Every conflict of words and meanings; every contradiction that presents itself in Bible narrative and every verbal battle over divine concepts is the result of insisting on ‘Literal Interpretation’ rather than being open to “the deep things of God”
The world of theologians, especially those with degrees and /or diplomas from schools of higher learning have a penchant for “dumbing down” their rhetoric when discussing Bible interpretation. In their books the language is as complicated as it can be, but at the same time they use phrases such as, “the non-technical approach”, “the common man in the pew”, “the less informed” or “the non-academic crowd”. We are treated as the ‘unenlightened’ and ‘second-class Christians’. There is a serious issue today with this condescending attitude. It is not only the Catholic Bishops that claim a continual, direct authority from the Apostles.
The truth is that all genuine followers of Christ have exclusive authority to the presence of God and to the pure, divine wisdom that God “giveth to all men liberally” (James 1:5) We have been granted access to the “Holy of Holies” since the veil was ‘rent from top to bottom’. We are ‘believer priests’. And we have all three members of the triune God existing within us. But over the centuries we have been conditioned to believe that only the ‘experts’ in higher criticism, cultural, linguistic and grammatical studies can tell us what the Bible means. We need to claim our divine heritage, make it a reality in our consciousness and not just conceptual data in our mind.
The Bible is a spiritual book, not a storybook, history book or a classic piece of literary genius. It is of divine source and should not be approached in a linear manner.
All Bible Study books from conservative Christianity are based on certain preconceived notions and assumptive beliefs that have been in place for centuries. Doctrines have been ‘crafted’ from specially selected passages and Christians have not utilized the “whole council of God” in their search for the truth.
The better way of Bible Study is laid out in the book ‘Intuitive Bible Study-A New Interpretive Model‘ available on Amazon