For Skeptics
and Non-Believers – Things You MUST Take into Account When Reading the Bible
(First, let me say, if you do not understand
certain hard passages in the Bible then don’t just assume the meaning. If you
truly want to know then 1) Ask God to help you… 2) Ask a Christian to help
you…) Now, I know that some do not want truth, they just want to cast doubt
on the Word of God because, if it is true…there, literally, will be Hell to
pay.
I read a lot of books and I must take many of
the following suggestions into consideration when reading any work, especially
when doing research on a particular subject. These are not in order (except for the first one),
but are necessary for full understanding of the Bible:
- You must have the Holy Spirit to understand scriptures that reveal a spiritual truth or message. I CANNOT OVER STRESS THIS. Error comes from using earthly wisdom to explain spiritual lessons. (1 Corinthians 2:14 - But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- You must realize that the Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic (as it was speaking to different people groups). Some words had several meanings. The translators were responsible for choosing the English word that best conveyed the spiritual truth or doctrine being taught. And, yes, I believe that the same God who inspired holy men to write His words in those languages could also oversee and ensure that the English translators translated correctly. Some modern versions have translated from known corrupt texts and have changed the meaning completely in some instances. For example, some modern versions use the word “slavery”, whereas, the KJV rightly uses the word “bondservant” which has a different connotation.
- God used man as an instrument to pen His Words just like a man uses a pencil to pen his. God allowed the personality of each individual author to flow through without compromising spiritual truth. Yes, God can do that because He is God. There never has been and never will be another book like the Bible. Man has been unable to stamp it out and it is still changing lives today! It has inspired songs, books, movies, artwork, sonnets, poems, and people. Its message has been relevant for EVERY generation and its wisdom is beyond compare!
- You must, sometimes, use other scripture to interpret scripture to find the true meaning and/or understanding. (A correct interpretation of the Bible will always be consistent with the rest of the Scriptures. Therefore, it is essential for us as students of the Bible to interpret a passage in light of what the rest of the Scriptures say on the topic. There are Scriptures that are somewhat confusing. Peter himself tells us that (2 Peter 3:16)! When that is the case, rather than seeking to make an interpretation based on one verse, it is essential to examine other, perhaps more clear, passages of Scripture.) Note: You cannot take one sentence out of a novel and understand the whole book…and so it is with the Bible.
- If you are a Westerner, you must stop thinking like a Westerner and get into the mindset and culture of the day and place. The Bible was not written by a Westernized society. Some of the words we use today, like slavery, had a totally different meaning in other cultures, especially Israel. (*On a frequent basis we attach a meaning of a word from the Bible based on our own language and culture to a word that is not the meaning of the Hebrew word behind the translation. This is often a result of using our modern western thinking process for interpreting the Biblical text. For proper interpretation of the Bible it is essential that we take our definitions for words from an Ancient Hebraic perspective. Our modern western minds often work with words that are purely abstract or mental while the Hebrew's vocabulary was filled with words that painted pictures of concrete concepts. By reading the Biblical text with a proper Hebrew vocabulary the text comes to life revealing the authors intended meaning.)
- The Bible is not one book, but many books. It is broken down into books of law, history, writings of the prophets, poetry, wisdom, gospels, epistles, etc. It is 66 books, written by 40 people, on three continents, in three languages, over a 1600 year period. It is consistent throughout and tells of the history of a chosen people, whom God appointed to bring forth the Messiah. The Bible's influence extends not only into the hearts of individuals, but also in the shaping of nations. It is full of wisdom and full of truth. It is the most published book in the world. Only God could harmonize such a work!
- The original writings were not numbered and did not have paragraphs like our Bibles do today. When reading our Bibles, sometimes, another paragraph may be a continued thought or it may go to a completely different subject.
- The books of the Bible are not in chronological order. Our Bible is grouped together by Old Testament and New Testament, and within each, subjects are grouped together. Although Genesis, written by Moses, is listed first...Job is considered by most scholars to be the oldest book…written long before Genesis was written, but not before the actual events of Genesis occurred.
- You must take into consideration who is talking (God, a prophet, a priest, a king, a judge, a disciple, an apostle, a righteous person, a wicked person, a nation), who they are talking too (a group, a nation, an individual, or God), why are they telling them this (teaching spiritual truths, encouraging, admonishing, general teaching of doctrine, correcting, the wicked are speaking), where they are (Israel, Rome, Egypt, Babylon, certain cities, in a church, in a synagogue) when they are (before the flood, after the flood, before Christ, after Christ, before the law, after the law, before conversion, after conversion)
- The Bible only includes certain lineages. For example: Adam and Eve had many children during the hundreds of years that they lived, but God focused on Cain, Able, and Seth. Why? Because there are spiritual lessons that God wants us to know through these three individuals. He also focused on the godly line of Seth through which the Messiah would be born. God doesn’t waste words. Everything in His Word has meaning. Noah and his family were saved from the flood. As you can see from scripture, He was a descendant of Seth. So was Abraham. So was David. So were both Joseph and Mary. Not every line was listed and not everyone’s story was told. And John told us that if all of Christ’s works had been written about that all the books of the world could not contain them. God only gave us what we needed to know…for now. He will feel in the rest when we go to be with Him.
- The Bible includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. Just because something made it to the pages of scripture does not mean God condones it. He is telling the story of sinful mankind. The more we see our depravity, the more we will realize we need a Savior.
- You must realize that God is God (who can know all His mind) and right now we are looking through a dark glass, but when we are like Him, we will know and understand (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Who knows? Maybe this could help someone
realize that their attempts to make void the Word of God are futile and that
taking things out of context adds nothing to the intellect. It is bad research
practices. If someone really wants to know truth, God will help them find it.
Right now they are being, willfully, ignorant due to the hardness of their
hearts (2 Peter 3:4-5). But, the Word of God is powerful and can melt even the most sin
hardened individual. Don’t give up! My daddy used to cuss me out when I
witnessed to him, but many scriptures later and circumstances which God
orchestrated brought him to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. He has since
gone on to be with the Lord, but I know I will see him again someday! Glory to
God!
I will add to this as I think of other
suggestions. If you have any please leave me a comment and I will consider adding
them. Thanks and God bless!
~ The Princess Warrior
*http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/27_home.html
*http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/27_home.html
