There are a lot of people it the world that read the bible. But a lot of those that “read” the bible are not actually learning what is intended of the verse they are reading. What happens in most cases is we are left open to interpretation. People use their own personal bias in order to make the verse “fit” into their ideology. These people not only ignore literary genre but often ignore all context of a passage they are reading. This leads to conveyance of a gospel that may or may not be accurate in content.
2. Besides those examples cited in this chapter, what are some instances of interpreting a biblical passage apart from its immediate context?
Just this past weekend my wife and I were having a spirited debate over Leviticus 18:22 “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman.”(English Standard Version) I struggle with this passage a lot as I have a cousin who practices a homosexual lifestyle. I know he is a Christian and believes in Christian values but I find myself wondering how he can live in denial of this passage of the bible. My wife pointed out to me that a was fixated on a single verse and was not taking into account all the context that surrounding both the verse and the moral dilemma. I actually was able to research the matter and found that multiple theological scholars derived that the entire passage may have referred to temple prostitution