Words are a Matter of Interpretation

by Jim Gordon

So often, what we say and what we mean are two different things. Words can mean different things to different people.

Take for instance the word church. Most of us think of a building where Christian’s meet every Sunday for an organized, pre-planned service of music, prayer and a sermon by a paid pastor. In reality, church is better described by the word ekklesia. It is people who are following Christ and allowing Him to live and love through them. Church is not a place, a building, or the house of God and it is not at a set time or day. Church is the body of Christ, each of us equally functioning as parts of the body under Christ, living our lives each day by letting Christ live through us, loving and accepting others.

How about the word Christian. We think of people who love God, go to church, pray, read their Bible and try to do the right things. Actually, Christian is a man-made word that originally was used to describe those who followed the teaching of Jesus and were doing the works of Jesus. Today, rather than being the true sense of following Christ, it is more widely known as a religion. Christians are considered people who believe in Jesus, go to church, follow specific rules, adhere to a set doctrine, pray, read the Bible and try to get more people to come to their church. We think of Christians in the same sense as Jews, Muslims, Hindus and a host of other religions rather than a way of life walking with Jesus.

When we talk about prayer, we generally think of a set time when we make our requests known to God and thank God for answered prayer. In many formal meetings, prayers are written out and followed word for word to make people sound more spiritual. Actually, prayer is just talking like you would talk to a friend or relative only you are talking to God. Not only talking, but being quiet and listening for God to speak to us through the Spirit. Believe it or not, prayer is not spoken in King James English. It is talking to God just like we talk to anyone else.

What about the Bible. Of course, our first thought is a book that God inspired men to write. If we look closer at John 1:1, we find that the Bible is not a book at all. “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God”. Actually, the Word of God is Jesus. He is the inerrant, all powerful, living Word of God. The Bible is a book that contains writings of men that tell us about God and leads us to Jesus. By reading the Bible, we can learn a lot about God and the love God has for us, all shown through the life of Jesus. What we do not want to do is make the Bible equal to God. The Bible is not part of God, it is a book that tells us about God and leads us to Jesus.

The word worship is generally thought of as a time during the organized service when people are led into song and outward praise to God by a leader paid to bring people into an atmosphere of worship. The style of worship also varies greatly from group to group. Many people think worship is singing, meditating, lifting of hands or dancing. Worship is a true sense of reverence and adoring praise to God. It is personal and does not need a professional leader to bring us to this point. It is a sincere and earnest thankfulness we have for God. It can be by song and outward signs or it can be quiet and inward meditation.

I am sure there are many other words we could come up with that would fit here, but the main point is it is not as important the word we use, but the true meaning. In our life of service to God, Jesus is the focal point. It does not boil down to our doctrines, beliefs and man-made efforts. It is following Christ, allowing Him to live through us by the Spirit and giving God the throne of our lives. Jesus is the head of the body, the rest of us are equal parts with various giftings and functions.

Jim Gordon and his wife left the institutional church after spending over fifty years within the system. Jim wanted a way to express his thoughts and concerns about the religious system and why he and his wife decided to leave the institution but not their faith in God. Jim can be contacted by email at: jimgordon731@gmail.com

What Is Main Reason We Should Question If God Inspired The Bible?

By Mike Edwards

I have written often here that we can’t prove God inspired every word recorded in the Bible. This would include God not necessarily inspiring biblical writers’ claims made about God’s character. It is said God inspired the Bible because the Bible makes such a claim (i.e. 2 Tim. 3:16). This is circular reasoning, even if you claim that Jesus’ endorsement of the Old Testament Scriptures suggests inspiration. That is still internal justification. Is the Koran inspired because it claims to be inspired by Allah. I am using inspiration not in the motivating sense but that God controlled/approved everything written down. A bigger reason to question if the Bible is inspired by God is to avoid going down the slippery slope of “inspired interpretations.”

Even if God inspired the entire Bible, our interpretations aren’t inspired

The truth is biblical writers seem to contradict one another. Hebrews 10:26 says: “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left.” But I John 1:7 says “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” So, did the Cross forgive us from our ongoing addictions, though we know we are hurting ourselves and others? Or are we screwed in God’s eyes if we continue willful behaviors after we see “the light?”    We must admit interpretation is complicated and surrounded by uncertainty.

