Absolutely! You can use the Bible to support just about any viewpoint. Take a phrase or sentence out of context, tweak the meaning of a word and … presto, a person can use the Bible to claim that Jesus is coming back to take us to heaven in a spaceship! Every day, people use the words of others in ways the original speaker or author never intended—just think of the recent presidential and vice-presidential debates. It isn’t hard to manipulate another’s words to one’s advantage. However, this does not mean that what the person intended to communicate wasn’t clear. And that is what is so important to remember when it comes to interpreting the Bible.
There are people who give the impression that the message of the Bible is so vague, so open, that there is no single, specific way to understand what it means. They claim everyone can interpret Scripture in their own unique manner and no one has the right to say that particular interpretation is wrong.
If you have read the Bible at all, you know that it isn’t that hard to figure out. If we follow a few simple and practical rules of interpretation as we read the Bible, we’ll see the meaning of even some of the more difficult passages begin to open up. Join us this Saturday evening (6:00 pm) or Sunday morning (10:00 am) as we discover together how we can read the Bible and be sure we are getting the meaning God intended when he inspired the original writers. If God has spoken to the human race through the Bible, could anything be more important?
Hawaii Lutheran Church (WELS)
- Community Lutheran Church
- Honolulu, HI
- Community Lutheran Church holds protestant chapel services in Honolulu, Hawaii near Pearl Harbor, HI. We are next to the USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hickam Air Force Base, and Fort Shafter Hawaii. Look for us directly behind the Salt Lake, Hawaii, Target.