I was up in Tampa recently,
visiting a few friends that live there. I found myself in a brief discussion
with one of them, Mike, about the authors of the Bible. He mentioned over one
hundred authors contributed, I disagreed.
We disputed back and forth for a while until I declared there were only
66 books, and I knew for a fact that certain books shared authors. Mike
countered by inquiring whose decision it was to include and exclude books in
the biblical canon. The argument arose not from bad estimation, but from our
classifications of what an ‘author’ was. He encompassed any individual who had
an effect on the final product through means of writing, editing, or
translating. In this designation, he was very much correct, and likely there
were thousands of authors. My opinion was of the only ‘author’ was the original
human writer. We were both correct, but on different questions.
Arguments
and fights regularly are birthed from a humble misunderstanding of the other
participant. My mother often weaves a yarn of her mother and herself fighting
with the same opinion worded differently. One of the hardest things to do in a
fight is to comprehend the views of your adversary, but it’s typically the
smartest and swiftest course of action. If you can grasp their thoughts, you
will recognize if your position is right or wrong, and how to express that. You
learn which rulebook they play with. Imagine any competitive sport, for
instance. They identify goals, boundaries, points, fouls, punishments, time
limits, and everything pertaining to that sport. If one knows nothing about
that sport, a read through the rulebook explains it all.
In life, or at least the Christian
life, we possess a mutual rulebook – the Bible – that we play by. Any argument
is quickly routed by ferreting out the correct verse (or collection of verses)
and slapping it/them down on the table proclaiming, “It says so right here!
Q.E.D.” It wasn’t until further on
in my relationship with my fiancé that this easy fix-all was broken. In an
argument I deemed she was mistaken, and all I had to do was slap down a verse
to clear it all up. She disagreed, “See? This proves my point!” I was
astonished that she was this wrong!
Offering the benefit of the doubt, I examined the verse again. Obviously it implied what I had assumed,
but I could see where she had gotten her opinion as well. (I am being
facetious, her belief was equally valid.) Yet this is also a predicament. Here
we are with the same rulebook, but a dissimilar method to decipher it. If there
is a communal rulebook, we need an analogous way to read it. Therefore, I have
concocted 5 simple ground rules for “Spiritually Outclassed Bible Reading™”.
1)
Everything in the Bible is absolutely true.
This is a foundation for
comprehending the Bible, I believe. You may not share my beliefs, but please
play along for the duration. It will align us to the same ‘rulebook’. (Though,
I will mention quickly that there are opposing beliefs on what books belong in
the bible.)
2)
Everything in the bible is divinely inspired.
It is a tenant in the Christian
faith to believe that the Bible is 100% true and divinely inspired. The basis
for proclaiming the scriptures are directly from God is ordinarily (to my
limited erudition) referenced from 2 Peter 1. With this as a given, ‘picking
and choosing’ what sections of the Bible to believe is unacceptable. It is all
true and all meant for you. (Again, there are opposing viewpoints on divine
inspiration.)
3)
Every verse requires context.
a. Who wrote it
b.
Who was it written to
c. What was happening
d.
What was the purpose
Too many times have I heard misused
verses. Without context, even mundane speech can be exploited for unintended
purposes. Consequently, I have included this rule. Before interpreting a verse,
you must first determine the above parameters.
4)
Every popular opinion is not inherently truth.
Imagine a commonplace story from
the Bible. Let’s take the nativity, for instance. It’s very well-known and
replicated in most towns during Christmas. The infant Jesus resting in a manger
next to his parents, angels, three kings, shepherds, and animals is the usual mental
picture. However, this is incorrect.
Therefore, if it is popular opinion, check it twice to make sure it’s correct.
5)
Every time a book is read, more is understood.
In English class, you’re taught to
first scan over the various chapters and plot the general outline so that you fathom
more when you read it fully. In scripture, I would say the same. Each book
should be skimmed and read to ensure you understand. Truly, it is so laden with
meaning, later read-throughs should be mandatory to comprehend more.
