How to study the bible, according to an atheist-convert
Born into P.R.C., I grew up like most of my peers, atheists.
It’s not that we didn’t learn about religion. In secondary school, we discussed the origins of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. Of course, all of those religions were presented to us in the most outrageous manner possible to strengthen our faith in atheism and focus on worshipping communist dictators.
I came to Christianity later in life when I was 19. Luck has it I was first preached the good news by a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the most unchristian Christian denomination. I mean, some go as far as calling them a bible-inspired cult, for they do not display any Christian symbol (the cross, the Christ, etc.) at their church (they call it ‘kingdom hall’). As their unique interpretation of the bible is full of paradoxes and logical gaps, they served to unconvinced me more than to convince me.
It was only when I came to Paris and joined St. Michael’s Church, that I started to discover the charm of Christianity. I am lucky to have Rev. Jay Colwill as my chaplain. When he is not our chaplain, he is a natural scientist. His knowledge and perspective of both science and religion inspire me to study Christianity and follow the direction of my LORD to live well and do good.
Below are some resources I found and continue to find inspiring.
The Bible Project
The Bible Project is a cross-denominational non-profit that produces engaging animations, podcasts, study plans, and reading guides about the Bible. All their work is funded through donations and freely available. Its quality far exceeds that of any commercial alternatives I know of.
It is a good starting point for people curious about Christianity.
Bible Study Tools
This is my go-to place to quickly locate specific Bible verses and compare different versions of the Bible. The biblical scriptures were all written in ancient Hebrew or Greek, both of which are extinct. Therefore, scholars disagree on the translation of certain verses, leading to theological debates between denominations.
For someone looking to dive deeper into the bible or inform oneself of denominational biases, I highly recommend their website, which is also available free of charge.
Progressive Christianity (PC)
Christians are disproportionately politically conservative. As such, Christianity has become a frequent satirical token for the nostalgic and delusional ‘old-timers’.
Progressive Christianity was founded to unite the growing minority of socially progressive Christians, motivated by our faith to question tradition and promote social justice & environmental stewardship.
The founding philosophy of Progressive Christianity is to "love one another" (John 15:17); as such, they have built up a rich library of guidance on applying Christian values for the common good.
They also have thousands of articles on post-modern and comparative theology.
A possible downside is that their website is text-focused, with marginal graphics and minimal audiovisual content. It does take effort and motivation to read through and be inspired by them.
If there are study tools that help you in your discovery of Christianity, please share in the comments.
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