Do Christians pick and choose Bible verses that suit there own personal worldview?

[shane50+]

For example, someone who believes men are superior to women might meditate on Genesis 3:16 Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. But other mights choose to ignore it. Is this common and accepted practice?

 

[trophy33]

For example, someone who believes men are superior to women might meditate on Genesis 3:16 Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. But other mights choose to ignore it. Is this common and accepted practice?

Not sure what you mean by "accepted practice", but its common, its simply human nature to prefer what confirms our ideas.

Its hard to overcome. It needs a conscious focus on the flexibility of mind, which is not always easy to do.

But its not a specifically Christian thing, its a human thing.

 

[timothyu]

Of course they do, especially if they are trying to defend the ways of man rather than the ways of God. The whole purpose of what is in the Bible old and new is the story of how God will over time overcome the elohim's and man's adversarial ways to His will. People create a religion, not to celbrate this fact, the good news that Jesus brought, but to use God as their authority for the things man does, ironically opposite to His will as we see with nations that falsely garb themselves as representing God..

 

[Margaret3110]

We shouldn't, but of course we generally do. However, your quote from Genesis is not a good example, I think. That verse is God stating the results of the Fall - not saying that that is how things should be in an unfallen world or that that's how he wants things to be.

 

[Laodicean60]

the elohim's

I'm scared to bring this up because I don't want a bunch of bible bashing. So, what is your interpretation of elohim's?

 

[timothyu]

So, what is your interpretation of elohim's?

The other creatures of God's creation before the creation of man.

 

[Laodicean60]

The other creatures of God's creation before the creation of man.

I heard long ago that it possibly meant lesser gods.

 

[timothyu]

I heard long ago that it possibly meant lesser gods.

Consider that those over us might be seen as gods, but also that those that became the fallen elohim became our lesser gods. God's battle with those not of His will happened long before us and continues against them including their nations which fill our world today. A world focused on the adversarial ways of both fallen elohim and of man to this day.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

For example, someone who believes men are superior to women might meditate on Genesis 3:16 Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. But other mights choose to ignore it. Is this common and accepted practice?

It might be for some more intuitively led Christians, but not for those of us who are Critical Realists and think scholarly and robust Hermeneutical and Philosophical Analysis is necessary and not merely an intuitive option.

 

[shane50+]

Not sure what you mean by "accepted practice", but its common, its simply human nature to prefer what confirms our ideas.

Its hard to overcome. It needs a conscious focus on the flexibility of mind, which is not always easy to do.

But its not a specifically Christian thing, its a human thing.

By accepted practice, I mean Christians do it without fear of eternal damnation

 

[trophy33]

By accepted practice, I mean Christians do it without fear of eternal damnation

Christians do not live in a constant anxiety of losing salvation. Thankfully, God is merciful and forgiving and being saved is by faith in Christ, not by our own perfection.

We must accept we make many mistakes in our life and Bible is not an easy or even a systematic book, so it is a bit chaotic regarding in how many ways can any verse be seen (or unseen) by an individual.

However, intellectual honesty and logical consistency is an important thing and many cults are using irrational thought processes, manipulations, lying and obvious dishonesty presenting Bible verses and this is, indeed, behind the acceptable practice and they should be called out for that.

 

[BobRyan]

For example, someone who believes men are superior to women might meditate on Genesis 3:16 Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. But other mights choose to ignore it. Is this common and accepted practice?

Yes that happens in certain cases.

The Jews picked certain scriptures that seem to support their preference for worldly greatness while ignoring the Is 53 teaching about the Messiah as the "sin offering" - the "suffering servant".

That sort of thing has been around for a while - but not everyone is inclined to engage in that sort of thing.

 

[BobRyan]

By accepted practice, I mean Christians do it without fear of eternal damnation

Rom 11 is the place to get the answer - (since are trying to avoid the traditions and sayings of men - for the answer)

Rom 11:19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

 

[shane50+]

Christians do not live in a constant anxiety of losing salvation. Thankfully, God is merciful and forgiving and being saved is by faith in Christ, not by our own perfection.

We must accept we make many mistakes in our life and Bible is not an easy or even a systematic book, so it is a bit chaotic regarding in how many ways can any verse be seen (or unseen) by an individual.

