Reason # 3: Problem Stated: Controlling Personal Presuppositions. Many times people arrive at conclusions that are not derived from any denomination or body of believers but they arise from their own personal thoughts or observations. But of course some do arrive at such conclusions based upon the ideas of others. Sometimes these ideas are right and sometimes they are not. But many people have not trained their mind to be able to put aside personal feelings and emotions when coming to the Bible. Sometimes people are not able to read the Bible with an awareness of how their previous ideas can influence the way they define words, sentences, and themes in Scripture.
Solution? A good way to overcome this is to do counter analysis. If a person thinks a text means one thing it is good to sometimes write out in a plain way how the text could have said something in a more clear way to make the case of what you are saying it means. For example, someone might read their Bible with the idea that divorced men cannot serve as elders. This is based upon the reading of 1 Tim. 3:2. But a counter analysis approach would say, "why did not Paul just say, 'a husband who is not divorced from his wife,' would that not be clearer?" Or if the presupposition is that this verse mandates monogamy then the proper question is why did not Paul just say, "a husband of only one wife/woman" since there are clearly examples of him using the word only in the nearby context of this book. Would not those words have been much more clear had that been what Paul meant to say or imply? That is just one of the many examples. Another would be, if someone reads the Bible and claims that multiple wives is sin the proper question is, "why then did not God just write that out and list it as a sin in the many texts, such as in Lev. 18, where he discussed sexual disorder sins?" Sometimes you can also find texts in Scripture and then write out something with similar words in a natural context. Some people read the newspaper or magazine articles or law codes from the state better than they do the Bible. Somehow mysticism has pervaded their spirit and they come to the Bible and read it differently than they do other pieces of literature.
Solution? A good way to overcome this is to do counter analysis. If a person thinks a text means one thing it is good to sometimes write out in a plain way how the text could have said something in a more clear way to make the case of what you are saying it means. For example, someone might read their Bible with the idea that divorced men cannot serve as elders. This is based upon the reading of 1 Tim. 3:2. But a counter analysis approach would say, "why did not Paul just say, 'a husband who is not divorced from his wife,' would that not be clearer?" Or if the presupposition is that this verse mandates monogamy then the proper question is why did not Paul just say, "a husband of only one wife/woman" since there are clearly examples of him using the word only in the nearby context of this book. Would not those words have been much more clear had that been what Paul meant to say or imply? That is just one of the many examples. Another would be, if someone reads the Bible and claims that multiple wives is sin the proper question is, "why then did not God just write that out and list it as a sin in the many texts, such as in Lev. 18, where he discussed sexual disorder sins?" Sometimes you can also find texts in Scripture and then write out something with similar words in a natural context. Some people read the newspaper or magazine articles or law codes from the state better than they do the Bible. Somehow mysticism has pervaded their spirit and they come to the Bible and read it differently than they do other pieces of literature.