Making Sense of the Bible #2

It is merely my purpose to give some basic thoughts on making sense of the bible rather than a lengthy, technical discourse on the rules involved in “hermeneutics” i.e. “the science of interpreting the scriptures.” To do so would probably necessitate me having to write another series of articles on “making sense of hermeneutics.” Fortunately, all that can be avoided when one takes the risk of just stating the obvious, which is what I intend to do. Please don’t misunderstand me – a good hermeneutic is both essential and exceedingly helpful to a proper interpretation of the scriptures. By any fair standard of definition, what I am writing in these articles would be classified under the heading of hermeneutics.

Given that most people who initially read the Bible are at least curious about it brings up a point worth considering when making sense of it. Curiosity with the Bible is at least rooted in the fact that it claims to be about God, if not from God. Understanding what it says doesn’t require that one read it with a belief in those claims. However, since it makes those claims whether one believes it or not, it would seem to me that the reader would at least give a respectful and fair reading of its claims before deciding either way. So what I am suggesting is that one read and approach the Bible for what it claims to be, which does not demand that one believe it in order to understand it.

The Bible does not claim to profess all the truth about every subject known to man. However, it does profess to contain the only truth man needs to know in order to go to Heaven (2 Peter 1:3-4; Jude 3). Any approach to the Bible with a preconceived notion as to specific doctrines or that it is a fictitious work to begin with is a waste of one’s time and a less than objective treatment of it. Giving it a fair reading and hearing does not mean you listen to what I or anyone else says about it. A respectful and fair reading of it means that is what YOU give it yourself by reading and critical thinking. To base your understanding of it on what someone else says or thinks is not giving it a fair hearing, even if what someone else says about it is true. The fact that the Bible, as we have it today, has been preserved for 2,000 years and multiplied thousands upon thousands have believed it through the ages earns it the right to be given a respectful and fair hearing by every responsible person. How fair and respectful are you? Let your light shine and read the Bible with the fairness and respect it has earned before making up your mind about its claims or anything else someone says about it. That is true objectivity.