Thought of the Day 10.19.09

How do you respond when the Bible challenges what you believe?

The most common response is to pretend the passage isn’t there. Everyone does this sometimes.

The second response is to focus on other passages which reinforce your current view and marginalize the difficult one. This is an error theological conservatives are prone to make.

The third response is to explain away the passage as the byproduct of inferior people in a primitive culture. This is an error theological liberals are prone to make.

Unfortunately, all three of these responses end up treating the Bible as if the passage didn’t exist at all.

The fourth response is different. When the Bible challenges you, you stop and pay attention. You pray. You try to get as much information as you can to be sure you’re interpreting it properly. But if it becomes clear that the Bible is saying you’re wrong, you pray for God to help you live accordingly.

No one always honors the Bible. But only someone who is willing to let the Bible correct him can honestly say he is reading it as the Word of God.