Highlights: How NOT to Read the Bible (Episode 50)
The road to atheism is littered with Bibles that have been read cover to cover.
To most Christians, the Bible is like a software license. Nobody actually reads it. They just scroll to the bottom and click “I agree.”
Never Read a Bible
Verse By lifting verses out of context, they can easily be misunderstood. The story-line of the Bible must be understood so that we can see where the verse/passage/book fits into the larger over-arching story.
We need to enter their world to hear the words as the original audience would have heard them and as the author would've meant them to be understood…If we don’t the possibilities for confusion are endless.
Stranger Things
The surrounding people groups who worship other gods and goddesses practiced all kinds of evil things…God did not want Israel to become like them, so he had Moses write down loving guidelines…to keep them distinct from other nations.
God didn’t create the institution of slavery. Slavery was man-made and was everywhere in the ancient world. The Old Testament rules established unique protections for slaves. Slaves were treated much better in ancient Israel than in surrounding cultures.
Boys’ Club Christianity
When we read what Jesus did with regard to women, it should be recognized as countercultural, highly shocking, and extremely challenging to the religious leaders of his day. We see Jesus striving to change the culture he lived in through the way he treated women – with respect, dignity, and equality.
The Bible verses that at first sound misogynistic and chauvinistic have explanations.
Misunderstandings are due to not looking at the specific situations and unique culture of that time period.
Do We Have to Choose Between Science and the Bible?
The Bible teaches us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go. (Galileo)
So many of the debates within Christianity, as well as the mocking criticism of the Bible, end up being irrelevant when we accept that God wasn't providing details to satisfy questions from our modern scientific worldview. God used what the people were aware of at that time to communicate the truth about himself and his work in creating all things.
Does Christianity Claim All Other Religions Are Wrong?
Christianity is the one world faith in which people don't have to earn their way to heaven, but it is through the work of Jesus and us putting faith in him.
The Horror of God’s Old Testament Violence
If you were carefully reading the entire Old Testament, you would not find a reactionary God who needs a class in anger management, someone who strikes out randomly, without cause. Instead, you find a God who is patient – again and again – with his people. Even in the parts where God is actively behind violence and death, it is not done without first pleading for change, giving warnings, waiting for change and showing great patience.
Jesus Loved His Crazy Bible
The Bible Project Podcast (12/06/2021) Interview with Dan Kimball
The Lost World of Genesis One, John Walton
ReGenerationProject.org