Oddities of Bible Reading

"How one reads shapes spirituality, just as much as how one’s spirituality shapes how one reads."

If you've been in the church long enough, you know by now that our spirituality shapes how we read.  For example, if we know God is trustworthy, this informs how we read (interpret) Scripture.  But the crazy thing is that often times we don't think about the ways in which our reading shapes our spirituality.  So what exactly do I mean when I say, reading shapes spirituality?

CONSIDER:  5 odd ways in which people read Scripture and thus form spirituality:

1. Lawbook – Here, one reads the Bible as a list of rules.  It informs how one ought to live primarily.  Emphasis is given to obedience and conformity.

2. Collection of blessings and promises – Here, one reads the Bible as primarily how God is blessing each person.  God becomes a kind of “Mr. Rogers in the sky.”  Emphasis is on the nice, pleasant passages.  

3. Rorschach inkblots – Rorschach inkblots was a psychological test given to patients where they describe what they see based on random inkblots on a page.  In other words, they project meaning onto an image they see.  From this, one can see how certain persons can read the Bible and see it as a mere projection of what they want.  What one sees is entirely dependent upon what one wants to see, instead of what is there.  So, when one comes to the Bible with the longing, “Tell me I’m OK,” texts of Scripture can be misapplied and skewed to confirm what they want to hear.  Though it may be true, it can gloss over the ultimate meaning/purpose of a text.

4. Massive puzzle – The Bible is a system of truth, and these people thrive on deciphering its complicated meaning and can explain it better than the Bible can.  This is a draw for intellectually minded folk.

5. Maestro reading – Since the Bible was written by numerous human authors, and there are difficult texts in many books, the Bible then becomes explicated best by one person.  Be it a Reformer (Luther/Calvin) or a Biblical character (Jesus, Paul, or James), these people like to interpret through another interpretive grid rather than assimilate all of them.  

EXAMPLE:

Read Jesus' temptation in the wilderness (Matt 4) and draw some simple applications.  Finished yet?

Now ask yourself:

Did I get a strong sense of what I need to do when under temptation?  (oddity 1)
Did I get a strong sense of the promise that Satan flees at Scripture's quotation? (oddity 2)
Did I get a strong sense of some personal need met? Ie, God confirmed to me that I need to fast and pray. (oddity 3)
Did I get a strong sense that this temptation was Matthew's way of comparing Israel's failure in the wilderness against Jesus' success and sinlessness (drawn from Jesus 40 days in the wilderness as compared with Israel's 40 years in the wilderness). (oddity 4)
Or did you get a strong sense to interpret this story through John Piper's book on fasting? (oddity 5)

PROBLEM:

Each has strengths and some more weaknesses than others.  You also may be a mix.  I am inclined to be a Rorschach inkblot guy, but seminary is inflating the systematic side (as well as maestro).  I have to be careful not to let my perspective color texts wrongly.  But the problem arises when our odd ways of reading Scripture influence our spirituality unknowingly.  Because our reading shapes our spirituality, our reading could be constructing a false god in our image or making.  Also, if we see Scripture only one way sometimes distorting texts and glossing over the meat for our impressions/feelings, we lose God's heartbeat in the passage.  Lastly, we can become arrogant and regard others' interpretations as wrong, when we in fact are the wrong party.  

SOLUTIONS:

1. As the Greek Philosophers say, "Know thyself!" Know your tendency/be aware of how you are inclined to spin texts in favor of your personality.
2. Study the Word - read, read, and reread a text and context - consider it within the surrounding verses, chapters, books, New Testament, and whole Bible.  How does it fit with the rest?  Draw personal application only after careful study.
3. Supplement your Bible reading.  Not with a devotional (often times they are heavily oriented on self) but with a study Bible, theology, or commentary (see www.bestcommentary.com for a good list of commentaries).
4. Get involved in a Bible study where there is TEACHING (not only sharing).  Often times that only muddies the waters, hearing a bunch of zealous Bible readers talk about what they think or feel about a text.
5. Do you have any further solutions?  Feel free to post your thoughts.

Further things to consider:

Hermeneutics
Interpretation

Context (Historical, Cultural, Literary)
Scott McKnight, Chapter 7 in Church in the Present Tense