I just finished a book called Reading the Bible For All The Wrong Reasons. It was an interesting book on why we read the Bible and how many of us use the Bible for abuse rather than to build each other up.
By abuse we use the Bible to support those things we already believe. We proof text to find the nugget of information to support our thoughts. Even if we have to take that nugget out of context. We have long held beliefs of Biblical authority and of the text being inspired by God and being with out error. The Bible contradicts itself way to many times though according to the author for this to hold water. How can an all knowing and powerful God give us His divinely inspired work that contradicts itself? Why would He do this?
Plus the Bible has been used to hold down women, homosexuals and many others. There is the backing in the Bible to support interracial marriage being wrong. We chose to uphold something’s while ignoring or writing off others. The Bible says not to sow different types of seeds in the same field, or to wear garments of mixed fibers or to eat pork or shrimp or especially bacon wrapped shrimp… (personally I think not eating Bacon wrapped Shrimp should be a sin!)
Why do we think we can say the Bible says it and therefore we have to do it. And allow that to hold true for somethings and not for others.
The Bible is suppose to be a boon that brings us closer to God. The Bible is a book that grabs us and pulls us in, not a boom we grab and hold up against someone to measure how good they are.
So why do you read through Bible? Is it to be grab and filled with the Spirit to be brought closer to God? Or is it to prove what you think you already know and to bring you up and others down?
aSacredRebel 