Why isn’t the Bible more clear?

public hermit · Jan 16, 2022

I wonder if one reason is so that we wouldn't try to pin our unity on the scriptures. We are not united in the bible, we're united in Christ. We don't have to be united in interpretation to be united in Christ. If we have the Spirit, which always bears fruit, then we are already united even if we make the error of trying to pin our unity on interpretation.

Gregory Thompson · Jan 16, 2022

It has for the first thing been translated into too many languages for it to be clear.

Second is that during those translations were numerous cultural changes that we have no access to. Thus as the translations were being done, secular and church culture was influencing the christians doing the translating. Also, as culture changes, the meaning of words change also.

Any slight error in translation or misunderstanding would be carried on to the next generation, and the next generation which had their own errors, which they translated from the text and then back into the text. Now it is 2000 years later.

The multiple divisions in the church were created as a result of the errors.

It is written in the bible, in the Spirit there is unity, but from this experiment - not so much unity from people interpreting a text.

Original Happy Camper · Jan 16, 2022

2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

pescador · Jan 16, 2022

The Bible is perfectly clear. So why is there disagreement? Because the Bible communicates spiritual truth, not logical truth. When people try to communicate what the Bible says using logic they run into difficulties.

One simple example: in John's gospel right after the story of Nicodemus, a religious leader of the Jews, coming secretly to Jesus at night, flattering Him with “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God", he tells the story of Jesus talking the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well.

She said, “How can you—a Jew—ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water to drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you had known the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” “Sir,” the woman said to him, “you have no bucket and the well is deep; where then do you get this living water? Surely you’re not greater than our ancestor Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock.”

The contrast between the two juxtaposed stories of 1) a rich, respected Pharisaic leader of the Jews and 2)an outcast Samaritan woman, an educated male debater and an uneducated, despised woman is intentional. In just a few paragraphs, John has addressed the entire spectrum of people who believed the Christ.

Genius, brilliance, revealed to us many centuries later! But not obvious...

Gregory Thompson · Jan 16, 2022

I wonder what the canon list was at the completion of Paul's Second Epistle to Timothy ...

Hrvoje Pratezina · Jan 16, 2022

Except when it's not. Eg. Try having a group conversation about what foods are biblical to eat (or not). Or what's acceptable to do on the Sabbath. Or are we living in the end times.

Albion · Jan 16, 2022

Yes, that's true.

I agree, except that I wouldn't take the view that its information is obscure or absolutely in need of deciphering. Not when Scripture itself says that what is there is sufficient for all of us.

honey badger · Jan 16, 2022

the bible has become one singular cohesive narrative to me .... forever expanding by remaining the same ...

angelsaroundme · Jan 16, 2022

Jews have the Talmud which is supposed to explain or add context to the Old Testament. I've only glanced at it. But usually, even if you get answers, you end up with more questions. I think part of it is so we always have more to learn. God must like us to keep seeking knowledge, or at least, those of us given to that disposition.

The other thing is interpreters are part of the process. God gave the interpretation of dreams to Joseph and Daniel and one of the gifts of the spirit is the interpretation of tongues. Perhaps that is a way of showing us that we're supposed to rely on each other for understanding.

Maria Billingsley · Jan 16, 2022

We can garner much from scripture but we should understand that it was written for a certain group of people, Israel , before opened to all in the New Testament. Through Israel the One true God of creation was revealed. When reading the historical events of this unfolding we need to practice good hermeneutics, the who, what, where, when and why. The other tool is not subscribe to any theological system so that our lens is clear.
This is VERY difficult I know however, the Holy Spirit is our teacher and with Him on our side we can unravel the mysteries.
Blessings

pescador · Jan 16, 2022

The Bible is perfectly clear about these things. It's peoples' interpretation of Scripture that is the problem.

Blade · Jan 16, 2022

Man makes it hard. Its only by Him through Him that as we read.. wow this is so easy to understand a child can understand.

lsume · Jan 16, 2022

Ephesians 4:5 Context

2With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift ofChrist. 8Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
There is as shown in verse 5 above 5One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
Also,
1 John 2:27
“But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”
Why isn’t the Word of God above being taught. I assure you that when Christ reveals himself to you and you are awakened, those Scriptures will make great sense to you.

coffee4u · Jan 16, 2022

I think the majority of scripture is quite straightforward and easy to understand. There are only a few points that divide.

>>>Only one denomination (or maybe no denomination) will have interpreted the Bible correctly, right?
There are Christians in every denomination. No one person or denomination will have everything correct because people err, people sin, people are not perfect. Only God is perfect.

klutedavid · Jan 16, 2022

The secret is to not apply an interpretation to the scripture, then with the aid of the Holy Spirit. You will clearly see Jesus in all His glory.