Anyway, even if we could prove the writers of the Bible always understood God perfectly, the truth is biblical scholars who have a deep respect for Scriptures don’t agree what God believes according to the Bible about many moral values impacting billions of lives – gays, women, unbelievers. See here.  See here.  See here.  A supposed inspired Book often leads to implying interpretations are inspired. A possible uninspired Book doesn’t lead to such problems.

Why does it matter that we not assume inspiration?

It is rare for leaders to openly say their interpretation may be wrong while stating their views. I admit that is slightly awkward, thus why I recommend we avoid claiming inspiration all-together. Simply share for discussion what you believe a loving God is like according to your interpretation. It matters because gays are often condemned, women’s leadership roles are limited despite their gifts, and it is suggested a fiery torturous afterlife awaits infidels – all in God’s name. Extremists often will advocate killing infidels in this life because they believe their Holy Book is inspired by God, and of course they don’t acknowledge their interpretation may be wrong.

It is assumed God approved everything written about God in the Bible. The problem is God isn’t always portrayed as loving. See here.  God supposedly orders Israel to commit hundreds of atrocities in the OT – “… put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys” (I Sam. 15:3). God’s supposed justification of violence can lead to imitation of violent solutions such as capital punishment, blowing up abortion clinics, or unnecessary wars in the name of God. Biblical inspiration, as opposed to questioning inspiration, often leads to assuming one’s interpretation being the “WORD Of GOD.”  

Why do some fear claiming the Bible might not be inspired?

Many may hold on to the idea of an inspired Book for fear of not having a supposed objection explanation of how we can know what God is like. But if a loving Creator exists, which is the only God worth believing it, it is only intuitive that a Creator loves the ways their creations ought to love one another. We all seem to know the question we ought to ask ourselves – am I loving others perfectly? Self-evident morals aren’t hidden in any Holy Book. We all have an inborn sense of good and evil. Our moral intuitions, unless you are a terrorist, aren’t the enemy!

What is the path forward 

Even if you believe or assume the Bible is inspired, you still must interpret the Bible and you may be right or possibly wrong. Uncertainty is a fact of life unless my son or son-in laws mistreat women! The Bible is God’s story beginning with Israel and culminating with the life of Jesus that we don’t possess in other documents. God may have inspired/encouraged the writers to write but didn’t necessarily approve all written about God. Interpretations about God’s love, that don’t match how you and most know you ought to love your neighbor, may be amiss. Consider how to go the extra mile.  Consider what actions might possibly lead to reconciliation or change in hearts if others open. The Bible is valuable because it suggests handling challenges from a spiritual than human perspective. How can we live a life of love and treating others like we want to be treated!

What Is Main Reason We Should Question if God Inspired The Bible

Mike Edwards has been writing for Done with Religion for some time and has been a great addition to the site. He couldn’t find enough people to discuss God openly so he started blogging years ago. Mike also has his own site where he writes that can be found at What God May Really Be Like  He can be contacted by email at: medwar2@gmail.com 

Why Is It Important To Consider Bible Not Inspired?

by Mike Edwards

Most hearing claims that God inspired the Bible assume all characterizations in the Bible about God are true. They assume inspiration means God approved all recorded by the writers. They don’t think of inspiration as meaning that God encouraged or motivated writers/editors to record their history with God, thus possible being right or wrong.  I felt inspired to write this Post about God. That doesn’t mean all I claim about God is necessarily true. I would suggest biblical writers were motivated to record their assumptions about God – possible right or wrong. We can’t prove God controlled the thoughts and pens of the writers. When we don’t assume God inspired the Bible, we are more likely to question if the writers’ assumption about God are right.

Our interpretation can give the wrong image of God, thus turning others away from God 

Ancient literature subject to interpretation cannot be the definitive word on truth. Biblical scholars who have a deep respect for Scriptures don’t agree what the Bible says about gays, women, hell, and other moral issues. It is seldom acknowledged our interpretations could be wrong. Gays are often condemned, women’s leadership roles are limited despite their gifts, and infidels face a torturous afterlife – all declared to be true in God’s name. People often reject God because of such claims made about God. When we don’t assume God inspired the Bible, interpretations are more likely to become discussions rather than definitive declarations about God. 

