Connecting The Bible With Real Life
You may be wondering to yourself, “Why would I care about what Paul Fiorello has to write about anything?”, and that is a fair question; I sometimes stop and ask myself the same thing. The main difference is that I have to care about what I think then subsequently write, and you don’t. The other difference is that I also care what you think about the Bible and the world, and how they intersect for not only Christians, but everyone.
Before I became a Christian, I had a lot of preconceived notions regarding not only Christianity, but the Bible itself. That all changed once I sat down and actually read and studied the Bible for myself, which I think is the only way a person can really come to grips with what it says. You can listen to a preacher all you want, but the words won’t really sink in until you read them for yourself. Not only that, but how are you supposed to know if they’re telling the truth when they preach if you don’t go study it for yourself?
You might think, “Paul, that preacher went to school for a really long time to be able to even begin to understand what the Bible really says, how can I read it and understand without all that schooling?” Well, yes that’s true. They did go to school in order for them to get a “Pr.” in front of their name, or for even more to have a “Dr.” there, but that doesn’t make the Bible less understandable, it just means they paid to study it, and get scrutinized by someone that knows the material. I’m not disregarding pastors, far from it in fact. We need them for sure, but they also need us to understand them, and help out in the church’s mission.
Key to Understand the Bible
The main key for understanding the Bible, is to let the Bible interpret itself. If the Bible is to be reliable, and to be believed, it has to remain consistent on any given subject from beginning to end. It just takes time to go in and read it to discover what truth the Bible holds for all of us. The Bible can appear to contradict itself if you only apply it to what you think you already know, instead of applying yourself to what it actually says.
For instance, one thing I hear a lot from critics of Christianity is they think we’re all trying to “work” our way to heaven, though if you take the time to read and understand it, you’d know that isn’t possible. Yes, the Bible talks about our “works”, but that is basically talking about everything we do in life. Just imagine a bank robber that decided to become a Christian, but kept on robbing banks. Would the bank robber’s “works” make them appear to be a Christian, or a non-Christian? If the bank robber had actually became a Christian, they would understand through Bible study that stealing is wrong and would stop robbing banks, then start doing things that a Christian would do; which incidentally, they could also find out by reading the Bible.
I’m not saying I know everything about the Bible, but I don’t even think Billy Graham would’ve ever said that, and he was a great preacher. What I’m saying is, the only way you can’t understand the Bible, is if you never read it. I’ve been reading and studying the Bible for about fifteen years and I’ve picked up quite a bit of knowledge along the way, which I’d like to pass along. Some of what you think would be in the Bible isn’t, and probably what you think isn’t in the Bible is.
For example, many people think the idea that people have immortal souls is biblical; it’s not. If you don’t believe me, then you should read my book “What Happens When You Die…Could the Bible Actually Agree With Science?“. I’ll show you all the biblical proof you’d need to know that people don’t have immortal souls.
I just need to warn you about something that will happen to you when you start reading the Bible though; you’ll begin to see all the misconceptions there are about it. You’ll also have a hard time watching Bible story movies as well; they hardly ever follow what’s actually written. Here’s a homework project for you. Go read the book of Exodus, then watch the movie classic “The Ten Commandments” starring Charlton Heston, and see how well they match up.
I hope you stick around and see more of what I have to say.