Making the Bible Say What We Want

The Bible has 66 books written over 1400 years by mostly Jewish men. It has many genres of literature from history to poetry . It says many many things. Thus, the risks exist that we can make the Bible say what we want.

I would like to add that we all do it. It is never good as we are making God instead of finding him and letting him change us.

Any time we go to the Bible seeking to prove a certain point, we are at risk. On the deeper topics like free will, we can always find verses to ‘prove’ our point.  So, how do we face this problem?

First, we must admit again that we are all biased when we go to read the Bible.

We would be perfect in reading the Bible if we could arrive there as a blank slate for God to write on. Then, God’s words could reach us just as they are.

Unfortunately, our personality, childhood family culture, ethnicity, gender, nationality, politics, education background, work, friends, and age all open us to bias.

That is a lot to sort out, and we are deceived in each step we take. All our background colors how we feel about things. That deeply affects how we judge them.

Thus, should we throw up our hands and succumb?

Making the Bible Say What We Want is a Risk

Hardly, but we need to hear the other voices. Have you openly talked with people different from you on how they see the Bible? Have you talked with Catholics  about how they see the Bible and what it says?  How about a Pentecostal person and get their favorite verses.

I listened to a Catholic Apologist last week. I could see through his biases and failures in critical thinking in a heart beat.  Does that mean he is wrong and foolish? I think If I wrote an article on why Protestants are better than Catholics, he could see through my biases in a heartbeat too.  Did you know that most people watch news that says things that agree with them rather than inform? Will that help them us grow?

If we only read the Bible to get what we want to hear, then what hope is there for us? Satan used Bible verses to tempt Jesus. He is using Bible verses and our heart to hear what makes us comfortable to deceive the faithful.  We need to be more aware that we are making the Bible say something that God did not intend.

One thing we can do is to talk to or listen to people who are different then us to hear what they think it says.

Because I once used the Bible to prove that people should not feel, I know that deceiving ourselves can be harmful to ourselves and others.