In “Reading the Bible Critically—Part 1,” I stressed the importance of paying careful attention when we read Scripture. We sometimes inadvertently lack the focus required to grasp its meaning. The antidote to that syndrome: Be a serious reader of the Bible! But what does that mean? Someone might say, “I want to understand the Bible, but being ‘serious’ doesn’t sound like fun. I want to enjoy reading the Bible, and so I don’t want to take it too seriously. I just want to know what it says.” Well, that’s where the dilemma starts: “Knowing what the Bible says means knowing what the Bible says.” I don’t intend for that to be taken as some cheesy cliché, but it is, in fact, what oftentimes lies at the heart of the issue. People want to understand the Bible, but they fail to realize what it takes to get that understanding. Now, I’m not […]