However, intellectual honesty and logical consistency is an important thing and many cults are using irrational thought processes, manipulations, lying and obvious dishonesty presenting Bible verses and this is, indeed, behind the acceptable practice and they should be called out for that.

You're right and my definition of accepted practice was rather sloppy. I meant not seeing it as a sin

 

[shane50+]

Bible is not an easy or even a systematic book, so it is a bit chaotic regarding in how many ways can any verse be seen (or unseen) by an individual.

Why would the Bible be unsystematic, chaotic or open to interpretation if it's the word of God?

 

[trophy33]

Why would the Bible be unsystematic, chaotic or open to interpretation if it's the word of God?

When we say its the word of God, we do not mean it was dictated, composed, translated, printed and commented by God. God inspired ancient authors about various thoughts regarding salvation and monotheism, namely in prophecies, but other than that, they were quite free to use whatever words or genres or style they wanted.

Its not written in a systematic manner like a systematic theology, thats why its so hard to extract such systematic theology from it. The European concept of systems has come with Aristotle, who lived later. And it was still just a beginning before it was developed more, into our current way of scientific and logical thinking.

The authors of the Bible (Old Testament) lived in the times and culture of Babylonia, old Persia etc. In those times, people used poetry, mythology, metaphoric stories, dramas... and its hard for us, who live today, to grasp such styles properly. Or to find easy systems in it.

On the top of that, there are common textual problems - multiple textual versions, multiple possible meanings of words and sentences, lost concepts we do not know about anymore but the ancient authors referred to etc.

Bible is quite simple in basics, but quite complicated in details. Thats why people can read it whole life and still discover new and new layers in it (and also why its so difficult to agree about those details between scholars, churches or individual Christians). Its quite a different reading compared to reading for example Wikipedia or a scientific paper.

 

[shane50+]

When we say its the word of God, we do not mean it was dictated, composed, translated, printed and commented by God. God inspired ancient authors about various thoughts regarding salvation and monotheism, namely in prophecies, but other than that, they were quite free to use whatever words or genres or style they wanted.

Its not written in a systematic manner like a systematic theology, thats why its so hard to extract such systematic theology from it. The European concept of systems has come with Aristotle, who lived later. And it was still just a beginning before it was developed more, into our current way of scientific and logical thinking.

The authors of the Bible (Old Testament) lived in the times and culture of Babylonia, old Persia etc. In those times, people used poetry, mythology, metaphoric stories, dramas... and its hard for us, who live today, to grasp such styles properly. Or to find easy systems in it.

On the top of that, there are common textual problems - multiple textual versions, multiple possible meanings of words and sentences, lost concepts we do not know about anymore but the ancient authors referred to etc.

Bible is quite simple in basics, but quite complicated in details. Thats why people can read it whole life and still discover new and new layers in it (and also why its so difficult to agree about those details between scholars, churches or individual Christians). Its quite a different reading compared to reading for example Wikipedia or a scientific paper.

I have the same impression of the Bible as you described but I thought that might be due my lack of experience. When you encounter a contradictory or cryptic verse, do you simply choose your own interpretation ?

 

[trophy33]

I have the same impression of the Bible as you described but I thought that might be due my lack of experience. When you encounter a contradictory or cryptic verse, do you simply choose your own interpretation ?

Sometimes, we need to simply accept that there are some contradictory details in the Bible. Contradiction is a formal logic thing and our formal logic was not as used in the ancient Mesopotamia as is in our industrial/scientific era. For example, there are whole chapters about the same event with different details about the event, sometimes contradictory (like the story about the death of Saul). Because contradiction was not a problem for them, they rather wanted to preserve both variants than to have just one. Or some text was composed from different authors so its sometimes incoherent (like Gen 1 and Gen 2).

Sometimes, we need to simply acknowledge that the verse can have several meanings or possible translations and we do not know which one or which ones are the original author's intent.

Sometimes, we can choose our own interpretation, if its still in the realm of possibilities of the context and does not produce even more contradictions.

And sometimes, we can simply continue reading. Bible has so many verses that there is no point in being stuck in one for a long time.