Original photo by Francesco Esposito

There’s an argument that goes loosely like this:

• The Bible is the word of God
• God is perfect and incapable of error
• Therefore the Bible must be perfect, as if it wasn’t then God wouldn’t be

Frankly, this is an argument full of problems, the most obvious being that if everything God influences is perfect, then why are we sinful, and why did some of the angels turn against Him? The simple fact is that whilst God may be perfect, nothing else is. Not us, not the angels, not even the Bible.

So what can we take away from the Bible then? What can we trust in? What passages can we believe? How can we have faith, if that faith is based on a book that is itself flawed?

It’s a big question that’s for sure, and one that I’ve asked myself many times. Every time I come to study the Bible, I ask myself “what is this saying, does it make sense, what’s the context and the language used, how am I understanding and reading this…” and so on. Then, and only once I’ve answered the host of questions it raises, do I look at whether it fits what I believe.

Let me be perfectly clear here: I don’t believe in the idea of taking the Bible and fitting it to my beliefs. I believe in looking at what the Bible says, and seeing what I can take away from it, and in looking for passages on certain topics, and seeing what they have to say on them. But trying to bend the Bible to what I want to believe? No, that just doesn’t gel with me.

I’ve been studying the Bible for a while now, and whilst I still haven’t even scratched the surface, one thing comes through loud and clear: the Old Testament is like the Biblical equivalent of The Hobbit; it sets the scene for something greater. The Old Testament talks of history, rules for life, wisdom and strength and many other things. But the overriding message is actually much simpler: your saviour will come.

In the New Testament, He does.

That, above anything else, is what you can trust in. As for everything else, use some common sense, apply some thought, reason it out, and through all things, have faith.