When I was growing up, I heard people quote the Bible in a grandiose, authoritative way. Those who did that meant to shut down anyone who disagreed with them. They were quoting Scripture, and that supposedly meant they were speaking for God. It was an easy way to claim the moral high ground, and the implication was that you had better agree or you would be punished. I always hated it when people did that. It seemed like cheating. It didn’t help that I was around some of those people when they weren’t Scripture quoting, and I knew they weren’t really any more moral than anyone else. In fact, on occasion, I saw them being selfish and thoughtless, even cruel.
Well, I grew up, and now I have some opinions of my own. One is I don’t believe in inerrant bibles. I also don’t believe in the ability of humans to read something and always get the meaning right. I think in many instances there is no one single way to read something. I’m also not sure there is a god, and if there is, I’m pretty sure I don’t speak for this god…no matter what or who I quote. I sometimes voice my opinions, but I don’t claim any kind of special authority. My opinions are just my opinions. So what will happen to those who disagree with me? Nothing as far as I know.
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