Why Study the Bible?

Why do you think we should study the Bible?

Part I Objections

Over the years I have asked people at a various colleges and universities, from students to professors what they thought about the Bible. During those conversations I usually received an ear full of hostility. I would get responses that dismiss the Bible as an antiquated book of rhetoric, that it has no meaning for us in our modern age. Some of the Professors believe that the Bible was responsible for the problems of darkness and disgust of ages past.

Students who were more savvy would challenge me with all kinds of rhetoric, such as: Why should we study such an antiquated book in an age of science and reason? Why study a book that cannot possibly be understood, where highly educated people fight against each other for its meaning? Where so many churches split, causes divisions, change and form denominations and have such different thinking, that varies so much, and has wounded so many? Why study the Bible when for centuries people have used it to fight against each other in wars and violence? Why study a book that has caused countless thousands of people to die in its crusades? Why study a book that is filled with so many myths and contradictions? Why study a book that is boring and has no bearing on us today?

I also asked the same question to different people in various churches and denominations and would you believe I received so many different answers and even some hostility for asking such questions. They usually believed in the merits of reading the Bible. Even at liberal churches I would find people in support of the Bible. But what amazed me was that some Christians did not see any relevance in reading it! In fact some people got mad at me for even asking them if they read the Bible on a regular basis. As if it were not worth reading, as if there were far more important things that need that space of time such as sports, TV, parties, going out, reading romance novels and so forth.

I wondered if the responses from the secular colleges were so different from many of the Christians who believed that daily Bible reading or study did not matter. One group says emphatically that they refuse to believe in the Bible's precepts, while the other group may believe in it; however, they do nothing about it. You see from my perspective both groups were doing nothing about it and only one group was honest about it!

To the secular historian, their thinking is that throughout church history Christians have fought amongst themselves and shown no unity or proof that the Bible is the Word of God. They see the same answers echoed from Christians as that of the atheists who cry with antagonism. That Christians fight and disagree, and atheists are honest and simply refuse to believe. This is truly sad. The Word of God becomes a tightrope that displays the acrobatic skill of its defenders oration, and then becomes the rope of a pulling contest to see who is right. Of course the Bibles defender is the Spirit of God, it stands by itself and defends itself. The Bible does not need our oration or rhetoric.

Although God is lifted up and believed in most churches, the Bible is still fought upon, argued about and read so little!

So the same result comes to pass that shows the Bible to the world as a book of strife and schism, a reservoir of conflict and division. Assumptions and rhetoric have replaced discipleship, trust and obedience. And I'm not speaking about the atheists here!

Christians who claim the Bible's truths and carry her under their arms to church, may never venture into her pages, thus an insult may occur to their will and intellect. Even the best intended disciples are under the duress of finding themselves incased in fatigue and mood in its reading. That scatters them from its pages. Then there are those who refuse to admit they do not know the Bible. They do not know how to study the Word and for the sake of pride they will refuse to learn. They think, "I grew up in the church, I know the Bible!" Yet they do not. Pride is an excellent way to lift yourself up, and arrogance makes an effective cover to the truth.

So who would dare venture into her arms, a book that seems to represent so much hate and strife? Why indeed do we study the Bible?

Is the Bible really the ground that produces the crops of strife and division? Are its fruits bruised and rotten with contradiction and myth? Are her crops indigestible and have no place in the produce stand of reason? Are her pages filled with meaningless stories that bore us to sleep?

That is the principle arguments that the atheists give. It is also the same reasons why most Christians do not read their Bible. Most Christians may not say that the Bible is full of contradictions, but they are being contradictory by claming Christ and ignoring His Word. Most Christians may not personally believe that the Bible was the cause of societies problems, but they do not use it to solve theirs. Most Christians may even believe that the Bible is for us today full of treasures and goodness, but they do not harvest her crops, or use her treasures for their table.

When we ask people in our seminars why they do not read the Bible, we get four primary categories. 1. It is boring. 2, it is too difficult to read and understand. 3. The Bible is too old to have any bearing on my life. 4. People fight over it too much. Although response 3 and 4 are rare, I believe most Christians have experienced number 1 and 2, first hand.

Yet the Bible has always been true. We may attempt to dismiss it's claims and it's intrusion into our lives. However the Bible has been the light in darkness, the strength in our weakness, our comfort in our troubles, and our guide for our life.

Because God's Word is, 'more precious than gold, than much pure gold; and is more sweeter than honey" (Psalm 19:10)

When we try to live the Christian life alone without the guidance and support from the Word, we are like a Doctor performing a operation without ever going to medical school.

So what about all the objections?

There are three primary objections to the Bible. They all fall under the premise that people generally do not want to venture into her because of a fear of being convicted. I had a good friend who is a committed Christian who said he did not like to read the Bible. His fear was he would be convicted to become a missionary in a far off place and be miserable. I told him that God would never call you to something that you are not gifted and suited for. That if he did indeed received a call to go to Outer Mongolia, he would also have the burning desire to go there too. But we like to cover up our fears of being convicted with arguments of reason and logic. That is to say if we can prove our point we do not have to listen to it. If we can put down the Bible, then we can elevate ourselves, so we can think and do as we please. We do not need to be convicted by a book that is untrue. As for my friend he dove into the Bible, and learned all that he could. What I find so funny is he ended up in Russia, and he loved it!

