Hello you and welcome,
What are your thoughts on using the Bible as authority?
There are many people out there in the world today, even online that will take the Bible and use scriptures out of context and will act as thought it has some type of authority, why is that?
I'm going to assume you're asking these things in earnest, and not just as an inroad to pushing a pop doctrine.
Beyond sharing The Gospel of Jesus Christ, most brethren don't know enough of their Bible to be able to impart many of its Truths to the world. They just don't trust God Himself enough to personally help them in their Bible study, so they rely on what some man says. Many don't even crack open His Word for themselves at all.
God has and does send us righteous teachers, so I'm not knocking that. But He and His Apostles also warned us about false prophets and the traditions of men, especially for the last days. Thus 'some' men claim the authority of Scripture for evil purposes, like the 'hireling' of John 10 that our Lord Jesus warned us about.
But is God's Holy Writ the Authority for Truth? Yes. Only someone who doubts God would think otherwise. And Christianity for example is not about religion. Christianity is about the Truth, God's Truth. Religion is man's thing in trying to appear holy.
What purpose does the Bible have if it’s used to make demands and place people up under bondage, even to traditions of man?
Sorry, but that shows you have not studied His Word enough when a believer on Christ Jesus should be able to easily know the answer to that. As I said before, Lord Jesus and His Apostles warned us about the false prophets and those who push leaven doctrines of men, and to not trust every spirit but to try the spirits, to see if they are of God or not. If you study your Old Testament Books, you'll also find those kind of warnings there to Israel too, and why. Basically, God allows... those temptations to test us with, to see if we will listen to and follow Him, or not. That is why He allows the false prophets to work for during this present world. God will allow us to deceive ourselves by our listening to and trusting men if we so desire it.
This is why we are to check our teachers out in His Word, asking Him to give us understanding. I don't see that many brethren doing that here on forums like these. I see too much pushing of men's doctrines they got from their Church denomination, leaven doctrines of men.
Why not use the Bible and seek truth; rather than demand, asking there questions.
How, What, When,Where,And Why?
Rather than using the scripture as a demand of must do this, must do that as though it is a law book.
That's not a reasonable question. Asking oneself those 'how, what, when, where, and why' questions is a reliable method of recognizing Truth in God's Holy Writ. Those will always be present in any real Truth. And it is not a following of any law to do that. It's just plain use of common sense, which God expects us all to use in study of His Word.
What use will it bring to a person who takes charge with a Bible in hand that makes demands? Manipulation, deception, false realities?
A question like that suggests you might... have a problem with the 'idea' of authority in general. Do you? Have you had a bad experience with someone in authority over you? Maybe you need to study what Apostle Paul taught about authority in Romans 13. God Himself as setup those in authority over us for this world, so I'd be careful about wanting to rebel against that, because you might be rebelling against Him.
What other ways do you think the Bible can be used instead for the benefit of others, do you have any thoughts?
God's Holy Writ is simply The Truth. It covers the past, present, and future. And in it God gives us understanding of how He made us, this world, how to live, and what He expects us to do. And in turn He gives us promise of eternal Life with Him. So yeah, His Word is a type of Handbook for this present life, and the Life to come in Jesus Christ.
