The bibe claims to be the word of god, so why is it so hard to understand it true meaning?

Question

If I asked 10 about a number of verses I would get 10 different answers to there meaning. If it was the word of god why isn't it easy to understand the true meaning?

Bad translation is not a valid answer to me.

Answer 1

Good question, I've often wondered why a loving God would give us such a book that few can agree upon and is so difficult to decipher. Basically you have to be a history professor to understand several parts of it. Scholars have been studying it for centuries and they still can't come to an agreement. ;-)

Answer 2

Well, buster. The answer is very simple.
Many people in this country use the Bible ( not the bibe ) as a convenience store. They take what they like and leave what they don't like. They transform God into their personal servant. Or, in other words, they customize God at their convenience.

That is totally, absolutely, and completely absurd. Based on that procedure, everyone could practice Medicine just by reading a book of Medicine.

Besides, how can you come up with the correct interpretation of the word of God if you know nothing about it ?

That is the cause for what you mention.
Have you tried to fix an engine if you are not a mechanic or operate on a patient if you are not a surgeon ?
If you have, I wouldn't like to be the patient. That's for sure.
To understand the Bible you should, in the first place, buy a Catholic Bible, which has explanations at the bottom of each page. After that, if there is some difficult area, you should ask a priest, or enroll in a biblical course to learn about the Bible.
That's the way to understand the Bible

Answer 3

There should not be 10 different answers, there should only be one answer. It is sad how people take things out of context in order to make the Bible fit their lifestyle. Just like if the special ops tortured a man for his confession likewise if you torture the scriptures long enough you can make them same anything. The Bible is God's word 2 Timothy 3:16. And there is only ONE interpretation. It is not open to someone's interpretation 2 Peter 2:20,21.
If you wrote a biography and had a chapter in there on how you loved your wife and children, and people took the sentences out of the context of the chapter and used it as a view that you really didnt mean you loved them but you hated them and beat them. It would be a wrong interpretation would it not?
Here is an example. Say I wrote a sentence and I only let you read part of it. It reads "The trunk." Hmmm what kind of trunk? Elephant trunk? Car Trunk? Boxer Trunk? Tree trunk? Treasure Trunk? Then you were able to read more "and I put it in the trunk." That narrows it down right? Still makes it hard to understand which trunk it is right? Now here is the full sentence "I found my spare tire and I put in the trunk." Now you can understand that it is a car trunk I am talking about. This is a micro example of the crucial importance context plays in understanding the Bible.
"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." John 3:36

Answer 4

2 things here. Why can't non believers understand it:

1 Cor 2:14: But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

and how should it be interpreted:

"About the time of the end, a body of men will be raised up who will turn their attention to the Prophecies, and insist upon their literal interpretation, in the midst of much clamor and opposition." Sir Isaac Newton 1642-1727

Dr. David L. Cooper, the founder of The Biblical Research Society, was proficient in the Biblical languages. He studied Greek under Dr. A. T. Robertson. Dr. Cooper is known for his “Golden Rule of Interpretation” which is as follows:

When the plain sense of Scripture

makes common sense,

seek no other sense;

Therefore, take every word

at its primary, ordinary,

usual, literal meaning

Unless the facts

of the immediate context,

studied in the light

Of related passages and

axiomatic and fundamental truths

indicate clearly otherwise.

[This rule was published regularly in Dr. Cooper's monthly magazine, Biblical Research Monthly.]

--

If God be the originator of language and if the chief purpose of originating it was to convey His message to humanity, then it must follow that He, being all-wise and all-loving, originated sufficient language to convey all that was in His heart to tell mankind. Furthermore, it must also follow that He would use language and expect people to understand it in its literal, normal, and plain sense. The Scriptures, then, cannot be regarded as an illustration of some special use of language so that in the interpretation of these Scriptures some deeper meaning of the words must be sought. [Charles C. Ryrie, Dispensationalism (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), 81.]

--

The Clarifying Statement on Dispensationalism, published by the New England Bible Conference, says it this way:

The Bible must be interpreted literally which is the way language is normally and naturally understood. We recognize that the Bible writers frequently used figurative language which is a normal and picturesque way of portraying literal truth. The Bible must be understood in the light of the normal use of language, the usage of words, the historical and cultural background, the context of the passage and the overall teaching of the Bible (2 Tim. 2:15). Most importantly, the believer must study the Bible in full dependence upon the SPIRIT OF TRUTH whose ministry is to reveal Christ and illumine the minds and hearts of believers (John 5:39; 16:13-15; 1 Cor. 2:9-16). The natural, unregenerate man cannot understand or interpret correctly the Word of God. The things of God are foolishness to him, he cannot know them (1 Cor. 2:14), and his mind is blinded (Rom. 3:11; 2 Cor. 4:3-4).

Answer 5

I think that it CAN be hard to understand if you don't have more to go with it to understand it. For example, MANY different religions say that they "just follow the Bible" and that is how they form their belief system. It makes me wonder how there can be sooo many different religions who all claim to be a faith who "just follows the Bible" yet these different religions all have different beliefs.

If a person doesn't have the tradition and history to go with the Bible to understand, then I think that this is how it can get going all hay-wire and we end up with 10 different answers to your question about 1 verse.

Answer 6

It isn't hard when you have access to authoritative interpretation. Obviously in a tradition where each person interprets it for himself, chaos will reign. Can you imagine each American being allowed to interpret U.S. Constitution for himself?? There is a specific body which holds full authority to interpret that document, in order to provide a unified approach to government. In the same way, the Church founded by Jesus Christ, which alone defined the Canon of Scripture and compiled the Bible from its own writings, for its own use, has sole authority over its valid interpretation. As a result, that Church has remained united in belief, united in teaching, and united in worship for 2,000 years. When manmade churches "borrow" the book from the true Church, and try to interpret it themselves, the result is predictable. It makes about as much sense as other countries borrowing the U.S. Constitution and trying to authoritatively interpret it. Chaos reigns.

Answer 7

It's not that difficult to understand. Mankind has made it difficult because we (as a whole) want it to say what we want to hear. That's not always what the Bible actually says - that's why sometimes you'll get 10 different answers.

The best thing to do is study it yourself. If you're looking for a church - visit several. As you visit, ask yourself some of these questions (and others):
** Is this church basing what they teach on the Bible?
** Is this church practicing what they preach?
** Is this church taking a passage and interpreting it to say what they want it to say? Or are they interpreting it plain and simple as it says?

Watch out for a church that says "We believe in the Bible, but ..."
Watch out for a church that puts their written creed or confession of faith or traditions above what the Bible says.
Watch out for a church that serves themselves, rather than God.

Don't settle for something that doesn't ring true.

Answer 8

Because it has hidden truths that God didn't want fools and infidels to find, to make a mockery and game out His Word. But there is going to be one one day that will find and use these truths to deceive the people of God. The antichrist.

Answer 9

I find the Bible rather easy to understand. Maybe you're reading it wrong. Trying applying the things which are clear, then perhaps what is unclear will be more understandable or not all that relevant.

Answer 10

Remember the Bible thas hundreds of books, which were written over hundreds of years, suffered several translations, and were written in a very different times from ours. We are taught to believe that the Bible in our hand is nothing but the true, but that's not true. The Bilbe is just a guide for us to reflect on our attitudes and actions, so we can learn to love ourselves, and to love other people. Many things in the bibles are metaphores, so they can't be read ad the truth.