The Bible and Quran do not really provide conclusive proof on their own (although they persuade enough to convince many, including myself); not without a good understanding of their historical and religious context. Genesis, for example, is unconvincing on its own of individual facts such as creation of Adam, Noah or the Tower of Babel, until you see other, secular evidence, such as ancient texts like ‘Adapa and the South Wind’, ‘Instruction of Sharappak’, ‘Sumerian King Lists’, ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’, ‘Eridu Genesis’, ‘Enuma Elish’ and ‘Enmerkar and the Lord Aratta’. Then you get to realise that there is more to all this than religion and persuasion of the masses, but rather that actual events were recorded, and out of these events arose, through centuries, a deep understanding of the supremacy of God, an understanding which directed the course of human history.
To a pure, open mind, the teachings of Jesus recorded in the gospels have such authority and genuine knowledge that they do rather prove the existence of God since this same man with such authority put it all down to God, ‘the Father’.
To a pure, open mind, the clear, sincere purpose of Jesus’ teachings to avert disastrous future for those who hear these teachings does prove that there is a saving Father who sent Him. Yet to a warped mind none of this proves anything.
Do dictionaries prove the spellings of words? Note: In Scrabble only certain dictionaries are canonised for this purpose of proof. In Scrabble there are always some who argue even with the dictionary, just as Atheists argue with a priest. Do dictionaries prove meanings of words? Not 100% since they do not make certain the conclusions quite on a par with faith. Scriptures taken correctly and understood properly and listened to with open heart can do better than a dictionary, not only in settling disputes and clarifying meanings but also in helping confirm beliefs but are not 100% reliable since we never know whether we understood them correctly and got close enough to original meanings and in our hearts are aware it could all be a pretence until we get more conclusive proof corroborating them.
A simplistic understanding of scriptures, such as is propounded by so many religious individuals, leads to use of scripture which is not convincing but is easily dismiss and despised. Many use scriptures like a kind of magic spell which is supposed to inspire faith in all but the hardest of hearts. Yet often they misunderstand scripture passages or single verses and spread their misconceptions rather than using the scriptures properly and intelligently with due learning background. So Atheists might have come across this and thus think scriptures are ridiculous and prove nothing. Yet if the scriptures are taken in context and humbly learned from with intelligent enquiry and research they show profound lessons which have been recorded for posterity as mankind’s finest, most elevated lessons. The depth of meaning is unfathomable and yet deeply satisfying to human pathos. Often other scriptures need to be brought into focus besides the canonised ones since many were sidelined by unscrupulous generations of religious and secular leaders.
To a pure, open mind, the teachings of Jesus recorded in the gospels have such authority and genuine knowledge that they do rather prove the existence of God since this same man with such authority put it all down to God, ‘the Father’.
To a pure, open mind, the clear, sincere purpose of Jesus’ teachings to avert disastrous future for those who hear these teachings does prove that there is a saving Father who sent Him. Yet to a warped mind none of this proves anything.
Do dictionaries prove the spellings of words? Note: In Scrabble only certain dictionaries are canonised for this purpose of proof. In Scrabble there are always some who argue even with the dictionary, just as Atheists argue with a priest. Do dictionaries prove meanings of words? Not 100% since they do not make certain the conclusions quite on a par with faith. Scriptures taken correctly and understood properly and listened to with open heart can do better than a dictionary, not only in settling disputes and clarifying meanings but also in helping confirm beliefs but are not 100% reliable since we never know whether we understood them correctly and got close enough to original meanings and in our hearts are aware it could all be a pretence until we get more conclusive proof corroborating them.
A simplistic understanding of scriptures, such as is propounded by so many religious individuals, leads to use of scripture which is not convincing but is easily dismiss and despised. Many use scriptures like a kind of magic spell which is supposed to inspire faith in all but the hardest of hearts. Yet often they misunderstand scripture passages or single verses and spread their misconceptions rather than using the scriptures properly and intelligently with due learning background. So Atheists might have come across this and thus think scriptures are ridiculous and prove nothing. Yet if the scriptures are taken in context and humbly learned from with intelligent enquiry and research they show profound lessons which have been recorded for posterity as mankind’s finest, most elevated lessons. The depth of meaning is unfathomable and yet deeply satisfying to human pathos. Often other scriptures need to be brought into focus besides the canonised ones since many were sidelined by unscrupulous generations of religious and secular leaders.
