f the Bible. For example, in Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25 and Luke 18:25, Jesus says, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 9 One would take this to mean that a rich man would need a miracle to get into heaven because how could anyone ever pass a camel through the eye of a needle? However, in Jerusalem there was a very low and narrow gate through the city wall, called “the eye of the needle”. When traders came into town, they had to unpack their camels and lead them through crouching down, and then repack them once inside. Within the context of His time, you could reinterpret what He said to mean that it is only much harder for a rich man to get into heaven and that he must first unload his material possessions. To say what a biblical text teaches us today, you first have to understand the text in its original situation and then apply the meaning to the present situation. However, many people take the bible too literally. This approach keeps the Bible simple, but it has the disadvantage of many different people finding different meanings. All can claim that the text actually means whatever they interpreted from it and that other interpretations are wrong. So how is this settled? In the end, popularity decides what the Bible means. But just because many people believe in something, it doesn’t necessarily make it right. Slavery was a good example of that. 10Another disadvantage is the selective use of the Bible. Preachers may condemn homosexuals because the Bible mentions it in passing, but the same preachers do not support slavery even though all of Philemon and long passages in Ephesians, Colossians, Timothy and Peter advocate it. They do not encourage people to cut out their eyes or their hands if temptation strikes, even though Matthew 5:22-29 suggests it. The Bible clearly condemns divorce, women teaching in Sunday s...
