Holy Bible Scriptures: Hard to understand or easy to understand?

I guess it is about perception and the thought process. I am not saying that it is a smart dumb thing I am just saying it is what it is.

To your defense I have spent much time in greek and Hebrew translations and to me it is not hard but is can be time consuming and tedious.

 

I guess it is about perception and the thought process. I am not saying that it is a smart dumb thing I am just saying it is what it is.

To your defense I have spent much time in greek and Hebrew translations and to me it is not hard but is can be time consuming and tedious.

 

I too have spent a great deal of time in scripture, as I was ordained.
I have also exposed myself to scholarship that has not started with the goal of supporting scripture, but of simply analyzing it without an agenda. Secular scholarship. Scholarship that doesn't try to defend the problems of scripture, but acknowledges them, admits them, and submits to the idea that they are, indeed, problems.
If one is to pursue loving god with all their heart, soul, strength and MIND, I think such scholarship is indeed essential in our overall understanding of god, even if understanding god ultimately leads to discrediting scripture. Scripture is not the god, it is a record of people trying to come to terms with him. People as fallible in their ideas and their reportage as you and I are.

 

I think the secular approach is the open minded approach. Many times people look for what they want to find and find it but with an it is, what it is approach you find deeper meaning. The sad thing is they never take it in context.

There are some different types of readers and styles that clash at times.

I look at the message that is given. I do not concern myself with facts as I see the Bible as a philosophy not a tool to beat people with. Sounds like you think much the same way.

 

I think part of the advantage of a secular approach IS taking it in context.
As for how I see the bible, I see it as containing some profound philosophical insights AS WELL as a tool to beat people over the head with who take it literally and as the direct communication from god to man, rather than a record of man's attempt to understand what is ultimately unknowable.