4 Bible Reading Attitudes Part 2

Last time I introduced the issue of diverse attitudes Christians have about the Bible. The first attitude I discussed was the “We don’t respect the Bible” attitude. In it people who have this attitude would never admit they don’t respect the Bible. But they treat the Bible as inconsequential or non-authoritative when it contradicts current cultural values and practices.

Attitude 2: We respect the Bible (sort of)

Now we turn our attention to the somewhat benevolent attitude of respecting the Bible “sort of.” 

This attitude includes people who generally respect the Bible’s authority. But they often haphazardly work against this value when they try to read or apply biblical teachings. This can happen innocently or deliberately.

Before I became a Christian, I read the book of John in two sittings. I was fascinated with Jesus. And it's what lead me to become a Christian. However, as a Christian I was also fascinated with preachers and teachers who were able to tease all sorts of ideas from a few lines of text. I always thought I was missing something. So, I was drawn in by a haphazard way of reading the Bible, which led me to miss the point even though I appreciated the Bible and desired to follow God's ways. 

Here are 5 different ways this haphazard approach plays out:

Those who believe whatever the pastor or teacher says

These people take the Bible seriously. They believe the Bible is the Word of God and it is the final authority on all matters of faith. However, they don't trust themselves to read it accurately. They place most of their trust in what particular teachers, friends, or experts say about the biblical texts. 

Some may try to read the Bible faithfully, but have been convinced (by well-meaning “experts”) that they will miss all the esoteric meanings. They believe only “experts” can interpret the Bible well, and they must listen to them to get the right meaning.

Generally it’s okay to get help to understand the Bible. That's not the problem. The problem is allowing feelings of inadequacy to prevent us from even trying to understand Scripture for ourselves.

Again, getting help from others, who may know better, is perfectly fine. However, the goal should always be to understand Scripture by studying it ourselves, because it’s part of our communication with God. We need others to help us stay honest with Scripture, and to challenge our understanding. But we are responsible for what we believe. It's good to have the attitude of listening and verifying what is said. And learning to dig for treasure ourselves.

Those who believe there’s power in the verse.

These are people who believe the Bible is authoritative. But they habitually take verses and words out of their original context and meaning. The Bible essentially becomes a collection of subjective interpretations.

Those who see daily Bible reading as a Christian discipline, but don’t retain much. 

They take the Bible seriously enough to read it daily. It’s difficult for them to be too concerned about understanding what it means compared to completing the task.

Reading the Bible everyday is a good habit. But reading everyday to simply check off a list isn't — especially when one is getting little or nothing from the experience except monotony. As a result, sometimes the accomplishment of reading can overshadow the need to understand. Unfortunately, they will still feel spiritual because they are "in the Word."

Those who take pride in doing what the Bible says

These people take the Bible seriously, and desire to be "doers of the Word". This is a good thing to desire. But they read the Bible superficially like the "Daily Bible readers" and the "Power in the verse" readers. They read to "apply", not to understand. In their minds seeking to understand is like being a hearer who doesn’t do. This is a misunderstanding of James 1:22.

They develop the bad habit of doing what they think it says, and not what it means. In other words, they may act on the words they read, but miss what the author intended. Unfortunately, they will feel justified in acting this way, and doing the very opposite of what the Scripture actually teaches.

As a result, they rely heavily on their tradition and assumptions rather than on what God actually says. And in pride they can feel superior to those who just "read the Bible". They find it hard to humble themselves when someone sees a passage differently than them — since those who do are “opposing the Word of God.” And they are quick to judge others based on their "personal understanding" of a text.

Those who use the Bible like it was a trivia game

This last group takes the Bible seriously, but use it as a set of facts, bromides, or legal codes. They are like the "Power in the verse" people and "Daily readers" folk in that they take bits and pieces of the Bible and apply their own meanings.

But for these people, the Bible is fascinating. And they study and teach the Bible by highlighting interesting, but often useless factoids and distracting details. Sometimes these facts may be relevant, but they have no clue how they are. They focus on these details in a way that distracts from the main point of a passage.

Sometimes these types of people have an unhealthy interest in numbers, symbols, and biblical prophecies. However, they don't hesitate to draw conclusions from these tidbits to shape much of their theology. They fail to consider that their ideas are likely wrong in light of clearer teachings in the Bible.

Next week we will look at the attitude of We respect the Bible and use it to justify what we believe.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash