Thursday, June 26, 2008

The Bible as a Mirror

I don't remember where I was exposed to this idea (I've probably blogged about it previously), but it has recently really come home to roost in my mind.

The Bible, complex as it is, winds up mirroring whatever beliefs you bring to it.
  • If you believe women should be silent in church, you'll find that in there. If you believe women should be given equal rights/status/abilities as men, you'll find that in there.
  • If you believe salvation is absolutely dependent on being immersed, you'll find that in there. If you believe we can do nothing to gain our own salvation, you'll find that in there.
  • If you believe the Jews are a favored race for all time, you'll find that in there. If you believe the Jews have been rejected since they've rejected Jesus, you'll find that in there.
Just thought I'd point this out.

2 comments:

Nathan R. Hale said...

I agree...but then the question as to how to base our beliefs on what the Bible says has to be raised. It's a toughie. Any thoughts?

Kent West said...

Hey! It's good to hear from you again.

I don't believe I have any real answers.

I think my main point in this post was not to find a solution, but simply in response to what I witness very often at church, that attitude of "Those people over there don't have a love for the truth because if they did they'd see that my doctrine is plainly the scriptural one and that theirs is unscriptural."

I've come to believe that Jesus warned against this attitude when he told the Pharisees in John 9 that they wouldn't be guilty for being blind, but that they became guilty because they claimed they were not blind.

Realizing that the Bible acts as a mirror for one's beliefs just explains why it's so easy to adopt this attitude.