Reading the 'Holy Bible' to Discern

When reviewing the blogs I've posted, I often find myself wishing I had written things I didn't write and wishing I had written some things differently. This is unavoidable given the fact that, on the one hand, a blog post isn't supposed to be a tome. Nobody wants to read a blog post that takes days to read through. I don't know that anyone desires to read a post that takes more than one minute to read-- especially about something so boring as the 'Holy Bible'. Therefore a blog post is not a viable format to comprehensively expound any subject from a doctrine as convoluted and subtle as the 'Holy Bible'. 

On the other hand, one's understanding of the 'Holy Bible' changes as one reads it more and more; and this is nothing compared to how dramatically one's understanding of it changes as one writes about it. As such, I can't write anything about it entirely the way I want to, and I certainly can't write anything about it the way I will always want a thing I write about it to read. Such is the nature of the beast with which I so wrestle.

It's not really as annoying as it may seem, however. After all, the point of writing these blogs is not to solve all the riddles for the reader. Nor do I write to assuage my own vanity. The point of this exercise, as I see it, is to impress upon the reader the value of reading the Doctrine for oneself: so that the quality of the conversation surrounding the Doctrine might improve generally-- hopefully in this lifetime.

As much as I avoid it, I complain about charlatans more than enough, I think, for any notice afforded them to be ought but annoying here. Suffice to say: I find that those who have never been to church or Sunday school and yet, for whatever reason, read the Bible are less "blinded... in their minds [2 Corinthians 4:4]" than those who have the preconceived notions attendant thereupon. 

That is to say: the savant is less fearful, and thus more perceptive of the inconsistencies the fearful would be more prudent to fearlessly take notice of. It is best to cleanse one's mind of all such fear. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love [1 John 4:18]." If you love the Bible, love it perfectly.

In loving the Bible perfectly, read it enough to notice all the subtle nuances. Don't let slothfulness or prevailing 'wisdom' talk you out of the revelations the spirit inside you is talking you into. To accomplish this, you must read it in it's entirety. You will most likely need to do this more times than you want to believe is possible in order to merely begin to find the subtler nuances, but often the less subtle nuances are the most salient. Remember: if the Bible were the word of God, 'obscure passages' would be a misnomer. Nothing about God-- except our understanding of God-- is obscure. 

Always do the math. Don't simply trust the numbers as you read them. There are numerical inconsistencies in the 'Holy Bible'. No one seems to enjoy math, but when looking for the integrity or lack thereof in the Bible, simple math will open your eyes more than you think possible.

If there is more than one account of a given event in the Bible, compare the various accounts with each other. This is sometimes arduous, but it's worth it to the mind which won't be satisfied without the knowledge necessary to discern. The differences in these various accounts will often surprise you.

Finally: always assume the Bible is the work of the devil. This may seem counter intuitive. Those who claim to believe it say it is the word of God, after all, and certainly it might, in some convoluted manner, be; but if the Bible is the word of God, don't forget it was written by 'the children of the devil [John 8:44].'

If you follow this advice-- part of which is to read the Bible in it's entirety many, many (this is to say, hundreds of) times-- you won't need to read things like my blogs to discern anything consequential about the Doctrine. And you will be shocked to find out how very little of it is consequential. Keep reading. Godspeed.