Meditation 1085
Believe so as to believe
by: John Tyrrell
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I noticed that the Kindle Reader app on my tablet had started to give me almost exclusively atheist (predominantly self-published) recommendations for further reading. So, I decided to check out a few - and perhaps the best way to do that is to check the reviews.
I started with The Most Perverted System: Christianity in America by Ronald Britt. It's only 97 cents - and possibly worth that for the title alone. The 21 pages of text are then pure bonus. But I have not read it - just the reviews. And as may be expected, there are some negative reviews.
Liz Roberts in her 2 star review writes: The author has done some homework and has presented his case well. He seems to have a command of some scriptures. He just has not read Hebrews 11:1.
Hebrews 11:1? That's "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
She goes on to say in her review "If you are not solid in your faith this book is not for you." Or in other words - If you are not absolutely certain of the truth of what you hope for spiritually, if you are not absolutely certain of the god you cannot see without evidence, don't risk your faith by reading this.
Or, you have to really believe so as to keep believing.
Paidon777 in his 1 star review writes:
The Bible says: "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." (Hebrews 11:6) So, if you approach God, believing that He exists and seeking to know Him, He will reveal Himself to you and then you will KNOW that He exists. It is only then that you will be able to understand the Bible. No skeptic or unbeliever can ever understand the Bible...
To summarize - you have to start out believing in God to find God. If you have doubts, you are not going to find God by reading the Bible. You have to believe so as to believe.
I don't know if these two reviewers understand the implications of their stand that the Bible (along with the religion based on it) can only be approached from a position of belief. They are fundamentally stating that their primary religious text is useless in converting anyone. And it's useless in finding any god.
You can't believe unless you first believe.
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