Q.
Is there a right or wrong way to read the Bible?
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various words and phrases should be translated, and that these different trans-
lations can dramatically change what meaning we get from the text.
While very few of us have time to learn Hebrew and Greek—the lan-
guages in which the Bible was originally written—luckily, there are people
who do have time, and we can avail ourselves of their hard work and discover
for ourselves which of the many theories we agree with and which theories fi t
the best with our own theology.
Scriptural References
Psalm 119:14–16; Luke 24:32; 10:25–37; 1 Corinthians 13:1–2; 2 Timothy 3:16
Suggested Additional Sources for Reading
- Marcus J. Borg, Reading the Bible again for the First Time: Taking the Bible
Seriously but Not Literally (Harper San Francisco, 2002). - John A. Buehrens, Understanding the Bible: An Introduction for Skeptics,
Seekers, and Religious Liberals (Beacon, 2004). - Bart D. Ehrman, Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in
the Bible (and Why We Don’t Know about Them) (HarperOne, 2010). - Peter J. Gomes, The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart
(HarperOne, 2002). - Justo L. González, Santa Biblia: The Bible through Hispanic Eyes (Abingdon
Press, 1996). - Alister McGrath, In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How
It Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture (Anchor, 2002). - David Plotz, Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous,
and Inspiring Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bible
(Harper Perennial, 2010). - Ryken’s Bible Handbook: A Guide to Reading and Studying the Bible (Tyndale,
2005). - R. S. Sugirtharajah, ed., Voices from the Margins: Interpreting the Bible in the
Third World (Orbis Books, 2006). - N. T. Wright, The Last Word: Scripture and the Authority of God—Getting
beyond the Bible Wars (HarperOne, 2006).