Google faith

Do you have Google faith?
Sometimes I think we approach the Bible like a search engine. Like, "I need to find something to prove my opinions are right—right now." So we look for the right verse—something that will prove a point perfectly … but does it?

What’s the problem?
The Bible was not designed to be a search engine. It’s not built for juicy, newsy sound bytes. It’s a message. A story. Life’s instruction manual. A narrative about who God is, what His Kingdom is all about, and how He created and interacted with people throughout time.

Approaching the Bible like a search engine causes us to miss out on something key—context. If we pick the Scriptures we like without looking at context, we can miss out on their meaning or application to our lives.

The dangers of cherry-picking …
Sometimes it can even be dangerous … cherry-picking Scripture is what cults do, but I’ve also seen it done in mainstream Christianity.

• It’s also dangerous because it can cause us to miss out on intended meaning.
  
• By hand-picking verses, we can become Biblically illiterate or perpetuate Biblical illiteracy (particularly to new believers). How? We get people to say "Amen" (or "Amen" ourselves) to stuff that may not be correct in the context of the whole Bible—this means that people are putting more trust in our opinions as speakers/leaders than they are in the Bible itself.

So what’s the answer?
Obviously, pastors, Sunday school teachers and small group leaders are not all Biblical scholars. Nor do they have the time to always fully explain the context of every Scripture they use in a message. But I think Christian leaders can help people learn how to read and understand the Bible more effectively through our example and how we use verses ourselves.

How do I approach reading the Bible?
So here’s some things I've learned about reading the Bible (mostly from my days at Trinity Western). I’m definitely NOT an expert, but I think these questions have helped me (and may help others) to better understand the Bible and apply it to our own lives:

• What does this verse/passage mean in and of itself?
  
• How does it apply to me?
  
• What comes directly before or after it? (For example, are there any, "If…then…" clauses?)
  
• What’s the context of the particular book of the Bible? (Who is it written to? Who was the author—and what was his purpose?)
  
• What’s the historical context? (For example, how did Jesus treat women compared to what was "normal" or expected during His time in history?)
  
• What’s the relationship between this passage/verse and other things I’ve seen in Scripture? (For example, most Christians believe "God is love." but the Bible also shows that "God is just"—how do those two ideas interact together?)
  
• (And if you want to get really in depth...) What do other reputable Biblical scholars have to say about this passage?
  
  Note: You can usually find out by reading a few Biblical commentaries ... but choose carefully--some can be outdated or in a weird context (e.g. some are anti-Semitic). A few of my TWU professors have written multiple commentaries that I would recommend ... Dr. Craig Evans or Dr. Martin Abegg.