The scripture in it's fullness is simply the revelation of Jesus Christ.

John 5:39
You examine the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is those very Scriptures that testify about Me.

Colossians 1:13-15
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

1 Corinthians 2:2
For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

concretecamper · Jan 16, 2022

Consider the phrase:

I never said you stole money.

What does this statement mean? The answer is "it depends". Putting an inflection on a word changes the meaning.

I never said you stole money could mean I said you stole something else.
I never said you stole money could mean I said someone else stole money.
I never said you stole money could mean I said you borrowed it
I never said you stole money could mean I implied it
I never said you stole money could mean someone else said it.

Conveying ideas by the written word is much less accurate than by preaching it. I wonder if that it is why Jesus commanded the Apostles to preach.

Now take this concept and apply it to the 72 books of the Bible which have various translations (some of which are aweful). Couple that with the common guy thinking they can interpret scripture and no wonder SS christians can't agree on too much.

disciple Clint · Jan 17, 2022

NO I think that all of the denominations have errors, they are just different errors. I have always thought that Jesus is going to laugh when we tell Him some of the things we believe, He is no doubt going to have quite a job correcting misconceptions of His message.

SamInNi · Jan 17, 2022

In my opinion to say the Bible “has to be interpreted” and “Why didn’t God make the Bible more clear?” gets us off on the wrong foot! If we ask less-than-ideal questions the answers won’t fully address the problems.

In fact, if we come to the Bible through our genuine faith in Christ, we will accept its content as God-breathed truth given through the prophets and apostles as they were impelled or “carried along” by the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit of Christ”(consider together 2nd Timothy 3:16, 1st Peter 1:11 and 2nd Peter 1:21).

For the most part the Bible is more than clear enough when we read it constructively without interference from denominations, biased individuals and the spiritually unstable. But being absolutely impartial can be a real challenge these days, especially in online forums.

One main cause of online confusion and cynicism is most definitely spiritual immaturity. There are spiritually immature people who have been believers for a long time. Just as infants would struggle with more elaborate tasks so spiritual immaturity causes people to handle Scripture badly, puzzle over it, or easily misunderstand its truths:

“...by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food”; “I... could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly” (see Hebrews 5:11-14; 1st Corinthians 3:1-3).

Also, the “ignorant and unstable” twist the Scriptures (consider 2nd Peter 3:16, ESV). If this was happening in the early church how much more is it happening today? Where do we see this happening? Who is being influenced by it? Why?

We can’t forget too that there are lots (and lots!) of people who do not handle the Word of God accurately. But it’s not just the spiritually immature who are responsible for this. For various reasons some will “tamper” with God’s Word, (2nd Corinthians 4:2, ESV), and subtly misrepresent its truths. (We have an active spiritually enemy who hates the truth.)

Never allow any particular church or denomination to arrogantly define the meaning of God’s Word on your behalf. Instead, each local church must be defined by it through those who are spiritually mature within each fellowship, and those who lovingly care for God’s people. Checks and balances...

When you open the Bible, Vesper_Jaye, think first of all about what’s being said in context. Often verses are lifted out of context, or the full the context of the book isn’t considered as it should be. When this happens it may prevent Scripture from being fully “...profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (in actual practice this description applies to both Testaments).

A lot more could be said, but very long posts tend not to be read much anyway...

Hawkins · Jan 17, 2022

It is all because in the end, God's covenant is about providing salvation for humans to be saved by faith. So by design, the Bible is through human hands and conveyed by humans. All left then, you need to study some human nature.

We have 7 billion unique brains today, they accept and reject things all differently. The more allowed denominations may actually gain acceptance from the different humans with different minds. If in the case that there are only Catholics, then today's Protestants may become unbelievers.

The Bible is actually with a very clear salvation message, that is, believe Jesus Christ to be saved. Don't forget by free will Satan can also cast his influence. Thus naturally it comes with heresies besides the legitimate denominations. Roughly the legitimacy is governed by the Apostles' Creed. As a personal responsibility, you should choose a less controversial, more conservative church (or denomination) to attend. It is for your own safety and security.

pescador · Jan 17, 2022

One must not forget that the Bible is a collection of writings by different authors over a very long period of time. Additionally, the societies, languages, customs, etc. described in the Bible are very different than ours, both in time and thought processes (expressed in ancient languages). To me it's amazing that we can understand as much as we do of Scripture.

Because of the above there will always be differences of meaning and interpretation. Never forget that we are approximately 2,000 years(!) removed from when the last "books" were written.

Why isn’t the Bible more clear?

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