Being mostly born into and heirs of their religions, Christians, including pastors and theologians of modern days either have not really read the Bible or have not done so with the intent to understand; rather, they read books that uphold their sectarian dogmas. Most likely, they were swamped with doctrine-specific theological books in their sectarian seminaries leaving no time for them to read the Bible with open minds but do so with the preconceived biases or previously held prejudices of their religions. The conflicts are rarely about the existence of God or His nature but rather, in the different doctrinal concepts that religions hold about their God. It’s a case of putting the wagon before the horse. Theologians study their doctrines and side-tracked God in the process.
It reminds me of Thomas Paine's statement in The Age of Reason, "The study of theology, as it stands in Christian churches, is the study of nothing; it is founded on nothing; it rests on no principles; it proceeds by no authorities; it has no data; it can demonstrate nothing; and it admits of no conclusion."
It reminds me of Thomas Paine's statement in The Age of Reason, "The study of theology, as it stands in Christian churches, is the study of nothing; it is founded on nothing; it rests on no principles; it proceeds by no authorities; it has no data; it can demonstrate nothing; and it admits of no conclusion."