First: The objection that the Bible is full of contradictions and myths. I have set out early in my liberal mind-set life to prove that the Bible was full of contradictions as with so many others. I majored in Comparative religions in a secular University to prove the Bibles irrelevances. I believed that all religions were the same as my professors taught. So I looked and looked, read all of the 'scholarly' books that refute the Bible and came to the conclusion that there are no contradictions in the Word of God. And Believe me I tried hard. There are none! I had to rethink my theology, and go from 'wrong' flaming liberal to being a down 'right' conservative.

So when somebody tells me that the Bible is full of contradictions, I politely ask them to show me. Most of the time they get louder in their objections (as I once did) but proved me with no contradictions. When there is a verse or passage that they feel is a contradiction, we look it up and discover it was out of its context or just not there.

You may not have the expertise and savvy to answer such objections, that is OK! I get stumped occasionally and have to research it. That is why there are so many good books out there on Apologetics. Such as Josh McDowell's "Evidence that Demands a Verdict", and we have lots of great links for apologetic websites on our 'Links' channel.

Second: The Bible is too difficult to understand

This was my first objection. I became a Christian and tried to read the Bible and I was stuck. I did not understand it. I found it confusing. And I was no idiot, in fact I was taking Graduate courses in Nuclear Theory and Relative Field Theory and Quantum Mechanics. I was 16 at the time (yes I was an egghead- geek), but the Bible was mysterious. The Bible I was reading was the one my Grandmother gave me at my confirmation. It was a beautiful leather Bible with very thin parchment. The text fount was very small and you could see the back side almost as well as the font. It was also the King James Version. The combination of antiquated language, small print, paper that was hard to read, and then compounded with my dyslexia caused an unreadable document. No wonder I found it difficult, until a friend gave me the 'Good News' Bible and the words and precepts flowed like a well-written exciting novel. But for years I refused to read the Good News Bible or any translation that to me did not look like a Bible.

The objection I have heard over the years is, "the Bible is for pastors, I just do not understand it". When I ask them to tell me about the Bible that they are reading, I find as it was as with me, the translation is too old and the print too small. And sometimes they start with Revelations and get confused. Yes there are parts of the Bible that are hard to understand, but over 95% is as crystal clear as the daily newspaper. So if you can read the newspaper, you can read the Bible!

Third: The Bible is boring

This always dumbfounds me. The Bible is filled with stroys of wonder and excitement. What grand Hollywood epic has more special effects than Genesis or Exodus? What TV soap opera has more excitement, sex and betrayal than that of Judges? What novel have you read that has the elements of passion, wonder, crime, betrayal, lust, remorse, and heroism, with deep philosophy and truth? Shakespeare himself said he could never top the Bible, no one ever has, no one ever will. So if you find the Bible boring, then life and death are boring. The excitement of love and the remorse of death are of no consequence. There has never been anything in all of human history that has so much for so many. The fears, struggles, problems and solutions that the Bibles characters face are what we face. They may not have had a flashing '12:00' on their VCR, but all that there is in life that matters such as, relationships, life, death and the pursuit of life is what they had, and is what we have and deal with daily too. The Bible is alive and incredibly exciting, if you find it boring, then switch to a better translation, and reboot your attitude.

The Bibles objections are neutered, castrated from any threat to the reasonable mind. There are no contradictions in it, and it is as readable as any magazine and it is definitely not boring. The question is what is stopping you?

There are three forces that pound at the foundation of a growing Christian: pride, laziness and dishonesty. And the result of those three is usually motivation, or the lack of it. I struggle with it. Sometimes I just do not feel like reading the Bible or getting out of bed. And I'm a pastor and the director of a ministry that promotes Bible reading. Yet we all can be besieged with the lack of desire. That is when we need to drop to our knees in prayer, and seek His face!

There is also a labor factor that is required for any endeavor and the Bible is no different than any reading. To read a novel you have to first be willing to sacrifice the money to go buy it, then set aside precious time for its reading, and then gather the necessary effort to be able to begin. Then after all that expense, time and effort you then still need to remain committed to be able to finish it. As it is with the Bible!

As for study, well study is even more labor intensive. So when we fail to get into His Word it is more of a unwillingness to work at it. Are you committed to a magazine or a novel? Is the time and effort for 'People' or 'Hot Rod' the same as with your devotions?

The above objections are mere excuses that cloak us from responsibility. Our fallen nature is to be lazy and seek the easy way out and it will get in the way of being His disciple more than any other hindrance we could ever face. Even in the mist of harsh persecution the Bible and Christian growth flourishes. I used to sneak Bibles into Russia, and would see hunger for the Word as I never have felt or seen personally in others or myself. Now the long iron curtain has fallen and we are training those once hungry Christians to teach the Bible. Do you have that hunger to know His Word, if not what is stopping you. With me it was pride and the thought that I already knew it!

It is when we are comfortable and complacent that our lack of willingness clouds us from growing in our Lord. The problem is our neglect. The problem is not the Bible!

So why should we study the Bible?

Next we will conclude with Part II

Ó 1989, 2000, Rev. R.J. Krejcir excerpt from the upcoming book 'With the Word' www.intothyword.com