POSTED RESPONSE TO A COLUMN IN THE NEW YORK TIMES
I sincerely doubt it, unless there already was an underlying conflict concerning the truth of his or her faith.
Believing in the absolute truth, applying to all of humanity, of some 2,500 year-old pieces of papyrus found by chance in one tiny portion of the planet is a pretty-unscientific notion, to say the least.
There is no reason on earth for these to contain any more universal truth than the Iliad or an ancient Chinese text.
Indeed, since many of the passages appear to have been written by mentally-unbalanced authors - fair portions of the Old Testament and certainly The Revelations - there is far less reason to accept it as truth.
A scientist would also understand the almost-zero probability of total texts passing down this way. Partial or corrupt, yes.
Of course, if the Deity’s power is such as it is portrayed, we may well ask why He or She needed raving old men to write things down in the first place?
