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By Greg Vanden Berge 12/16/2011
Here’s a question that doesn't get asked often enough. Most Christians
go to church regularly and some of them even study the Bible, but rarely
seem to ask this question.
Even if you have asked the question before, how would you know whether
or not you were right?
Think about it for a moment.
1. Did someone teach you how to read the Bible or even study it?
2. Was this person a Christian?
3. Who taught this person how to read and understand the Bible?
Now here’s where it gets tricky, how do you know whether or not the
people you learned from, ever learned how to read the Bible correctly?
I know what you're thinking, how difficult is it to read the Bible? You
pick the book up and start reading, just like any other book.
You're absolutely right, as long as you're going to treat it like any
other book. However, if you believe the Bible is truly the written word
of God and everything in the Bible is absolutely true, then you we could
have problem.
If you believe the Bible provides you with moral and ethical advice.
Then it should be read, understood and followed to the letter. If that’s
the case, then you won't be able to read it like any other book.
As a matter of fact, I don't recommend starting from the beginning
and reading the entire Bible, all the way through. Yeah… it will
probably sound great at church socials and it might even impress a few
of your fellow Christians, but what do you walk away with?
I've met a few people who’ve read the Bible and even met some who have
memorized large quantities of it, but what do they really end up with?
In my opinion, you usually end up with someone who can quote out of the
Bible, but can't answer questions, rationally. This is exactly what you
get, when reading the Bible incorrectly.
You will end up with more Christians, who sound like they know what
they're talking about and can even fool other Christians, but don't know
for sure, they're actually providing anyone, with the absolute truth.
If you enjoy sounding like you know what you're talking about and want
other Christians to respect you, then continue on, but if you're really
looking for the truth, you'll need to do some research and actually
study the Bible.
Christians can no longer continue to read the Bible, with out trying to
understand it. 17th-century Christians, don't work well in the 21st
century and definitely aren't going to work well, in the 22nd century.
The answer to the question is simple, you're reading the Bible
correctly, when you're studying it and not just reading it.
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