So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them. (Luke 8:18)The Bible is hard to understand. It is, after all, from the mind of God. As the Bible says, who can understand God?
But even so, you can understand the Bible. to do so requires a certain mindset, a certain mental framework. Without it, the Bible is just a superficial collection of wise old sayings and strange stories.
With that mindset, the Bible is a portal into the mind of God. In it we can see how God thinks, what he likes and doesn’t like, how he feels. It becomes almost like a love letter written to humanity.
Without that mindset, the Bible is weird. It makes no real sense. It is a collection of interesting cultural pictures, pithy sayings on the order of the wise men of the east, and is good literature.
Quite frankly, if you care going to read it that way, you are better off with the Old King James Version. It is the version with the beautiful flowing old English language and turn of phrase.
I have always been of the opinion that the further removed from the mind of God one might be the more affection that person shows to the King James Version.
I had a discussion with a man online who writes for a major conservative blog on this subject. He finally told me that he liked the King James Version because he was, after all, Church of England.
I realized that more than likely he had no great connection to the word of God beyond nostalgia. For nostalgia purposes, the King James Version is great. It is beautiful, that is for sure.
But if you really want to know God, you go to something more modern.
There is another step beyond the modernness and easiness of reading of the translation, though. You have to know God.
If you don’t know God, it doesn’t matter what translation you use, and in another way, if you know God, it doesn’t matter what translation you use. If you know God, you will find him in the Bible. if you don’t, you won’t.
It is that simple.
That knowledge of God is the mindset, the mental framework that you have to have. Without it, all the Bible is is a bunch of stuff. With it, it becomes the written word of God.
That is why people who are atheists who are well versed in the Bible can know so much of it and yet not know God. To know the Bible, you must know God.
You want to understand the Bible more? Then know God. He will give you understanding.
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