Reviews, Interviews, News, Commentaries, Excerpts, My Top 5 Books, Wilson's Bookmarks, Book Awards'God Is Not a Genie in a Bottle': Ways We Misuse the Bible
'God Is Not a Genie in a Bottle': Ways We Misuse the Bible
Most Misused Verses in the Bible, The: Surprising Ways God's Word Is Misunderstood
Bargerhuff, Eric J.
Bethany House Publishers
May 1, 2012
176 pp., $11.69
What does the text mean to me?
This question, asked in Bible studies and sermons around the world, can lead believers to spiritual renewal. When it is the only question Christians ask of the Bible, warns Eric J. Bargerhuff, faith in Christ can become disconnected from the meaning of given passages. In The Most Misused Verses in the Bible: Surprising Ways God's Word Is Misunderstood (Bethany House), Bargerhuff, until recently a Florida pastor, advocates careful interpretation of Scripture based on attention to context. Owen Strachan, Christian theology and church history professor at Boyce College, spoke with Bargerhuff about how the Bible becomes a mere handbook, and its verses a talisman, when our desires crowd out sound interpretive practices.
Are there specific categories of verses that evangelicals tend to misinterpret?
Our temptation is to interpret the promises of God materially and temporally instead of spiritually and eternally. We Americans have bought into a materialistic, right-now mindset, and so we're tempted to pull verses out of context to fit that mindset. We need to understand that God's greatest desire is to glorify his name. Too often, we interpret God's promises in a way that is appealing to our sinful side. We often grab things out of Scripture and try to use them for our own benefit, instead of taking the necessary steps to submit to Scripture, to be humbled by it.
You critique prayers that uncritically expect God to grant us, well, anything. Like John 14:13: "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son."
God is not a genie in a bottle. Yes, he has a good, pleasing, and perfect will. But this doesn't mean we should pray for whatever we want. We are sinful people and don't even know what's best for us, as the Book of Romans says. Sometimes we pray with wrong motives. Praying random prayers that are self-centered is not God-honoring. We should seek his will when we pray.
What would you say to athletes who latch onto Philippians 4:13 ("I can do all this through him who gives me strength")?
In that passage, Paul is teaching on contentment and arguing that no matter what our situation is, we should learn to be content. The ability to be content, whatever the situation, is contingent on what Jesus gives us. This verse doesn't necessarily mean that Jesus will give the player victory, but rather that he can be content either way because of God's strength in him. It's not about God giving you the strength to dunk the basketball as much as it is him working in you to be content no matter what happens in the game.
Why is Jeremiah 29:11-13 ("'For I know the plans I have for you …'") commonly misinterpreted?
Most people overlook the context of the verse because it speaks to what they want to hear for their life. This was a corporate promise given to the nation of Israel, to a generation that came out of 70 years of captivity in Babylon. We think through an Americanized filter based on our preconceived notions of what blessing is. But God's promises are spiritual promises, not promises of instant gratification. Though God does bless us in many ways, he has not promised us our best life now. This world is not our home, and we should long for a better country.
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JEFFREY L RUDLOFF
I am grateful for this article, since it has saved me the cost and trouble of buying this book, which, from it's title, I would have been tempted to read. If truth in advertising laws pertained to book titles, it would appear - based on the contents of this interview / article - that this one would have to be named "My personal doctrinal positions are correct and all others are misinterpretations of the Word." Not one of CT's best moments here...
Steve Skeete
I am in agreement with the principles which Bargerhuff says 'can guide careful interpretation of Scripture', including the one which calls for an adherence to the principle 'that the Bible never contradicts itself'. A lot of what passes for biblical interpretation today is merely cultural, like the American emphasis on wealth, experiential, as in 'it happened to me' so it must be true, or personal, someone coming up with some novel understanding of a text in order to gain notoriety. I am in agreement with these principles as well because there is no possible way to get close to a true understanding of any passage of the bible if one is not prepared to come to terms with the 'Bible's various literary genres, understand historical context, discern the author's intent, carefully define the meaning of words, look at grammatical relationships, and reflect on the church's history of interpretation. Laziness in the pulpit and apathy in the pews will always lead to erroneous teaching.
RICK DALBEY
Now were cooking. The Bible has hundreds of contradictions, it's not perfect and none of the promises are for us. CT has done it again. Kind of goes with today's article on the changing definition of Conversion, the new paradigm. We're Postmodern. And missional.
John Sucke
Simply saying that "the Bible never contradicts itself" is not enough. Just comparing the genealogies of Jesus presented in Matthew and Luke is enough to bring this assertion into question. And that is just one of over a hundred apparent contradictions. It is not the Bible that is perfect; it is God who is perfect.
RICK DALBEY
When we carefully study out the context and meaning of scripture we find that it does not apply to our life at all, but was simply speaking to a time a culture and a specific situation. In fact there really are no promises one may claim with confidence because they were all relative to the situation of the hearer in a former time thousands of years ago. Right? From physical healing to mental health (sound mind) to material blessings to peace. And oh the cruelty of telling people that God has good plans for them...“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Enough of this hope business. I agree with Bobo. We need more instruction like this. I also have been a believer since 1078 too. I was so happy to see the Byzantine emperor Michael VII abdicate.