit of the doubt (that is, faith) and the provision of the Holy Spirit, we are made able to perceive information about this God.

The Holy Spirit provides us with the ability to perceive spiritual realities. Faith in God that rests on the witness of the universe that demands a Creator of the kind and nature that the Bible describes makes us able to actually take advantage of the Holy Spirit's help to understand the Bible. If we are unwilling to listen to God, then the Holy Spirit is of no use to us. If we are, then the Holy Spirit will grant us the ability to perceive and understand spiritual realities.

Once we have come to possess this ability through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we become able to understand any interpretation of the Bible provided by a competent pastor-teacher. Otherwise, we simply can't understand the things that a pastor-teacher says. Just as the Bible sounds like gibberish and contradictory nonsense to the unbeliever, Bible teaching provided by a competent pastor-teacher will sound the same to the unbeliever.

In short, the Bible is not open to just anybody. As much as it is a book that God has given to the human race to tell us of Himself, it is also a book that demands that we respect it and approach it the way it prescribes or else it will not yield its wealth to us. That is not strange either since every field of knowledge demands its own rite of passage so to speak.

Cheers.

Ihedinobi3:
Hi there.

What an arrogant thing to say. That is exactly like saying that if you read a comprehensive physics text that covers all physics knowledge from elementary principles to complex and advanced cutting edge concepts, you will become anti-physics.

I think you'll agree that that is nonsense. It might be frustrating to make sense of physics without a teacher showing you what it all means, but that does not mean that physics is contradictory and incoherent. The need for a teacher is just natural. Not all knowledge is intuitive. Beyond a certain threshold, all knowledge is learned from experts who in turn learned from other experts etc.

Is self-teaching possible? Yes, but only when a given field of knowledge is still nascent and also when one can take advantage of established standards in a field of learning and access to the works of excellent instructors in that field. That is, self-teaching is a bit of an oxymoron. It still involves dependence on other people's established expertise and upon the degree of advancement in a given field.

For example, 20 years ago - and even today to some significant degree - software development was so nascent that any adventurer could become an expert in it. Although the field is still not quite mature, it has advanced enough for there to be some standards and bodies of work that any interested learner has to work through in order to get anywhere. In time, the knowledge will be too vast for anyone to get anywhere without some structured instruction. We're almost there now.

Contrast this with, say, medicine. It would be quite a feat if anyone learned medicine without structured instruction. It is not impossible, but it is so difficult that it would make little sense to want to do so. The knowledge there is quite mature and diverse. This makes it hard to learn without having proper guidance in putting it all together.

The Bible is a vast field of learning. It claims to teach human beings about God after all. That is hardly to be expected to be an easy navigation. There are bound to be difficulties pulling the many different classes of knowledge together to paint one clear cohesive picture. This is not something that a novice can undertake to do by himself. Structured instruction is therefore critical.

One big difference between the Bible and any textbook you might find is that a textbook looks to interpret knowledge distilled from the physical universe while the Bible is the spiritual universe that we need to have interpreted to us. That is, where Isaac Newton, for example, theorized gravity on the basis of an apple falling on his head, the Bible is the falling of the apple on one's head. It is not itself an observation and interpretation of spiritual reality as a textbook is of physical reality. You could almost say that it is a spiritual factbook. It only gives us information about spiritual realities. The interpretation of this information is only accessible through structured instruction by experts.

Who are the experts? Pastor-teachers who are trained in turn by pastor-teachers. The chain goes back, first, to the Man Jesus Christ--Who is also God--who trained the first set of experts to both complete the writing of the Bible and teach it and, second, to the Lord God in the Garden of Eden who taught Adam and Eve the things that they passed down to their descendants and were eventually captured in the writings of the prophets and interpreted by them and the priests that God also instituted.

That is to say that the Bible is interpreted by a chain of pastor-teachers which goes all the way back to God Himself.

As for the bit about having the Holy Spirit, let us consider the following illustration. Unless a person actually has the ability to process physical reality, that is, unless one has a normal brain, he or she cannot understand anything about physical reality. The ability to process information about the physical universe is the only way to actually make sense of the natural world. This applies to spiritual things too.

It is impossible to understand spiritual realities if one does not possess the faculty necessary for processing information about them. This is the epistemological problem that atheists complain about. That is, if God is not part of this universe, then how can we know anything about Him? It's like how the software program can know anything about the engineer who wrote it. It is impossible for the software code to know anything about the one who wrote it unless there is an intervention by the writer himself.

The solution then to knowing a God Who is not part of the universe is for that God to actually provide information about Himself directly and give us the ability to perceive it. Through a willingness to give Him the benefit of the doubt (that is, faith) and the provision of the Holy Spirit, we are made able to perceive information about this God.

The Holy Spirit provides us with the ability to perceive spiritual realities. Faith in God that rests on the witness of the universe that demands a Creator of the kind and nature that the Bible describes makes us able to actually take advantage of the Holy Spirit's help to understand the Bible. If we are unwilling to listen to God, then the Holy Spirit is of no use to us. If we are, then the Holy Spirit will grant us the ability to perceive and understand spiritual realities.

Once we have come to possess this ability through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we become able to understand any interpretation of the Bible provided by a competent pastor-teacher. Otherwise, we simply can't understand the things that a pastor-teacher says. Just as the Bible sounds like gibberish and contradictory nonsense to the unbeliever, Bible teaching provided by a competent pastor-teacher will sound the same to the unbeliever.

In short, the Bible is not open to just anybody. As much as it is a book that God has given to the human race to tell us of Himself, it is also a book that demands that we respect it and approach it the way it prescribes or else it will not yield its wealth to us. That is not strange either since every field of knowledge demands its own rite of passage so to speak.

Cheers.

The difference between a physics textbook and the Bible is evidence.
The Bible never provides evidence for anything hence rational people don’t believe it