We quit using our moral intuitions, therefore possible trusting wrong interpretations

Many who claim that God inspired all written in the Bible to be true about God suggests we are made in God’s image. (Gen 1:27) If God is good, this suggests God created us with an inborn sense of good and evil. Self-evident rights aren’t hidden in the Bible or any Book. Even the Bible suggests we aren’t morally clueless. We are encouraged to be perfect like God (Mt. 5:48) or follow God’s example. (Eph 5:1) Interpretations about God’s love that don’t match how most know you ought to love your neighbor may be amiss. When we don’t assume God inspired the Bible, we are more likely to use common moral sense when interpreting the Bible.  

An inspired Bible can “inspire” violence

Many interpret the Quran or the Bible advocating killing Jews or condemning gays respectively, because Allah or God supposedly approves such actions. Most, especially extremists, don’t acknowledge their interpretation could be wrong. God supposedly orders Israel to commit hundreds of atrocities in the OT – “… put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys” (I Sam. 15:3). God’s possible justification of violence can lead to imitation of violent solutions such as capital punishment, blowing up abortion clinics, or unnecessary wars in the name of God. 

The Bible still can inspire useful thinking about God. 

Our relationship with God should be our focus, not the Bible. The Bible is God’s story beginning with Israel and culminating with the life of Jesus that we don’t possess in other documents. God may have inspired/encouraged the writers to write but didn’t necessarily approve of everything written about God. When reading the Bible, contemplate what a loving God is really like. Enjoy what God is trying to reveal to you about your Creator and how to treat others. A Book must not replace our relationship with God and common moral sense. Questioning the Bible may lead to knowing God better!

Why Is It Important To Consider Bible Not Inspired?

Mike Edwards has been writing for Done with Religion for some time and has been a great addition to the site. He couldn’t find enough people to discuss God openly so he started blogging years ago. Mike also has his own site where he writes that can be found at What God May Really Be Like  He can be contacted by email at: medwar2@gmail.com

Differences Among Christians

by Jim Gordon

When we think about our fellow Christians, we should think about the love, acceptance and fellowship we can have with other believers. Unfortunately, with all the different religious doctrines, denominations, interpretations and various versions of the Bible, it seems there are always times when we run into conflict and are not so loving to one another.

Each of us as brothers or sisters in Christ seem to want it our way. Our church, our interpretation, our version of the Bible. We each feel that we are right and feel the need to distance ourselves from those who feel differently.

Have you noticed how religion wants to set the rules so each of us know what it takes to be a good Christian, all according to a particular doctrine or church organization? Do this, don’t do that, stay away from this and make sure you participate in that. We think we have to be in every service and be active with this group or that group. If you are not reading a particular version of the Bible, you are just wasting your time, or if you are not part of a church you are backslidden, at least that is the way some fellow Christians make you feel. Rules, rules, rules.

Maybe it is time to stop arguing over versions, interpretations, church attendance and such and start focusing on Jesus, who is to be our first love. If we can focus on what Jesus told us to do, love God and love others, we should be able to love and accept others even in our differences.

Focusing on Jesus and following the guidance of the Spirit can often lead us into ways we did not expect to go. Many of us begin to ask questions, have doubts and deconstruct our faith. This does not mean we lose our faith or walk away from God. No, we actually draw closer to God because we depend on the leading of the Spirit that lives within us.

The thing is, when we find common ground in our faith in Jesus, when we love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, we become able to look past the minor differences, the different religious doctrines, denominations, interpretations and various versions of the Bible. We look at each other as fellow believers following the Spirit on many different paths, yet continually moving forward in a close fellowship with God. Keep in mind we are all children of God trying our best to follow the Spirit and be pleasing to our God. It is time to stop fighting against each other and begin to love one another as Jesus loves us. Do not let the minor differences come between the love we can have for one another and the things we can learn through fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Jim Gordon and his wife left the institutional church after spending over fifty years within the system. Jim wanted a way to express his thoughts and concerns about the religious system and why he and his wife decided to leave the institution but not their faith in God. Jim can be contacted by email at: jimgordon731@gmail.com

Words and Interpretation

What Do They Really Mean?

by Jim Gordon

So often in Christianity we use words to describe spiritual things, yet what we say and what we mean are sometimes two different things.

Take for instance the word church. Most of us think of a building where Christians meet every Sunday for an organized, pre-planned service of music, prayer and a sermon by a pastor. In reality, true Church is better described by the word ekklesia. It is people who are following Christ and allowing Him to live and love through them. Church is not a place or a building, nor is it the house of God. It is not done on a specific day or at a set time. Church is the body of Christ, each of us equally functioning as parts of the body under Christ. We live each day by the power of the Spirit living within us, loving and accepting others.

