Thursday, May 24, 2012

Fact and Opinion Are Different Things

So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. -- Galatians 5:1

So what is your opinion? Go ahead. Pick out a passage in the Bible and tell me what you think. What? You don’t know about that? Well, maybe you could think of something. And, chances are, it’ll be all about your opinion and not about God.

Oops! That is where we run into so many disagreements and interpretations. Let’s face it. Anybody can take just about anything in the Bible and turn it into something they want it to say. It doesn’t mean that it says that but it sounds good.

It gets down to context and, in some cases, going back to the original Greek and Hebrew texts and trying to figure out what it meant when it was written. Sometimes the only way we can know for sure is to ask God to help us. And He will. He loves when we seek His voice.

The other day the topic of Biblical interpretation came up. It was used in defense of something that just wasn’t true. It’s one of the many reasons I always urge people to read the Bible for themselves. Then you know what it says and you aren’t as likely to be tempted to believe what someone else has decided.

See, it’s not about opinion. There is a huge difference between opinion (and I have a lot of those) and facts. The weather forecasters’ opinion gave us a 60 percent chance of rain today. The fact is that we didn’t get any. There’s a difference.

Many years ago I listened as an uppity Christian woman got put in her place by a woman she looked down on. The woman said in an arrogant tone that the Bible tells us not to drink alcohol. Actually, it doesn’t. The other woman knew the Bible quite well and pointed it out.

Yeah, I know about the Scripture telling us not to lead others into temptation. So if we follow that line of reasoning -- no one should drink alcohol because some people will overindulge -- then we should eliminate desserts and all unhealthy foods from the church potlucks. No? Well, our nation has a huge obesity and diabetes problem so offering unhealthy food items is definitely leading people astray.

There will always be disagreements among Christians. We can’t agree on music style or what to wear or just about anything it seems some days. And that’s okay. So long as we agree on the main things -- think John 3:16 -- everything else is just opinion. Don’t confuse the two. And don’t get so caught up in things that don’t matter, that you let your opinions push people away from Christ rather than draw them closer