Bible Christians.....?

Question

If you are a "Bible Christian" how do you know that your interpretation of what you read is correct?

Bobby - Judging from the variety of answers the Bible does not interpret itself.

Khalid - of course there are Christians

Againstwindandtide - your answer is a bit frivolous and does not really answer my question

Horton - best answer so far

Tootsie - what happens if my understanding differs from yours. Who is wrong. You, me or God? How will we know?

Fireball - I'm happy for you, but the accuracy of the translation is not the question. How would you know if you even have a 'minor' misinterpretation?

2ndChapterActs - you seem to be on the right track but I wonder on what basis you would dismiss someone else's interpretation.

Spiritroaming - you seem to understand what I am getting at.

Steve - good, honest answer.

johnnywalker - I agree. But when you have a conflict how do you determine which interpretation is right and which is wrong?

rangedog - if i believed in Trinity and you didn't on whose authority do we determine the truth? I'm not infallible - are you?

Big sam - I can see you take your study seriously but when you get down to it you are saying that you rely on your own interpretation which could still be wrong?

Robert P - good advice but why KJV over any other translation? Why not a Dhouay Rheims for example?

Juju - I'm sure it does, but what if we disagree? How can we know who is right?

Blizgamer - I agree but I still have the same problem with commentaries. If they disagree how does one determine which is correct?

Jweston2 - preservation of the word is not in question. Interpretation of the word is my concern.

Davidm - No. My understanding is that the Bible as we know it didn't come into existence until about the 4th Century AD. Well after the term Christian was first used.

Esther - you're right, therefore my question. Are you right or are they? How can we know?

Coffeenut - you didn't really answer my question but I am in general agreement with what you did say.

Answer 1

good point, that is why the catholic church has the magisterum to guide with the holy spirit the faithfull on all matters of faith. why is this interpretation acceptable? well from scripture we see that the church is the pillar and bulwark, nowhere does it say the bible is. sescondly jesus promised his church the protection and guidance of the holy spirit whom bible christians have to agree cannot teach error. thirdly when one studies the formation of the bible they will come to see that the church came before the bible, how could the bible then be our sole source of authority that all can interpret as they please, from this method we have seen over 28000 splinters from the origonal church and more are coming on a daily basis. the origonal church therefore with the power of the holy spirit has taught truth for 2000+years, that church is the one holy,catholic and apostolic church. not that we shouldn't read scriptures in the privacy of or own home or in groups,not even to say that scripture can't reveal something to a person at different times,it is after all teh living word, it just means we need to be carefull and test the spirits and look to the teaching authority of the church for guidance. god bless.

Answer 2

Pastor Billy says: Allow me to quote a better Christian than myself

Cardinal Newman put it this way in an essay on inspiration first published in 1884: "Surely then, if the revelations and lessons in Scripture are addressed to us personally and practically, the presence among us of a formal judge and standing expositor of its words is imperative. It is antecedently unreasonable to suppose that a book so complex, so unsystematic, in parts so obscure, the outcome of so many minds, times, and places, should be given us from above without the safeguard of some authority; as if it could possibly from the nature of the case, interpret itself.Its inspiration does but guarantee its truth, not its interpretation. How are private readers satisfactorily to distinguish what is didactic and what is historical, what is fact and what is vision, what is allegorical and what is literal, what is [idiomatic] and what is grammatical, what is enunciated formally and what occurs defter, what is only of temporary and what is of lasting obligations. Such is our natural anticipation, and it is only too exactly justified in the events of the last three centuries, in the many countries where private judgment on the text of Scripture has prevailed. The gift of inspiration requires as its complement the gift of infallibility."

The advantages of the Catholic approach are two: First, the inspiration is really proved, not just "felt." Second, the main fact behind the proof--the fact of an infallible, teaching Church--leads one naturally to an answer to the problem that troubled the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:31): How is one to know what interpretations are right? The same Church that authenticates the Bible, that establishes its inspiration, is the authority set up by Christ to interpret his Word.

Answer 3

I don't, and not only so, but I know I'm wrong about some things, just not which things. That's why, as I study, I consider everything carefully, and in light of the fact that I may well be wrong about something. However, since I have a core belief that I'm pretty confident about, and everything I believe must fit within that core, my basic foundation is solid, and because no one can be absolutely sure about anything, I keep as much of an open mind about things as I can. I don't believe evolution, but I don't say it absolutely didn't happen that way. It might have done, but I don't think so, and the Bible certainly doesn't lead me to believe that it did. In the end, I'll believe God even over the evidence of my own eyes, and then if I'm wrong, it's on Him, not me.

