Why the Bible Is so Hard to Understand ... and Tips to Understanding It

Steve Langford

Description

This book guides the reader in overcoming the challenges that are a normal part of reading and understanding the Bible.
The Bible continues to be a source people turn to in their hunger for God. Yet, the Bible can be a challenging, confusing book to understand. In Why the Bible is So Hard to Understand…and tips to understanding it, author Steve Langford explores the challenges readers commonly encounter in reading the Bible. The first challenges Steve identifies are those found within how we naturally, unconsciously read the Bible. Then he addresses the Bible’s nature as sixty-six different books written from an ancient, near-Eastern, pre-scientific perspective. He then offers a simple model of interpretation that guides the reader in unwrapping the spiritual truth from the human “wrapper” used to deliver it. The model is followed by guidelines for using it. Two bible studies are included, one of Jesus walking on the water that illustrates how to use the model and one from the life of Peter that outlines the process of spiritual growth that is prompted as we read the Bible. The book also offers guidelines for exercising spiritual discernment and for praying the Bible using the practice of lectio divina. It presents an outline of biblical history that helps the reader put each of the six-six books in its historical context. It ends with theological reflections on God’s eternal redemptive purpose, the kingdom of God, and the church.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Bible study
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Trafford Publishing
• Date de parution: 06 janvier 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781698713755
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Also by Steve Langford
A God-Shaped World: Exploring Jesu s’s Teachings about the Kingdom of God
and the Implications for the Church T oday
The Fruit of the Spirit: The Path T hat Leads to Loving as Jesus L oved
Discovering Your True Self: A Guide for the Jou rney
God’s Plumb Line: Aligning Our Hearts with the Heart of God
The Wisdom of God: Mining the Riches of Genesis 1–11
Life in the Spirit: Reflecting on the W ork of the Holy Spirit in Our L ives
Following Jesus: Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark
Why the Bible Is So Hard to Understand ... AND TIPS TO UNDERSTANDING IT
 
(Revised and Expanded Edition)
 
 
 
 
 
Steve Langford
 
© Copyright 2023 Steve Langford. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6987-1374-8 (sc) ISBN: 978-1-6987-1373-1 (hc) ISBN: 978-1-6987-1375-5 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023900097
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only. Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.
Trafford rev. 01/03/2023
  www.trafford.com North America & international toll-free: 844-688-6899 (USA & Canada) fax: [phone]
 
This book is dedicated to
all who want to understand the Bible
and who want to put its teachings into practice.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface to the Revised Edition
Introduction
 
Chapter 1       Can a Fish See the Water It Swims In?
Chapter 2       What about the Bible Makes It So Difficult to Understand?
Chapter 3       How Do I Read the Bible So That It Makes Sense?
Chapter 4       Guiding Principles for Recognizing Spiritual Truth
Chapter 5       Did Jesus Really Walk on Water?
Chapter 6       Transformation, Not Information
Chapter 7       Listening for the Voice of God
Chapter 8       How Do I Know What to Believe?
Chapter 9       How Do All the Pieces Fit Together?
Chapter 10     What in the World Is God Doing?
 
