Most people think I'm strange when I say this, but I actually take the Bible literally. Not only that, but I put the Bible as top authority. Meaning that I take what it says, and believe that over anything else. The Bible is over science, "logic," text books, the government, and, believe it or not, even....*gasp* what I read online!
Sometimes, when my beliefs don't match up with someone else's, I wonder why I'm so weird. Why do so many Christians disagree? For example, (and this is something most of my friends do agree) I believe that the world isn't millions and billions of years old. The disagreements come into play when I think that the earth is 6,000 years old. (And we won't get into that, because that's not what this post is about. It was just an example.)
I think that the real issue is that we don't focus enough on the fact that this world is NOT our home. We are strangers in a foreign land, here to bring glory to God. So, as strangers in a foreign land, what do we have that isn't foreign? We have the Holy Spirit, and the Bible. The Holy Spirit guides us, and the Bible is the book that God gave us. Other than that, everything should be weighed against the Bible. Does it match up? Or does it contradict?
There is a third question that I just recently realized you can ask. Sometimes a particular issue doesn't seem to be addressed by the Bible, and in that case, you can ask: Does it really matter? For example, the Bible doesn't say you should always wear purple. Nor does it say you shouldn't wear purple. Does it really matter? No. It really puts things into perspective for me to think about it this way. I get so caught up in gray areas being right or wrong, and I feel like I have to decide for myself since the Bible doesn't specify. It seems like such a simple concept, but it's hit me very suddenly, and I'm really excited to be able to say that, "I've weighed such-and-such against the Bible, and I don't believe it's necessarily right or wrong." (Just for clarity, I'd like to point out that I'm not talking about issues of the magnitude of whether or not to wear purple here.)
But before you ask "does it really matter?" you really have to dig into the "does it match?" and "does it contradict?" questions. I try to have a Biblical reason for everything that I strongly believe in. Sometimes my beliefs seem pretty removed from the Bible, and probably most people wouldn't agree with my reasons. For example, I'm very opinionated about herbs. I don't do "modern medicine" and I don't do homeopathy, which is probably more common than herbs. And I have a Biblical reason, not because the Bible says "Thou shalt only use herbs for thy health and not medicine or homeopathy or any other substitutes" (we all know that's not in there, right?) but simply because God created plants for our nourishment. He didn't create chemotherapy, vaccines, sleep aid pills or water containing the energy of a certain substance.
But it's not the side issues (like herbs) that really gets to me. What really bothers me is when Christians can't agree on things that are obviously addressed in the Bible. Like, what really counts as stealing? If money is just lying somewhere, is it stealing to take it? Well, is it yours? Does the lack of an owner standing right there make it any less stealing? What about lying? Does it count as lying if the truth might hurt someone's feelings? I mean, what are you supposed to say when she asks what you think of that horrible skirt?
We as Christians need to start taking the Bible seriously. It applies to everyday life, not just becoming a Christian and following the rules. The more I read, the more I realize it applies to EVERYTHING. If you don't agree, I challenge you to read your Bible more. Read the whole Bible, all the way through, and then come tell me that it doesn't apply to every aspect of life.
~Lizzie
Timothy's Twelfth Month!
5 years ago
1 random thoughts:
I don't think you're strange when you say you take the Bible literally. Of course, I was there and was talking to you when that came up, and then we had a long discussion about some of the stuff you mentioned in your blog, and afterwards I felt much better because I knew I had a kindred spirit in that particular area of thought. If the Bible wasn't meant to be taken literally, then why did God write it that way? It needs to be so that simple people can understand the word of God. I mean, there is a lot of symbolism and stuff like that, but that's totally obvious that it's not meant to be taken literally.
I like wearing purple. I wish I had more purple things. We should start a church where everyone MUST wear purple or be banished, so that we can take up an offering and use it to buy purple clothing...or...not...
We are opinionated for a reason, and where there are "gray areas" or "no areas", then I suppose what we need to do is just seek God's guidance through prayer about what is best for US, as individual beings.
For Christians, everything in the new testament is really just advice, suggestions and warning. God doesn't use "Thou shalt" and "Thou shalt not" in the new testament. His "instructions" are purely for our own good, but it is really up to the individual to do what they want to, and reap the consequences. But we all know God's way is the advisable path.
Reading the Bible is a very wholesome thing to do, and the only way to get the Truth. Books about the Bible, no matter how good they are, simply do not measure up because they are a person's interpretation of the Bible. Yes, we all have our interpretations, but that is what God intended us to see. Everyone sees something different when looking at a cloud or listening to a piece of music...it doesn't make it right or wrong, but somebody shouldn't expect or force another person to see what they see, if that makes any sense...
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