Help Me Understand the Bible

We approach the Bible with American eyes and therefore completely miss or misunderstand so much of it. It is an old Middle Eastern book. To really understand it, we must try to understand their culture, theology, language, and thinking.

A good translation is just the first step in understanding the Bible. Figures of speech that are second-nature to native speakers-but often bizarre to others-are especially difficult. When these are further clouded by differences in customs, grasping the original meaning can be very difficult.

What most of us fail to realize is that we do not think the same way the writers of the Bible thought. The logic we find so easy and familiar did not yet exist when most of the Bible was written. Without considering those differences, we try to impose on Hebrew word-pictures our Greek logic patterns. Sometimes it works, and at other times the results are disastrous. No wonder we have loud conflict and seething separation within the church today, in direct violation of Jesus' prayer for unity within his body.

This book is the result of years of answering questions from students and friends. It can be understood by anyone who can read a newspaper. The Bible is the record of God's intervention in human affairs, and where he draws a lost and hurting world to himself. Despite the critics' shrill cries, the Bible can be understood.