The biggest reason people do not read the Bible is they don't believe it is true. The individual has an incongruity between his Unaware Brain and conscious brain when it comes to the Bible. Continuing to read the Bible actually causes more pain and brain damage.
Remember, during Old Testament times, every boy MEMORIZED the Torah. Memorization keeps the conscious brain and Unaware Brain consistent with each other.
Teaching the Bible wrong actually causes the conscious brain to believe something different than the Unaware Brain...which causes pain...depression...and brain damage.
I believe the main reason the overwhelming majority of Christians can't even finish reading the Book of Genesis, let alone the entire Bible is because they form this incongruity within the first three chapters...
Remember, your Unaware Brain is going to arrive at the non-contradictory conclusion whether you are conscious of it or not. However, stating a different conclusion with your conscious brain causes the incongruity. Let's look at the most popular passage from The Bible to see HOW/WHY this incongruity forms.
Genesis chapter 3 contains the most read and preached passage of The Bible:
"1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die."
Notice, the woman knew the contrastive fact: eating of this tree results in death.
"4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."
This was a lie. The serpent attempted to refute the contrastive fact.
"6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."
Notice, the woman looked comparatively. She found three facts encouraging her to eat the fruit: good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and makes one wise. The connotation in this verse was Adam was standing next to Eve while this happened...Adam was "with her".
"7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden."
What did God say? Take a moment and try to state what God said next...
"9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?"
Did you think God made a Statement or a Question?
"10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."
Again, take a moment and try to state what God said next...
"11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?"
Did you have God asking TWO Questions?
Did you notice anything strange about the first three Questions God asked?
Actually, I ought to ask if you consciously noticed anything strange, because your Unaware Brain already noticed it...
God asked where they were. God asked if they ate of the tree.
Did God NOT know where they were or if they ate of the tree?
Take a moment and answer that question...
If you consciously believe God did NOT know where they were or if they ate of the tree, you don't believe God is omniscient. Or, to put it bluntly...you don't believe God is God!
Perhaps your conscious brain would like another attempt...WHY did God ask these two Questions? Was God pointing out their sin in order to condemn/judge them?
Take a moment and answer that question...
If God was asking a Question about the past in order to reinforce the past, then God is NOT focused on the future. God is NOT the God of the living...but the God of the dead. God is Deterministic because His focus was on things we can't do anything about. If you believe this, you are on your way to Calvinism...and a contradictory interpretation of the Bible.
What does your Unaware Brain realize?
Your Unaware Brain realizes God asked a Question in order to find out something He did NOT know. What would THAT be?
HOW Adam and Eve will respond to their sin!!!!
Will they justify God by confessing and repenting? Will they rationalize and justify themselves?
"12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat."
Adam's response was to rationalize, justify himself AND blame God BY blaming the woman. What did God do next? Did He judge Adam? Did He judge Eve?
Take a moment to decide what you believe God did next...
"13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat."
God asked a Question of Eve...the SAME Question He asked Adam. Eve rationalized and justified herself.
What did God do next? Did He judge Eve? Did He ask the serpent a Question?
"14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
God did NOT give the serpent the opportunity to confess and repent. He made Statements and Judged the serpent. God asked Questions of Adam and Eve, NOT to condemn and judge, but to find out their response to their sin!
The entire Bible showed a God that was NOT judging and condemning when people sinned initially. Yet, people teach a Bible where God not only judged and condemned immediately, but actually encouraged us to immediately judge and condemn others.
Actually, your Unaware Brain knows God asked Questions of those who sinned in order to find out their response to their sin...which is what God judged and condemned.
Our culture says to NEVER admit you are wrong...to rationalize and justify. We've already seen consciously rationalizing and justifying our own sin causes the Unaware Brain to look for more opportunities to sin. Now we see God is actually focused on how we respond to our own sin AND NOT whether we initially sin or not.
We see the same pattern in Genesis 4 with Cain:
"1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell."
This is Matthew 6! God gave to Abel. Abel gave MORE back to God. God gave respect to even out justice.
God gave to Cain and Cain gave back to God. This was a Right WHAT, however it was a Wrong HOW/WHY...so Cain had his Reward. Some teachers try to say Cain SINNED by NOT doing the Right HOW/WHY. Keep this in mind...
What was God's response to Cain? Can you come up with what God said next? Take a moment...
"6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?"
Two Questions focused Cain on the causes.
"7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him."
Two IF/THEN's...one in Question form led to Reward. One in Statement form warned of Judgment.
Notice, God said "sin lieth at the door"!!!!
Cain HAD NOT SINNED!!!!
Every teacher stating Cain sinned is causing brain damage! In fact, if Cain sinned by giving, then everyone who tithes without giving their best at this teacher's church is sinning according to that teacher. Will that teacher encourage people NOT to tithe...NOT to sin?
Cain's problem was he looked sideways and compared himself to his brother, rather than look to God. He ignored the First Command and attempted to manage the Second Command.
What was the next verse?
"8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him."
Notice, Cain talked with his brother about his conversation with God!!!! Cain consciously stated his conversation...that he knew he was in danger of eventually doing wrong.
It almost looked like Cain gained Abel's trust by telling him about his conversation with God. Time passed between that conversation and the brothers going into the field. Did Cain ask Abel for help in picking the best? I don't know, however, Cain eventually got Abel into the field and killed him.
What was God's response? Take a moment...
"9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?"
God AGAIN, asked a Question that He knew the answer to. So, He asked to find out Cain's response to Cain's sin. Cain lied to God!
"10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth."
God again asked a Question to get Cain's response AND pronounced judgment for Cain's lying to God.
Your Unaware Brain knows God is NOT focused on your initial sin...He is focused on your response to your sin.
Our culture and church teaching us to rationalize and justify ourselves...worse, teaching us to judge the initial sin of others, is causing us to make the Word and Will of God of NONE EFFECT.
Whether it is the contradictory man-made divorce doctrine in newer "versions of the Bible" or faulty teaching of passages correctly presented, we have been driving people away from the Word of God by consciously accepting an interpretation different than what the Unaware Brain knows to be true.
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