Denominational Spectacles

Bible "reading glasses"

Too many Christians read and interpret the Bible through denominational or cult spectacles. This is not good. I am glad that I no longer do so. Count me a "non conformist" in this respect.

There are proper reading glasses. My pair of biblical reading glasses is the Spirit of God. The Spirit is the lens, or should be, as we look at scripture. Said the Psalmist:

"Let me see clearly so that I may take in the amazing things coming from Your law." (Psalm 119: 18)

Said one writer:

"We all wear spiritual spectacles of some sort; no one can claim to read the Bible from a totally unbiased and objective perspective. We come to the Bible with an existing set of assumptions that we have built over our lifetimes. Assumptions concerning the authority of the scriptures, what constitutes truth, and so on. If my starting assumptions are different from yours then we will undoubtedly differ in the way we understand scripture." (See here)

Simply read and study the bible with honesty of heart. If a given text or passage contradicts some tradition, so be it. Throw away the tradition and keep to the text.

Of course we should be willing to discuss our interpretations with others who have knowledge of the scriptures. But, we should not allow any pressure (outside of the truth itself) to effect our understanding of the word of God.