When I was a kid, I was told in church that the devil knows the bible too. The point was that just because someone can spout off bible verses doesn't necessarily mean they are a good person. It doesn't mean that they are someone that you should trust or follow. You should not be taken in by false prophets who use the bible for their own devious means, you should only follow good men who use the bible for good purposes.
I don't remember what spurred this memory on, but recently it popped into my mind as I was reading the bible looking for verses that contradict other verses. I wonder if I am one of these "evil" people that my pastor was warning my very young self about. Is the very fact that I am reading with a critical eye enough to count it as evil? I definitely do my best to give it a fair shake as much as I possibly can (although I'm sure my bias shines through).
I wonder if this is a common sermon topic or if my church was somewhat of an anomaly. If it is common, what does it say about the bible that the leaders of the church warn of people using it for nefarious purposes?
It's kinda like theists cherry picking science articles to find things that confirm their beliefs. I know you are trying to be fair, and probably have purer intentions than the cherry pickers, but none of us can transcend our own motives.
ReplyDeleteOn the plus side, the scientific method is designed to minimize bias. The authors of the Bible can't say the same.
haha, I think you are right. I never really thought about it as being similar to the science article cherry pickers, but I suppose I do have an expectation as to what I will find. I have always tried to counter this by pointing out anything that breaks this expectation :)
ReplyDeleteKind of funny how many different interpretations there are of the supposedly divinely inspired book. Every church believes that every other is wrong about matters we could never really know even if they were true. Aka theology. By reading the Bible in its entirety or even just the new testament its not too difficult to find positive and negitive justifications for just about anything.
ReplyDeleteThe big book of multiple choice
ReplyDelete