Bible Discussion Thread

Further insight on how not to approach scripture

There are things in scripture despite all of it being of value that shouldn't be emulated; this would include Satan's tactics in twisting the Word for his own benefit or all the examples of individuals including true saints of God falling into patterns of sin.

Truly we can say the Bible gives a true account of what sinners did but we don't want to follow after their footsteps.

I would also contend that sections such as Genesis 6 and others about the Nephilim and descendants of the giant races shouldn't evolve into an obsession which often leads us to the Apocrypha and other spurious writings (such as about the "watchers" that can lead us down a rabbit trail leading to our own destruction). Hidden wisdom and such is something we need to be wary of; along with texts from other religions. This all; of course evolves from what was released when the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was tampered with by our first ancestors.

We are told also not to be caught up in "endless geneologies" ( 1 Tim. 1:4). The study of the origin of the Patriarchs certainly can be edifying; but of course such nonsense as the descendants of Cain being extrapolated as meaning all dark skinned races are cursed is obviously twisting scripture beyond where it is intended. Just the fact that all the old world was wiped out and started anew with Noah should dispel that idea; let alone the fact that we all are descendants of Adam and all related. Those who were not truly men; that is the sons of the giants may be "men of renown" ( Gen. 6:4); but we aren't to make huge idols of them like the pagans did.

Scripture also shouldn't be used to push our own agenda; whether "Christian nationalism" that purports to be a theocracy like ancient Israel with a Dominionism mentality that we will make the world suitable for Christ to return or other such malarky. The Word has been interpreted incorrectly through cherry picking as well.

Hello Richard,

If I may say when we open our Bible to read and study, if we are not willing to leave the baggage of traditions at the door and what we think we know, and in prayer with the mindset that we do not know anything our eyes and ears will be closed to the Spirit of truth. Until we are willing to humble ourselves the truth will be hidden.

Deuteronomy 29:4 Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

God bless,

RLW

Dear Christian Brother hello my name is Jaz and I'm new here . I've just read your message and it's so true . When I was a child I was told all kind of things about God by my family . As an adult I was shocked when I read the Bible for the first time to discover that so many things I had been told were not in the Bible . Sometimes the complete opposite ! It's so important for us to read the Bible for ourselves and not trust what people tell us to be true . God speaks for Himself in the Bible . We must pray for eyes and ears and open hearts and minds so we can come to know Him as He is and as He has revealed Himself to be in His Word . Our salvation is the most important thing and we must put our trust in God and in His Word not in how others interpret His Word . He has given us the Spirit of Truth we must be thankful for that and use it to read the Bible for ourselves .

Amen Jaz,

Welcome to the site, what comes to mind is 2 Timothy 2:15-16, truth only comes from the Spirit of Truth, not our mind which is full of preconceived thoughts that blind our eyes, plug our ears, and block the truth.

God bless,

RLW

Thank you Brother and yes ! That is so true . When I was a child we used to play a game called Chinese whispers . We would sir in a circle and one of us would start by whispering something in the persons ear that was next to them . I might say 'today is very windy and I'm wearing a jumper' . We were only allowed to whisper it once and the person who heard it has to pass it on in a whisper just once to the child next to them . When the last child heard the whisper they had to say it out loud and it would always end up something very different to what it was in the beginning . Why do we think that God provided and preserved His Word in the way that He did ? So we can read it of course . That's hat He wants is to do and so we must if we wish to be secure in our relationship with Him through Christ His Word made flesh . Where else can we go to learn of our creator ? Saul foolishly sought information in the wrong place and suffered for his choice . John chapter 6 when Jesus said things that were hard for his disciples to understand some would turn away from him maybe they found his words distasteful . Verse 66 to 69 ,Lord , to whom shall we go ? thou hast the words of eternal life . This Word should be our touchstone always .

Hello Jaz:

I am glad to welcome you to this site with the blessings of God. I do agree that studying God's word through the decrement of the Holy Spirit and prayer are the most important things we can ever do in our lives. I think on this sometimes, when I'm tempted to spend to much time on entertaining myself, although with goodly things. I compare how much time have I spent with my Savior and His word then I have spent on this entertainment. Psalms 1 was one of the first scriptures I read that woke me up to this. Verse 2 reads: "But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. We study it, we pray it and we meditate on it." God Bless :)

Hi Jaz,

I believe that game is also called telephone, it shows how easily misunderstandings can happen. There are two simple ones, how many of each of the animals went into the ark with Noah? Many may say two, one male and one female of each of the animals, this comes from many of the Sunday school books but is not what Scripture says.

And the wise men at the manger with all the nativity scenes out of porcelain and other art mediums and such but Scripture tells us they went to a house and saw the boy Jesus maybe as old as two, not a baby.

This may be trivial, but it shows us something this small we can be wrong about should humble us to pray for the truth of all of the word of God.

God bless,

RLW