GodReflection: My Bible Doesn’t Read Like Yours
Religion drains me. I am tired of religion. I wish it would go away.
We humans tend to create religion. We build systems of belief and interpretation based on our own opinions or acceptance of views from a previous generation.
Before I know what has happened I codify my beliefs and assume they are precisely what Jesus thinks.
Then I begin to judge others relationship validity with the Holy based on whether or not they observe my belief system.
Religion tends to serve the movement rather than the Master. When I’m concerned with my religion I seek laws instead of Jesus’ heart. I can be committed to religion yet find myself far from the heart of Jesus. After a time, my religion can actually oppose Jesus’ values.
Pardon me for my momentary audacity, but may I say what I think Jesus would say should He address our churches?
“Come on people, please wake up and stop the time and effort spent to build and protect your religion.”
I suspect the furthest thought from Jesus mind as he set out on his mission was to start a religion. He came to restore relationship between God and humanity.
As I read my Bible I see Jesus ready to challenge the builders of religion. His confrontation was always provoked by their allegiance to self-imposed rules rather than alignment with the heart of God.
Far more times than I like to admit I find myself among the crowd of the religious builders.
One of the most obvious ways is when I find myself reading my Bible to find support for an idea that I have predetermined to be true or so want to be true.
Such behavior on my part lays another brick in the structure of religion.
To steer clear of participation as a religion builder I think of a few guidelines I want to follow:
1. I want to learn to read my Bible with one eye centered on 
the page and my other eye focused on Jesus. At the heart of my Bible is the story of what Creator God has done and is doing through Jesus. Jesus is my link to the Holy. Everything in my Bible is to be interpreted through Jesus who mirrored Father God.
2. To avoid transformation into a religion builder I want to remember that my Bible is written for my own transformation and growth. Its purpose is not to support political policies or religious darts hurled at others.
3. I draw myself into the practice of religion when I start to seek Biblical support for a valued tradition or for something that I would like to see changed. The way I read my Bible can transform my traditions into my gospel, rather than the gospel of good news brought by Jesus.
4. I want to take care not to read my Bible to take proof texts and change them from their given context to justify my tribal practice.
5. When I read my Bible with the sole intent to make my views right and your interpretations wrong I act as a contractor of Religion.
What if I attempt to consistently read my Bible with the humility of a listener and the anticipation of a learner? Wouldn’t that act alone keep me from religious construction? Wouldn’t that act alone take the focus from me and place it on the Master Builder where it belongs?
Stay tuned.
Dr. Gary J. Sorrells
A GodReflection: My Bible Is Not About Religion
Gary@GodReflection.org http://www.GodReflection.org http://www.MakeYourVisionGoViral.com
GodReflection: My Bible Doesn’t Read Like Yours
Once he finished the printing press and the movable type to go with it he immersed himself into the project that became his namesake—a printed Bible. Over the years of 1454 and 1455 Gutenberg printed 180 copies of what in now known as the Gutenberg Bible.
Without a doubt, my favorite class in both my junior and senior years of high school was printing.
However, the printing press moved the Bible from the clergy to the people.
Just over sixty years after the Gutenberg Bible came off the press the young Martin Luther was teaching at the University of Wittenberg. As Luther read his Bible he identified 95 theses of misalignment between his Bible and his church.
The Protestant Reformation had begun.
At our worst tribes shoot at other tribes or we are at war with our own subtribes.
Possibly, I should treat those who worship under other church signs (who too are disciples of Jesus) as brothers and sisters since we claim the same Lord and Father.
Over the 286 pages Gray explores differences between males and females in the way they deal with emotions and ways they interpret the world and each other.
Now for us males.
What if I make it a point to listen more closely to the texture brought by feminine voices to enhance my own Biblical interpretation? I suspect my male-gender only viewpoint of my Bible results in less than a complete reading.
When it comes to self-deception we humans are at the top of our game. The “way I feel” fuels the ease with which I can deceive myself. 
Why the difference?
intensity. 
There is a sense that my Bible was written just for me. Therefore, I should never be afraid to bring any and every emotion I have to the Holy Scripture. 
At the same time, I hope to learn to become more tolerant with what others discover in their own Bible as they bring their own ever-changing feelings to its pages. 
It seems everyone has a survey to send out. I go see my doctor and out of the digital sky a survey appears. My local supermarket chain wants me to complete a survey after every basket of groceries. Make an internet purchase and poof a survey follows.
a gazillion questions.
Am I a frequent or an occasional reader?
One of the great benefits of life in this century is the advancement of Bible translation. Those who read from the English language can read Scripture from dozens of translations and paraphrases. 
No, Jesus didn’t speak English as he walked the streets of Jerusalem. My English language blessing is due to the richness of Christian publications.
I would like to think that the more Bible knowledge I gain the better chance I have to know and understand a tad more about the Holy that has gone to such lengths to demonstrate love for me.
Isn’t it a fair assessment to recognize that we each read our Bible differently due to the fact that we each approach the Bible with different degrees of intensity and frequency? 
It is not too much of an overstatement to say my church was also my family. True, some of its adherents were members of my genetic family while others just felt like it. From my young perspective, our church lived family. 
The Bible was held with great esteem by our church family. A high premium was placed on the knowledge of right and wrong. 
Leaders in the roles of elder, preacher, teacher, song leader and deacon set the tone for our desert church. From them we learn that arguments were to end in peace. From them we learned the contents of our Bible. From them we saw family in action. 
The congregation’s pulpit played a huge role in the way I read my Bible. From baby blanket to high school graduation I must have slept, wiggled and listened to over twenty-five hundred sermons.
Like those of our own family tree, my desert church family was flawed by we human types who called ourselves brothers, sisters and mischievous kids. But the desert family patience, love and desire to follow God and His Son held us together.
Vibrant teachers within congregations who share an exciting Creator God are more likely to instill in students an intrigue with their Bible. 
What is important, the essence or the core flash like lightbulbs in my brain when I hear the well-worn statement: “Let’s get to the heart of the matter.” In my culture, there is little doubt what the expression means.
I believe my Bible contains a message so grand it explodes from the text like a fireworks display.
descent into the dark canyon of wickedness.
Little by little Jesus’ disciples crawl and follow their new discovery up the steep dark canyon walls to revealed the face of God.
We read the story of the infant church learning to understand and to live into that commission throughout the remainder of the New Testament.