Epilogue
Appendix A Reading the Bible Literally
About the Author
Endnotes
Acknowledgements
T his material was first presented to the members of St. John the Apostle United Methodist Church in Arlington, Texas, and to First United Methodist Church of Georgetown, Texas. The responses to the original study encouraged the writing of this book. I thank God for the members of those congregations, for their response and encouragement, and for their desire to know the scriptures so they may live as the followers of Jesus.
This book is written in deep appreciation for the many teachers who have taught me the Christian scriptures on my spiritual journey. They laid for me a solid foundation for interpreting the Bible, teaching me how to think rather than what to think. I thank God for them and their shaping influence on my life.
This book is the product of and a testimony to God’s transforming work in my life. The grace of God, as revealed in Jesus the Christ, is the only explanation of who I am today. Any insights I have received and any ability to express those insights are gifts of grace from the Spirit.
Preface to the Revised Edition
M ost of us have had the experience of thinking of what to say after-the-fact or of wishing we had said something differently. Of course, most of us do not have the opportunity to go back and say it all over again. Thankfully, I do have that opportunity in the form of this revision and expansion. This revised edition presents the message of the original book, along with additional thinking, in a different, more user-friendly form. I trust this revised edition will make the book easier to digest and, thereby, easier to apply the truths it presents.
Introduction
T he Bible—the sacred scriptures for Christians—has long been one of the most read and studied books in the Western world. Christians in particular turn to the Bible for guidance and direction in what to believe and how to live. They seek comfort, peace, hope, guidance, and reassurance from its teachings. This quest to know what the Bible teaches leads Christians to gather each Sunday in classes to hear it taught and in worship to hear it proclaimed. During the week, groups gather in churches and homes to study it while many individual Christians read it daily.
Yet, for many, the Bible continues to be a difficult book to read and understand. As a result, many do not read the Bible themselves. They depend upon others to tell them what the Bible says and means.
This brief book is an attempt to address the challenges we encounter in reading the Bible. It identifies the nature of those challenges and offers guidelines for understanding and negotiating them. These guidelines train us to interpret scripture so that we are no longer completely dependent upon others for understanding what the Bible means. Never-the-less, even as we grow in our ability to understand scripture, we never outgrow the need for someone to guide us. We always need a teacher. 1
Questions are included at the end of each chapter for use in personal reflection and journaling as well as for small group discussion.
Here’s an overview of what lies ahead:
• Chapter 1— Can a Fish See the Water It Swims In?— identifies the different lenses through which we read the Bible and how those lenses are obstacles to understanding the Bible.
• Chapter 2— What about the Bible Makes It So Hard to Understand? —addresses the challenges found in the Bible itself: it is ancient material, the product of Near Eastern cultures, written from a prescientific orientation.
• Chapter 3— How to Read the Bible So That It Makes Sense —addresses the challenge of interpretation: understanding what the Bible means. This chapter provides a simple model for interpreting what the Bible says along with helpful hints for using the model.
• Chapter 4— Guiding Principles for Recognizing Spiritual Truth— provides foundational principles to use in interpreting the Bible.
• Chapter 5— Did Jesus Really Walk on Water? Unwrapping the Story— uses the story of Jesus walking on water as an example of how to use the model presented in Chapter 3.
• Chapter 6— Transformation, Not Information —recounts the experience of Peter, recorded in Acts 10 and 11, to describe the process of spiritual growth that leads to the transformation of one’s life.
• Chapter 7— Listening for the Voice of God —presents the practice of lectio divina as another way of reading the Bible.
• Chapter 8— How Do I Know What to Believe? Practicing Spiritual Discernment —introduces the issue of spiritual discernment and presents principles to use as a guide for exercising Spirit-directed discernment.
• Chapter 9— How Do All the Pieces Fit Together?— provides an overview of the two thousand years of Hebrew history reflected in the Bible.
• Chapter 10— What in the World Is God Doing? —introduces three central themes found in the Bible: God’s eternal, redemptive purpose, the kingdom of God, and the church as a grace-based, spiritual community.
Chapter 1
Can a Fish See the Water It Swims In?

When the Spirit of truth comes, he w ill guide you into all the t ruth.
John 14:13

C an a fish see the water it swims in?
What a strange question to ask as we begin this exploration of why the Bible is so hard to understand! What in the world does what a fish sees have to do with understanding the Bible?
The question illustrates one of the reasons we struggle to understand the Bible.
The question reflects our desire to know. We want answers to our questions. Most of us do not know how to answer the question “Can a fish see the water it swims in?” However, most of us would hazard a guess . . . probably without any basis for our position. Someone might go so far as to Google the question in search of an answer. We want answers. We like to have the facts. We want to know the truth. We want to get it right.
Our focus on knowing the facts as a way of knowing the truth is an example of how we read the Bible.
I have a second reason for asking the question about a fish seeing the water it swims in. The question illustrates the thrust of this chapter: we don’t see the water we swim in. By that, I mean we don’t think about how we have been trained to think and read. We just read without thinking about it. That’s how we read the Bible—along with everything else we read. We have been trained to read looking for facts to believe.
How we read the Bible is one of the primary reasons the Bible is so hard to understand.
The Water We Swi m In
Those of us who grew up in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have been shaped by a movement known as the Enlightenment. Our education was based upon the thinking of the Enlightenment. Consequently, the Enlightenment is the intellectual water we swim in. It shaped how we think.
The Enlightenment was a revolution in thinking that took place in Europe during the late seventeenth and early e