I'm a good part of the way through the Old Testament and am currently wondering why people feel religiously disposed after reading it. Or, am I wrong, and the New Testament is what makes people believe? The writing is fantastic, but, to me, it mainly stresses familial loyalty, trust, forgiveness, and the importance of bonds. Although God plays a big part in the narrative, I don't feel any more inclined to believe in him, and he could easily just be replaced by Fate or a more anthropomorphic representation (e.g. in Greek works), and nothing would change.
For reference, I have read the Books of Moses, 1, 2 Samuel and 1,2 Kings, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job, and Isaiah. I'm reading the KJV version along with the annotations in an ESV edition (which I also check if I don't understand a part in the KJV), so I don't feel like I am missing anything.
Kayden Morris
You have to read the four Gospels about ten times to get it.
Nathan Foster
Also, re-read Psalms a couple of times
Caleb Cox
>Or, am I wrong, and the New Testament is what makes people believe? yes
Daniel Lewis
The OT reads to me like a garbled political history of the ancient near east, with some poetry mixed in.
Colton Butler
That's because the OT on its own is yet-another-pagan-religion masquerading mid-transition to something of real interest. Reading it will only stir you if you're reading _within_ a tradition, as would, say, a Jew. That you have no cultural affinity leaves you anchorless in a sea of lost metaphor and relevance.
As for the Christian standpoint, you really have to read the entire OT "through" Christ to make any sense or worth of it. Otherwise, you'd do just as well to read Gilgamesh, The Flood, or the Vedas. Without reference to Christ, the OT begins to look awfully unappealing and contradictory (as any modern critic of Christianity is sure to point out), and you're likely to just leave it aside as yet another depiction of ancient cultures with a bit of interesting morality/history here and there. This is missing the point -- read about Marcion of Sinope to see how the Church addressed this viewpoint early on (he wanted to ditch the OT, saying that YHWH was not the Father of the Trinity).
In short, yeah, read the NT. But more than that, consider _why_ you're reading the Bible in the first place. If you're looking for spiritual "feeling," of course it can happen regardless if the Holy Spirit so pleases, but you really ought to consider reading it within the guidance of a spiritual father or mother.
If for literary appreciation, don't expect to be greatly stirred.
Jonathan Garcia
this (but fuck Marcion)
Hudson Cox
You don't start believing by reading the Bible. You already believe and find that belief mirrored in what you read. Some people just aren't religious, nothing wrong with it. Why do you want to believe in God, user?
Jayden Diaz
spiritually, Christians would say you need to actively seek God with all your heart mind and soul in order to truly believe, and it takes God to make that first step because nobody in our sinful flesh can seek God of their own initiative. you're trying to find God by inciting some sort of intellectual or emotional response from reading his word but you're neglecting the spiritual aspect if you're not trying to find God but just want to understand why we believe, then forget it. you never will. Paul says the cross is foolishness to the unbeliever
Alexander Parker
Don't go looking for that. However, what you can find through reading the Bible is that people quickly warp ideas of others and use them for their own means.