How about the word Christian itself? We usually think of people who love God, go to a building each week and follow specific doctrines. Actually, Christian is a man-made word that originally was used to describe those who followed the teaching of Jesus and were doing the works of Jesus. Today, Christians are considered people who believe in God, go to church, follow specific rules, pray, read the bible and try to get more people to come to their church. Unfortunately, many times Christians seem to be known more by what they are against rather than sharing the love of Jesus. * 

Christianity today is more widely known as a religion, an organization led by a man or woman. Even more so, currently it is becoming known as a political action organization. Most people outside of Christianity see this as just another religious organization that really makes no difference in helping and sharing the love of God to those outside their particularly group.

When we talk about prayer, we generally think of a pastor or godly person saying spiritual sounding words to God. Many times, prayers are written out and followed word for word to make it sound more spiritual. Actually, prayer is just talking. Like you would talk to a friend or relative, prayer is talking to God. Not only talking, but being quiet and listening for God to speak to you. It is talking to God like we talk to anyone else.

What about the bible. Of course, our first thought is a book that God inspired men to write. If we look closer at John 1:1, we find that the bible is not a book at all. “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God”. We see that the Bible or Word of God, is Jesus. He is the inerrant, all powerful, living Word of God who became flesh and dwelt among us. The book we call the bible is God inspired and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. It tells us about human beings who were trying to find God and figure out how to relate to God. It tells of how God dealt with his creation and shows how much he loves us. The bible is a book about God and man’s quest to find God, and we can learn a lot about God and ourselves by reading it. What we do not want to do is make the bible equal to God. The bible is not part of the trinity, it is a book. Again, God inspired, but humans still had their views and opinions in writing it.

The word worship is generally thought of as a time during the religious service when people are led into song and outward praise to God. This is usually done by a leader or group who are chosen or paid to lead in this way. The style of worship also varies greatly from group to group. Many people think worship are songs, or lifting of hands or dancing. Worship is actually a deep sense of reverence and adoring praise of our Father. It is personal and does not need a professional leader to bring us to this point. It is a sincere and earnest thankfulness we have for God and can be done whether with others or privately.

I am sure there are many other words we could come up with that would fit here, but the main point is it is not so much the word we use, but the true meaning behind it. Jesus is the all in all. It does not boil down to our doctrines, beliefs and man-made efforts. It is following Christ, allowing Him to live through us and giving Him the throne of our lives. Jesus is the head of the body, the rest of us are equal parts with equal functions in his body.

Jim Gordon and his wife left the institutional church after spending over fifty years within the system. Jim wanted a way to express his thoughts and concerns about the religious system and why he and his wife decided to leave the institution but not their faith in God. Jim can be contacted by email at: jimgordon731@gmail.com

Can God Act However The Hell God Wants To Act?

by Mike Edwards

God supposedly was the cause of Uzzah’s death for simply touching the Ark of the Covenant as it was falling to the ground (2 Sam. 6). The Ark was sacred in God’s eyes according to the Israelites. God supposedly orders the murder of men, women, children, and animals in war (I Sam. 15:3). One author’s respond to these OT stories was to suggest “we are quick to say things like ‘That isn’t fair because we deserve certain rights as humans.’ Yet we give little thought to the rights God deserves as God.”  

Who can we compare God to understand better?  

If there is only one God, who do we compare God to as a way to understand? The Bible uses the analogy of God as our Heavenly Father/Parent to help us understand God as best we can. God obviously isn’t exactly like human parents for I cannot be in all places at one time, but an analogy helps to discern what might be commonalities. What do God as a parent and human parents have in common when it comes to rights?

Isn’t God like the perfect human parent?  

All agree that if God exists than God must be perfect. The Bible agrees by encouraging us to strive to imitate or be perfect like God (Eph. 5:1; Mt. 5:48). If God can do whatever the hell God wants, should we imitate such an attitude? It is only natural to think a Creator would love us and others how we were seemingly created to love others. Human and God’s perfection are surely one and the same. We may only think otherwise because of what we think a Book says. We don’t always know what perfect love is, but I doubt God is the parent that says “do as I say not what I do.”

What are God’s rights?

