/lit/ - Literature

>>22286147
The Bible is not an apologetic text, but a set of books compiled by people who had been convinced of Catholicism through various apostolic apologetics prior to the existence of the Bible. There are some arguments for Catholicism within the Bible, but they are often unconvincing to a society with a completely different set of presuppositions than those to whom they were written.
For example, when Peter preaches to the Jews on Pentecost, they already take for granted that (1) the Hebrew scriptures are divinely inspired and speak of a coming Messiah, (2) Jesus Christ was a miracle-worker (they had seen Him perform miracles), and (3) it is possible that Jesus Christ could be this Messiah. If you don't believe those propositions, it will be hard to find St. Peter's argument convincing on a rational level.
Similarly, when St. John the Apostle states that he wrote his Gospel "so that you [the reader] may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.", he is doing so in an environment where, as a first-hand eyewitness who was willing to die for his testimony, his words are necessarily more believable to those who he is preaching to, than to us nowadays (who, unlike those in Asia Minor in those days, are generally skeptical that the Apostle really did see the things which he described Jesus do).

Having said all of this, I highly suggest that if you are not a priori closed off to the idea that Christianity could be true, you should explore the many arguments which Christians use to justify their belief, rather than expect the Bible alone to give an apologetic which will be convincing to the skeptical 21st century mind.

>>19467562
No problem, brother.

"And being thence admonished to return to myself, I entered even into my inward self, Thou being my Guide: and able I was, for Thou wert become my Helper. And I entered and beheld with the eye of my soul (such as it was), above the same eye of my soul, above my mind, the Light Unchangeable. Not this ordinary light, which all flesh may look upon, nor as it were a greater of the same kind, as though the brightness of this should be manifold brighter, and with its greatness take up all space. Not such was this light, but other, yea, far other from these. Nor was it above my soul, as oil is above water, nor yet as heaven above earth: but above to my soul, because It made me; and I below It, because I was made by It. He that knows the Truth, knows what that Light is; and he that knows It, knows eternity. Love knoweth it. O Truth Who art Eternity! and Love Who art Truth! and Eternity Who art Love! Thou art my God, to Thee do I sigh night and day. Thee when I first knew, Thou liftedst me up, that I might see there was what I might see, and that I was not yet such as to see. And Thou didst beat back the weakness of my sight, streaming forth Thy beams of light upon me most strongly, and I trembled with love and awe: and I perceived myself to be far off from Thee, in the region of unlikeness, as if I heard this Thy voice from on high: "I am the food of grown men, grow, and thou shalt feed upon Me; nor shalt thou convert Me, like the food of thy flesh into thee, but thou shalt be converted into Me." And I learned, that Thou for iniquity chastenest man, and Thou madest my soul to consume away like a spider. And I said, "Is Truth therefore nothing because it is not diffused through space finite or infinite?" And Thou criedst to me from afar: "Yet verily, I AM that I AM." And I heard, as the heart heareth, nor had I room to doubt, and I should sooner doubt that I live than that Truth is not, which is clearly seen, being understood by those things which are made. And I beheld the other things below Thee, and I perceived that they neither altogether are, nor altogether are not, for they are, since they are from Thee, but are not, because they are not what Thou art. For that truly is which remains unchangeably. It is good then for me to hold fast unto God; for if I remain not in Him, I cannot in myself; but He remaining in Himself, reneweth all things. And Thou art the Lord my God, since Thou standest not in need of my goodness."
- St. Augustine, Confessions

If you know, you know.

>>18345763
In my opinion, it is closer to the truth than Jainism, all forms of Buddhism, and most forms of sectarian Hinduism, but still very far off from the True dharma. The primary aspect which I find incongruent with divine dharma is the worship of multiple deities in the pancayatana style of worship - to accept that Brahman (which would be cognate with God the Father) has varying aspects about Him (His wisdom, His power, etc.) is fine - but to personify those aspects into a pantheon of actually existing and distinct beings, such as Ganesha and Surya, passes from a mere allegorical description and veneration, to an explicit worshipping of these aspects as beings, rather than the sole worship of Brahman in His incorporeal, non-physical and undepictable majesty, as it were. I have many other critiques that led me to not accepting the doctrine as Truth, but they would be too lengthy to discuss here. Beyond the doctrinal critiques, there is also the issue of the failure of Shankaran (and general Hindu) cosmologies to accurately explain the case of Jesus of Nazareth, and the events surrounding His resurrection. The Hindu lenses used to analyze Brahman's divine interventions in the material world have been corrupted almost irreparably by their over-emphasis of the belief in lesser divinities becoming incarnate. It's problematic because they are implying that these lesser-divinities (as compared to the highest reality and sole unmoved mover, Brahman) have individual lives and are not just personifications of aspects of Brahman's majesty. The idea that Jesus Christ was yet another incarnation of Vishnu, or simply a human who achieved moksha, are all inadequate theories which fail to hold upon scrutiny. In the end, most of the trouble results from vestigial polytheistic cosmologies which must be abandoned and transcended to come to a further discovery of divine dharma. Hopefully this helped. I love my Hindu brothers, and am happy to expound further on any topics, if you found this useful.