Can I interpret the Bible by myself?

Question

I pray to the Holy Spirit to help me interpret the Bible, and my friend does too. On a certain Bible passage, we have totally different interpretations. How do we know who's right? The Holy Spirit can't contradict Himself. One of us has to be wrong--or maybe both of us. Can you help me out? Thanks.

I have asked a couple pasters about it, and some agree with me, some agree with my friend. They are all holy men, yet they can't agree either. How can you (or even them) be certain that the Holy Spirit is really guiding you? I can't base it on emotions. They are not always reliable.

Answer 1

This is exactly why you need to read the Apostolic Fathers and find out the Traditions of the Church. If we believe that the Holy Spirit came down upon the Church at the first Pentecost, then we owe it to ourselves to find out what the Early Church believed and how they interpreted Holy Scripture.

You see, the questions that you have are NOT NEW. They have been prayed about and written about and theologians have debated about them for 2,000 years.

Take advantage of that vast knowledge!

Libraries are filled with books on Scripture interpretation. Written BY the Church Fathers - (St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Clement, St. Basil, St. Gregory, St. Irenaeus).

If we truly believe that the Church is indeed the Body of Christ (St. Paul said it) and is filled with the Holy Spirit (as it says in Acts) - they we should listen to those wise men and women who walked this road of Salvation before us!

Answer 2

I'm curious, could you email me a sample of the verses you and your friend disagree on.

I have found that the bible will interpret itself, if you let it.

Jeremiah said the heart is treacherous, and is not a good gauge.

Then Paul at 2 Tim 4:3-5 gave a warning about some.

On the other hand

Paul was directed to Ananias
Peter was sent to Cornelius
The angel directed Philip to the Ethiopian
Apollos was corrected by Prisca and Aquila

I don't remember finding any scripture that says that personal interpretation is acceptable.

In Acts chapter 15, the holy spirit helped the older men in Jerusalem make a decision, who in turn sent letters to the congregations.

The holy spirit will help you discern what teachings are the truth, but it won't override your heart.

Answer 3

Interpreting the Bible yourself is the whole core of Protestantism. But as you point out, it inevitably leads to division and differences of opinion as to the correct interpretation.

I think we need to look at these differences each individually and analyze them to understand why there is a difference of opinion at all. Is it an ambiguity in the text? Sometimes, the text CAN be interpreted in more than one way, and it cannot be said that any of those ways is a bad interpretation. Both ways could be perfectly possible, based on the wording of the text. If this is the case, then I think one must admit that the "problem" is in the text itself. That is to say, the text does not make it clear what it means. So we have to admit our ignorance. I think we should remain open-minded in these cases, since it might very well be either way.

At other times, the difference of interpretation has to do with the interpreters themselves. The text might be quite clear what it means. But if an interpreter has some deep-seated reason that they don't want that to be true, their mind may play a sort of sub-conscious "trick" on them, where they become convinced that it means something other than what it clearly says. In other words, the interpretation is coming from bias. If you want to be open to the Holy Spirit, you must clear away your personal biases. You must be totally open to the Holy Spirit, and His purposes, and not have any wall between you and Him made of your own biases and personal desires.

Look at the 2 ways of interpreting the particular verse, and see if both have their merit when applied. Perhaps God is capable of speaking to 2 different people in 2 different ways with the same verse. It does not necessarily imply a contradiction. The verses of the Bible may have more than one meaning. They may speak to different people in different ways, according to their needs and their natures.

Answer 4

yes and no. The main problem of the bible is, that there have been several revisions among the last centuries. A good old one after the reformation is the king james bible.

Nevertheless the book bible is just a selection of all prophecies and documents. All would be probably 8 times bigger and can only be read if the vatican opens its library again. The latin version mentioned by some here, was originally also a translation of greek, aramaic and hebrew texts. Jesus wasn´t roman at all, and his main language was old aramaic, which is a language related to hebrew.

Many stuff of the new testament was written long after christ by popes,bishops and monks.

It is just upon your mind to believe exactly the todays written word or to think of the long line of translations and what the words probably meant.

As far as i know, the old testament or better the jewish torah is a good source, if you wish to learn what is all about.

Answer 5

I would use Genesis and the Original Sin, the 10 commandements and then the Gospells of Jesus as a starting point.

Then read other things. All philosophy, science, good literature and learn how to apply what you know and believe on a slow basis.