Answer 4

i agree with what 'Steve' said >> ''i don't, and not only so, but I know I'm wrong about some things, just not which things. That's why, as I study, I consider everything carefully, and in light of the fact that I may well be wrong about something. However, since I have a core belief that I'm pretty confident about, and everything I believe must fit within that core, my basic foundation is solid, and because no one can be absolutely sure about anything, I keep as much of an open mind about things as I can. I don't believe evolution, but I don't say it absolutely didn't happen that way. It might have done, but I don't think so, and the Bible certainly doesn't lead me to believe that it did. In the end, I'll believe God even over the evidence of my own eyes, and then if I'm wrong, it's on Him, not me.''

very well said Steve!

studying the bible is very important, just like in the book of Acts the people of Berea studied the scriptures daily to see if what they had been told was true. acts 17:11 ;

and in John 3:16 we see that we must believe that God sent His Son Jesus to be our salvation, for without faith it is impossible to please God.

sometimes our understanding falls short, but in all things we should depend on God!

Answer 5

hmm well it is hard to know if i'm really right on what i understand ,

so what i do is search the whole bible for everything connected to a certain subject, ( a good bible search program helps to do that ) , then i compare them all and see what they are saying flat out,

i prefer simple bible instructions for answers, and i don't like just picking 2 or 3 verses to try and back up some doctrine like i have seen many do, i think that we need to get the whole of the Scriptures to agree on a topic,

all of that makes a solid foundation for a basis of belief.

and if and when i can't understand it, then i leave that ? for a future time that maybe i can understand it better later.

i have seen many doctrines that seems to be built on just a small handfull of verses, stuff like that is hard for me to trust.

so you ask > how do you know that your interpretation of what you read is correct?''

the only way i can know is if my interpretation has a solid foundation of Scriptures.

,,,,,,,,,,, i hope this answers your question, its the best way i can explain why i believe what i do,

,,,,,,,,,,
kay

Answer 6

To read the Bible correctly you must understand who is speaking, who is listening, and what is the context of what they are saying, when and where are they and why are they having this discussion. Context is key. When people take things out of context that's where you get crazy ideas and cults are born. I recommend for anyone who hasn't spend a great deal of time in study of the Bible to pick up a study Bible that has commentary that explains and cross references different passages. I recommend the NIV, and the NAS. Between the two, the NIV is easier to read and has good commentary. The NAS is written at a higher level of reading but also has good commentary. I personally have taken many classes on the Bible, theology, and world religions. But I also have read commentaries. Most Bible commentaries are seek to answer those questions that I posed at the beginning. I would avoid commentaries written by cults like the mormons and jehovah's witnesses. Their commentaries begin with biases and they interpret the scriptures according to those biases. Hope this helps.

Answer 7

The things of God are spiritually discerned. A born again Christian has the spirit of God within them. It is His spirit that gives us knowledge and guides our understanding.

That being said, there are alot of people who claim to know the bible that have a strange take on scripture. I can't for the life of me explain how some of those "interpretations" come about. I've seen examples on R&S often; people who say they are Christian and come up with truly off the wall comments on scripture. So you've got me on that one!

Answer 8

I speak 3 languages. When I want to learn about something, and I don't understand it, I go to all 3 languages, through different versions (for example in English the NIV, and KJV), which helps me understand what it is saying. I also lean on pastors' sermons, various ones about the same subject, and taking all those sources in and thinking about them helps me come to an informed interpretatoin. It also helps to pray for enlightenment and understanding when readin scripture.

Answer 9

The main thing to look for is contradiction.
Wrong interpretations don't stand up.
Correct interpretations are consistent.
The trinity is an example.
It's a contradictory doctrine based on misapplied (misinterpreted), and mistranslated verses.
When the mistranslated verses are corrected, the misapplied one become very apparent.

But you need to do more. History proofs a lot of the Bible. So does Archeology. So reading supplement material is helpful.

Answer 10

The Jewish Bible contains the same text as the Christian Old Testament, although it is differently arranged and categorised.