Why do folks find it so difficult to take into consideration that the bible is open to many interpretations?

Question

....& why do some think the words haven't been modified to reflect the social situations of the era when it was revised?

Answer 1

Of course it's opened to interpretation... that's why there are so many different versions of christianity out there.

And that is why it is so difficult to believe in it's words. Too many contradictions..... too many things that are unclear & "open to many interpretations"...... If it was the definitive book that all human beings should live by.... don't you think that it would've been created with no room for interpretation?

Answer 2

Apparently you do not understand how Bible translating is done. There exist today over 5300 copies of early manuscripts of the New Testament. When compared, these manuscripts agree 99.7% of the time word for word. Of the 0.3% were they disagree, the majority are either different spellings of the same word, or two words have been reverse (it says Christ Jesus instead of Jesus Christ).

From these manuscript a Greek text has been developed. Whenver a new translation of the Bible is made, the scholars go back to that original text to make the translation. They do not normally revise or update existing English text. (One exception to that is the King James, which was so popular that in the 1790 it the spelling and punctuation was updated from the 1611 spelling - but the word were not changed.)

Every effort is made NOT to revise the text to reflect currect solcial situation of the era. Otherwise references to things like slavery would have been edited out in the late 1800.

It is carefully translated "word for word" as much as possible. Due to difference in word order (for example the Greek would say "house yellow" rather than "yellow house") and grammer (the Greek does not use pronouns, but places a letter it the end of the verb to indicate the pronoun - or they use "the" where we would use "a" and "a" where we would use "the") a "word for word" translation would occasionally be unintelligent in the English, so sometimes sentences have to slightly rearranged or words added or dropped to make sense in English. In the King James Bible, any such added word are printed in italic.

Finally, you do hit an occasional "idiom" in the original text. Expressions similar to our "go jump in the lake", which has nothing to do with "jumping" or "lakes". A good example is when the Lover in the Song of Solomon says to his wife, "If your sister is a door, we will encase her in cedar" (????)
Translators vary on whether to leave the original expression, or to replace it with what the expression meant (say "Go away" instead of "Go jump in the lake"). If replaced, there will be a footnote to the original wording. (By the way - the "door" and "cedar" line?? - it means "If your sister is fat we will buy her a girdle")

So there is a small amount of "interpreting" that has to be done when translating the Bible (or any document from one language to another). But it is normally done to try to reflect the ORIGINAL meaning of the text, not to revise it to reflect the current era.

Answer 3

First of all, i would like to say that i cannot attend a conventional church without being hypocritical, but i firmly believe in god, jesus, prayer, the ten commandments, life after death, and basic christianity. Also, in it’s unaltered and original form, the bible was probably a much more accurate, though simplistic, document than exists today.

However, it is my opinion, that through the several different interpretations, revisions, versions and translations of biblical information by persons who were ignorant to modern science, scientific principles, and technology, the true meanings and accurate interpretation of the events recorded originally have been lost. To me, the bible was intended to be an historical diary of a truly remarkable visit and a series of profound events that did in fact occur. It is sad that man was not at the time, intellectually capable of accurately comprehending and recording what he actually saw. Because of this, mans early, and ongoing, interpretation of religious doctrine has taken many avenues of approach, and in present reality, appears to me to have been initially based on naive conjecture stimulated by direct exposure to several instances of profound and unexplainable phenomenon that occurred before a modern understanding of science and technological abilities was developed. However, as one looks at the history of major religious factions, it is apparent that although the interpretation and following of this doctrine was greatly varied, there were some absolutes that did not change.

Some examples are: one supreme being or entity such as god, buddha, mohammed, and the great spirit. Also, there is life after death, good and evil, and rules that must be followed to the best of ones ability to achieve acceptance to the higher level of existence after physical death.

Answer 4

Christ did not say, "Sit down and write Bibles and scatter them over the earth, and let every man read his Bible and judge for himself." If Christ had said that, there would never have been a Christianity on the earth at all, but a Babylon and confusion instead, and never one Church, the union of one body. Hence, Christ never said to His Apostles, "Go and write Bibles and distribute them, and let everyone judge for himself." That injunction was reserved for the Sixteenth Century, and we have seen the result of it. Ever since the Sixteenth Century there have been springing up religion upon religion, and churches upon churches, all fighting and quarreling with one another, and all because of the private interpretation of the Bible.

Christ sent His Apostles with authority to teach all nations, and never gave them any command of writing the Bible. And the Apostles went forth and preached everywhere, and planted the Church of God throughout the earth, but never thought of writing.

Answer 5

Hi Ivy,

The bible will intepret the bible. The best bible version for this is the KJV which translated each hebrew and greek word for english equivalent word.

When man attempts to insert his own thought process into God's message than you have that translation that corrupts God's word. Man wasn't intended to understand all of God's word. God's word interprets itself and takes prayer, study and careful consideration.

May the HOLY SPIRIT guide you into all truth.

God bless you,

Andrew

Answer 6

The Bible is open to interpretation ....2 interpretations:
The right one and the wrong one(s).
"when it was revised" you say.
Just WHEN was that?
The Dead Sea Scrolls contain more proof than necessary that the Bible has NOT changed over 1000's of years.
Like it or not, we are stuck with the original meaning.

Answer 7

If the Bible is subject to multiple interpretations then it cannot be the indisputable word of God. Gods word would be clear and unmistakable, hence everyone assumes their personal interpretation of a very ambiguous text is the only possible correct one.

Answer 8

Why do folks find it so difficult to take into consideration that the bible is NOT open to many interpretations?

God inspired it to be the way HE wanted it to be... where does man get the authority to change it? Huh? I can't hear you, what?

That's what I thought.

Answer 9

The reason there are different denominations within Christianity is because the Bible allows for us to have differences of opinions. Within Christianity there are very few essential doctrines that define what it means to be a Christian. These essential doctrines are,

Jesus is both God and man (John 1:1,14; 8:24; Col. 2:9; 1 John 4:1-4).
Jesus rose from the dead physically (John 2:19-21; 1 Cor. 15:14).
Salvation is by grace through faith (Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:8-9; Gal. 3:1-2; 5:1-4).
The gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:1-4; Gal. 1:8-9).
There is only one God (Exodus 20:3; Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8)
God exists as a Trinity of persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (See Trinity)
Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary (nature of incarnation)
As long as a church believes in these essential doctrines, then it is Christian. However, there are many things in the scriptures that have been interpreted in different ways. For example, what day of the week should be worship on, Saturday or Sunday? Should we baptize by sprinkling or baptize by immersion? Do we take communion every Sunday, once a month, or once a year? The answers to these questions do not affect whether or not someone is a Christian. It is in these issues, and others like them, that denominations are formed. It does not mean that one denomination contradicts another. It means that though they agree in the essentials, they differ in some nonessentials. This is permitted in Scripture:

"Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. 2 One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. 3 Let not him who eats regard with contempt him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind," (Rom. 14:1-5).

Sadly, there is another reason for denominational differences and that is the failure of Christians to live according to the will of God. The truth is that we are all sinners and we do not see things eye to eye. It is an unfortunate truth that denominational differences are due to our shortsightedness and lack of love. But, the good thing is that God loves us so much that He puts up with our failures. There waits for us, in spite of our differences, a great reward in heaven. Neither salvation nor damnation is dependent upon our differences. Our salvation is based on our relationship with Christ.

Answer 10

2 Peter 1:20 - Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.