After much questioning and trying to figure out if it was the best thing to do, I walked over to the bookstore here on campus and purchased Velvet Elvis. The moment I held it in my hands, I knew I had made a smart investment. It was that Friday night that I crept into my dorm room, lay down, turned on the light, and began to read.
I read through Chapter One.
I read into Chapter Two.
And I stopped. I had to put the book down. It wasn't what I expected. His words resonated with me in a way that only a few authors' words have. I can only compare it to my first readings of Hearing God, The Spirit of the Disciplines, and The Divine Conspiracy. Except these were the words of Rob Bell, not Dallas Willard.
My own view of the scriptures and my interpretation of them has been molded by the culture in which I exist, the books I have read, the ideas I've had, the hopes I've yearned for, and the people I've talked to. It is easy for me to think that I know exactly what's going on and the person over there is way off-base. That's arrogant. Sometimes the way I interpret scripture and the way you interpret scripture will be different.
And that's OK.
Although it is my belief that we must not wander from the simple truths of the Message: salvation through Christ, commitment to Christ, loving God and loving others, to name a few.
And I'm sure some people will disagree with me.
And that's OK.
I read through Chapter One.
I read into Chapter Two.
And I stopped. I had to put the book down. It wasn't what I expected. His words resonated with me in a way that only a few authors' words have. I can only compare it to my first readings of Hearing God, The Spirit of the Disciplines, and The Divine Conspiracy. Except these were the words of Rob Bell, not Dallas Willard.
Rob Bell spoke of how many of us interpret the scriptures, and how we think that our interpretation is right and everyone else's is wrong. Some of us may even go so far as to believe that we are just "reading what the Bible says" and therefore there's no room for opinion. What we must realize is that our interpretation is saturated with opinion. Our interpretation isn't going to be unbiased, because we are constantly affected by culture, our experiences, what we've read, what we've learned, what we've taught, and what we've come to believe. The truth is, if I think my interpretation of the scriptures is objective and more accurate than yours, I am simply being arrogant. When we disagree on a biblical issue, it is not disagreeing on eternal truths, it is disagreeing on how we interpret those eternal truths. "
My interpretation is right. Your interpretation is wrong."
In other words, "I think the Bible means this, and since you think otherwise, you're wrong. You don't agree with me, therefore you're wrong."
My interpretation is right. Your interpretation is wrong."
In other words, "I think the Bible means this, and since you think otherwise, you're wrong. You don't agree with me, therefore you're wrong."
My own view of the scriptures and my interpretation of them has been molded by the culture in which I exist, the books I have read, the ideas I've had, the hopes I've yearned for, and the people I've talked to. It is easy for me to think that I know exactly what's going on and the person over there is way off-base. That's arrogant. Sometimes the way I interpret scripture and the way you interpret scripture will be different.
And that's OK.
Although it is my belief that we must not wander from the simple truths of the Message: salvation through Christ, commitment to Christ, loving God and loving others, to name a few.
And I'm sure some people will disagree with me.
And that's OK.
4 comments:
i agree that the Bible is written in a way that will lead to "subtle" differences of interpretations. however, i believe that we must try to avoid allowing our culture or other things that we read or have been taught by others to influence us in a way that we "make the bible fit how we feel". i believe we too often try to make the bible fit into our own beliefs so we feel more comfortable.
i also agree that with you about the simple truths of the Message: "salvation through Christ, commitment to Christ, loving God and loving others, to name a few", however, i think it there is also much that is not simple. otherwise the bible would not be 66 books with thousands of scriptures - it could simply be a a one page "tract".
Mike - thanks for the info to block the spam
Yet the problem is, if we try to read or understand the Bible without outside influences, we're going to fail. It's inevitable. Whether we like it or not, our interpretations of scripture--and this interpretation leads to our beliefs--will be saturated with influence.
This is why, I think, we have the Holy Spirit, to help us discern from truth and nontruth. We're screwed if we try to understand the Bible completely on our own. We also have the Church to help us and call us out on the floor when we're wrong.
i agree 100% that "we have the Holy Spirit, to help us discern from truth and nontruth." ultimately we should check everything against the Word of God. i think the Holy Spirit was given to us to help us understand the bible - not just to interpret a bunch of other people's opinions. the problem today is that people are "starving" to get closer to God and they buy and read "the latest spiritual book", rather than reading the bible.
if you really want to know someone, you don't focus your attention on everyone else's "thoughts" about them (spiritual books), rather you go and spend time with them yourself (bible, prayer).
i agree that the church should hold us accountable (call us out on the floor) in our walk, but like you say, it is often influenced by the leaders opinions.
Hey Anthony,
I knew you'd like that book. I'm reading it again.
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