God would only claim perfect, human rights. God loves us how we know we ought to love others. We aren’t clueless what perfect love is. Terrorists are evil because they would not accept being treated like they treat others. We can’t know if the biblical writers always understood God perfectly or whether our interpretation of what they write is correct. Interpretations that don’t seemingly lead to loving your neighbor more may be amiss because they are contrary to our moral intuitions of perfection. That is why we know Hell doesn’t truly exist. Such pain serves no lasting purpose. Humans wouldn’t even create such a place for their worst enemies.

Divisions in the Body of Christ Should Not Be

It is sad that Christianity is divided into so many different groups. We all have a little different interpretation of the bible and a little different understanding of doctrine. Obviously, we are not going to agree on everything but we certainly should be able to love one another and accept each other even when we differ on these things.

It is hard to understand why this is when God tells us we are to be one as Jesus and the Father are one. Yet, we understand that we are human and it is easy to lose sight of our first love. If we could only stay focused on Christ, listening for his voice and the guidance of the Spirit, loving God and loving others as God intended, then we could begin to look past our differences.

The problem seems to be that we are unwilling to see any other viewpoint other than our own. There are those such as my wife and I that do not attend an organized church. There are those who attend a church every time the doors are open. Some attend a house church, some meet with fellow believers at cafe’s, parks or restaurants and others meet in their homes over dinner. We should accept these differences and love one another rather than argue over who is right and who is wrong.

There really is not a right or wrong way to assemble together and we need to stop expecting everyone to do things exactly the same way. We should respect others viewpoints and focus on loving them rather than expecting them to see things our way.

Things will not change until we start focusing on what is common in our lives rather than the differences. The common focus should be on Christ, the head of the body. After that we should focus on loving others rather than arguing about the differences in interpretation and doctrine.

We also need to keep in mind that we are all constantly changing as God brings new truth to us. We are all learning and changing as we are ready to accept new truths. The interpretations I had five years ago are completely different from some of the interpretations I have now. I am sure in another five years they will change again as God leads me into more truth.

Sometimes we are afraid to accept others interpretations because we feel if we do not hold to our way of thinking we are compromising and not standing up for what we believe. We do not have to give up how we interpret the bible, but neither should we think everyone else is wrong. Besides, we really are not responsible for convicting people of sin or leading them into truth or even saving them. That is the job of the Holy Spirit. We are told to love God and love others.

When we realize we are each equally important functioning parts of the body and Christ is the head, we can start to change how we feel about those who do not see things exactly the way we do. We can begin to accept the differences in our brothers and sisters in Christ as we realize we are all following after our Father and our goal is to show His love to all people.

So Many Voices

It is amazing to me the variety of voices and views there are in the christian world vying for our attention.

Everyone has their own views and interpretations. I think we can learn something from everyone. Whether it is something new, a better way of doing things, a different way of thinking or just realizing we do not agree with what we hear and it bolsters our own faith.

The problem is that everyone has an opinion. That does not mean everyone is right or wrong. God works in each of us in different ways and what may be right for one person is not right for another.

We need to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit each day, listen for his voice and ask that He will lead us into truth. God will speak and lead us through the Spirit, through the bible and through words spoken from fellow believers. The bible says his sheep know his voice so we need to be sure we are hearing from him, yet we can be assured we can know his voice.

Our relationship with the Father is a day by day experience. What we know and understand today may be completely different from what we believed when we were younger. What we believe today will probably change in the future. God leads us into His truth in His timing as we are ready and open to it.

Our goal is to daily seek the guidance of God through the Spirit and seek His truth. To many of us want to put our focus on a man, a popular evangelist or pastor. Obviously, we can learn from listening to others views and opinions but when we focus on people we can get off track and confused very easily.

Everyone has a different opinion. You can listen to one person or group and hear what they think is the truth, then find another person or group who has a completely different take on the same subject. Putting our trust in people and their opinions often leads to fighting and arguing. Many times, when we have been shown something or led in a particular way we expect everyone to see it our way and to believe the same thing.

The only way to get past all the different views and opinions is to focus on Christ. He will teach us and lead us into the truth. That is not to say we are all going to think and feel the same way on everything. God deals with us personally and in different ways and as followers of Jesus there are many different paths we will walk throughout this life.

We need to remember that the Spirit speaks from within us, he speaks to us from the written word and he can speak to us through other people. We need to be sure we are hearing his voice and know he does not always speak the same way and does not always have the same life experiences for everyone.

It is time we become followers of Jesus and stop being followers of men. Nothing wrong with listening and hearing the views of others, but take it as that. It is their view and opinion. Only Jesus is the one to follow and to be our everything.