You either agree with God and Jesus or you don't. So that is the starting point.

The Genesis of Man in and out of Eden, the Commandements of God, the Commandments of Jesus (read all points of view from all disiples on this).

Then apply what you know to be true and correct to the world.

Learn more about the world.

Ultimately it is YOUR sense of GOOD and EVIL, RIGHT and WRONG as you base this on God and Jesus, accept you don't judge.

Otherwise you are just continuing the original sin by Taking something somone else gives you and taking their word it is all right to consume and good for you.

Answer 6

Truth is fairly subjective for the most part.... What may be true for you might not be true for your friend and vice versa.... Likewise you will see it different ways.


What you do have to realise however is that when you're reading the bible, if you're reading it in your own language then you are reading the opinions of whoever translated it. Whoever translated your version of the bible was in turn reading off the opinions of whoever made the previous translation from ancient Hebrew to Latin or Greek... or whatever. Likewise... those people who wrote it down weren't the same as those who told the tales in the first place, so they are simply writing down the opinions of those other people sent through to them.

So basically.... whatever you interpret it to mean..... just remember that you're looking at it through at least three generations of corruption by other peoples' opinions.... which are not automatically valid nor true to you.
Just to add insult to injury, different parts of the bible as you know come from different sources.... so at the end of the day, its a jumble of inconsistancies.... and you'd be crazy to take it at face value.

It was originally intended to guide people two millenia ago. Some of the very diluted concepts that lie beneath its text are still vaguely applicable to modern life... and many aren't..... And ALL of it is quite unforgivably corrupted by the ravages of time and generations of bias.


Personally I wouldn't bother.

If you want a book to teach you how to be a better person.... read the Tao Te Ching instead. Its considerably shorter and considerably less biased in form (in that its lessons are fairly applicable to all people, irrespective of their beliefs)... O'course it has also had its fair share of translations... but since it doesn't recount actual events, it isn't automatically going to be false...

Answer 7

God's inspired Word is not always easy to understand. It may take years of study to get the full meaning of it, especially the many prophecies recorded for our benefit, many that will have future fulfillment. Prayer is essential. If we are sincere in our quest for the truth and we ask, God will give us the insight needed to know the "deep things" of God. (1 Corinthians 2:10)
We also need guidance from those who are already skilled in their knowledge of the Scriptures. Consider what is said at Acts 8:30-31--" Philip ran alongside and heard him reading aloud Isaiah the prophet, and he said: “Do you actually know what you are reading?” He said: “Really, how could I ever do so, unless someone guided me?” And he entreated Philip to get on and sit down with him."
Continue in your search for the truth and never rely on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)

Answer 8

You have discovered by personal experience the folly of Protestantism. Now you know why there are thousands of conflicting denominations in the Protestant tradition. There is only one way to know with certainty the correct interpretation of the Scriptures, and that is by turning to the one Church established by Jesus Christ; the Church which the Scriptures refer to as "the pillar and foundation of truth"; the Church to which Christ said, "he who hears you hears Me"; the Church to which Christ said "the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth"; the Church to which Christ said, "whatsoever you bind upon earth is bound in heaven"; the Church which has not fragmented into thousands of conflicting denominations in 2,000 years; the Church to which God gave the Scriptures, with full responsibility for preserving, defending, and interpreting them. The Holy Catholic Church.

Answer 9

Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't. It depends on where you are in your spiritual development, and whether or not you have any blinders on unbeknownst to you.

If you are earnest in your desire to know the truth of God's Word, any misunderstandings you have today will likely be cleared up another day.

I suggest especially that you go to a Christian who is very familiar with the Word of God to ask him or her about your and your friend's different interpretations of this passage you're talking about. And if that person doesn't help you to your satisfaction, go to yet another.

Part of the whole "point" is searching for God, his Word, and his will. God will reward your search for him, if it is earnest.

But, you are right: the Holy Spirit will not contradict himself. The problem is in you, your friend, or both of you. That is, the trouble is normally in the human head. This is normal, especially if you are pretty early on in your conversion.

Pray to God for the ability to reconcile this seeming contradiction. Ask him to show you who to go to, what to read, and also to reveal his truth to you.

Answer 10

Yes. It was translated out of Latin after the protest of 1517, and into other languages in the hopes that people would start reading it for themselves and not relying on the word of others who might be tempted to interpret it to the masses in such a way as to support their own private agendas.