10 Worst Bible Passages
If you were to pick the hardest Bible passages, what would you pick?
A recent post by Ann Althouse suggested her Top 10 Worst Bible Passages. A lot of the problems that people have with these passages has to do with context and an understanding of the times.
For example:
2. "Go, now, attack Amalek, and deal with him and all that he has under the ban. Do not spare him, but kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and asses." (1 Samuel 15:3)
This seems harsh, except it is in God’s hand when any should die, and they had been warned and God had shown mercy. It was many generations after they had been told to change that they were judged. I can see why we believe that killing everything is harsh, but it was a whole lot more efficient than the tactics we have today. Just saying.
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When You’re In The Right Mindset…
Have you ever noticed that when you get into the right mindset, whatever you’re watching or reading comes alive with lessons that directly relate to the Bible?
My kids and I have been watching the Star Wars saga—we started at Episode 1 and finished 4 this evening—and there were so many allegories to the Bible that it was pretty crazy.
It’s true what they say—there’s nothing new that’s unique, and many stories are simply formulas that we place in different settings in order to get the same message across.
The best stories are like that—so take the time to see the Word in whatever it is that you’re doing. I think you’ll be surprised if you actually start looking for it!
Make Good As Soon As Possible
A lot of what the Bible says is practical, and today’s musing is no exception. It’s always best to take care of situations when they are little, because the longer you wait the more it grows. What started out as something that could have been handled can easily mutate into something that you’ll never get back again.
Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Matthew 5:25-26
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Unity at Any Cost?
Christ’s prayer in John 17 was that we may all be one in Him. He desired unity, and through out the New Testament we see many of the Apostles encouraging us to work past differences and use church discipline in an effort of restoration.
And yet today it’s the opposite—church discipline leads to splits which lead to division over the color of the carpet or what you think of the current Pastor.
We can never be too pure, and we’ll always have opinions over doctrine, but there must be a line—a line where we’re willing to accept differences and live together in Christ.
Where would you draw the line of separation? On a personal level? On a church to church level?
Was That Really the Holy Spirit?
I know that we should always judge what we experience by what the Bible says. An experience that did not come from Him must come from somewhere else. But when I read something like this in my comments on preaching I’m left with a question:
Will do! My daughter has to preach in four different churches EVERY Sunday – one of them in a foreign language. Well, foreign to her. She has six parishes in all. But I know that once (at least) she felt the Holy Spirit prompting her to preach quite spontaneously on a different subject to the one she’d lined up. I’m sure He’ll do the same for you if necessary.
So, my question is… if I don’t believe the Bible supports women in the ministry, who gave this woman’s daughter the words to say? Or, to ask it a different way, if she attributes the call of the Holy Spirit to a natural phenomenon, what does that say about others that do the same?
How The Bible Was Delivered
The Atheist’s next argument is again placing himself in the position of God. His argument is summarized thusly: If I were God, I’d make sure that everyone heard from me personally—I wouldn’t use dead languages over time. That’s just a bad job at revelation.
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Biblical “Contradictions”
No discussion with an Atheist is complete without some mention of the “hundreds” of contradictions in the Bible. However, for every contradiction they can come up with, there’s always a reasonable response to them if you take the time to examine the context of the passage and consider the time period and culture.
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