Reading The Bible

Reading The Bible

And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 4:21 (ESV)

The Bible is certainly the most wonderful, fun, and educational book in this world to read. Even if you are not a Christian it still provides history and wisdom! This can be said about most every work considered holy by people of this world.

For those who would like to study several varieties of holy works the Free Bible InterFaith Explorer contains translations of many holy books.

Whenever you open the Bible or any book of wisdom, especially a translation, you must do so with an open mind and an open heart. Consider the words of Dale Martin.

"Any interpretation of scripture that hurts people, oppresses people, or destroys people cannot be the right interpretation, no mater how traditional, historical, or exegetically respectable."

We must always bear in mind that we do not have in our possession the original manuscripts. We have translations of copies of copies. Translations are made by teams of fallible humans as were the copies.

We should also bear in mind contextual issues. The books of the Bible were written in very different cultures and times. There are many words in Biblical Greek and ancient Hebrew that simply do not have exact translations in modern languages. The Muslims do have it right, the Qu`ran is simply not the Qu`ran when translated into another language, it is nothing more than a translation. In a similar vein, the book you refer to as the Bible, whether the English Standard Version, the New International Version, or the King James Version, is not the original. It is not The Bible, it is just a translation of a copy of a copy.

However, all is not lost. We have The Holy Spirit to guide our reading and our thoughts. When we open our Bible we need, we MUST leave our own feelings, desires, and personal beliefs behind, open our minds and open our hearts to The Holy Spirit. In this way, we can achieve better understanding of Scripture.

Thanks be to our Gracious Father and His wonderful Son, Jesus Christ, who have sent The Holy Spirit to be among us and guide us in our understanding of His will.

Amen