Does Your Personal Interpretation of The Bible, Make You Feel Closer To God?

I am not religious, but I know many religious folks, and they all seem to have their own personal interpretation of the bible, and the words/phrases inside. Almost none of them sound the same, and I wondered... does this "feeling" of understanding it, make you feel closer to god?

If I say can you find that in the bible, they will choose a verse, change the words to make it seem like they have found the secret message inside, and I just dont get it.

Does an individuals interpretation have the same sway as one of a pastor or priest?

Do religious people depend more or less on their interpretation or one of someone in a church? What if you read a passage at home, and realized you figured it out, then went to church on Sunday, and the pastor read the same passage, but describes it different?

Do you re-look at it, or choose to follow the man behind the pulpit?

This of course is a question that I am sure do not require any quotes from the bible, but is a personal question to those that follow it.

Peace, NRE.

reply to post by NoRegretsEver


After reading and interpreting the bible i can honestly say I do not feel any closer to "God". In fact, all desire to feel closer has left me. Who wants to be close to a mass murdering sociopath? I know I dont.

But hey, if that's what Christians like then so be it. Murdering people(or worshiping murders) is just not my thing.

I think personal spirituality makes you closer to God, that is, the personal relationship with Christ.

The best way to go about interpreting Scripture is and always has been by comparing it to the other Scriptures. When I am listening I feel closest to God. When I try to draw my own conclusions about what is only at face value I am, in a sense, manipulating the Word.

Originally posted by NoRegretsEver
I am not religious, but I know many religious folks, and they all seem to have their own personal interpretation of the bible, and the words/phrases inside. Almost none of them sound the same, and I wondered... does this "feeling" of understanding it, make you feel closer to god?

If I say can you find that in the bible, they will choose a verse, change the words to make it seem like they have found the secret message inside, and I just dont get it.

Does an individuals interpretation have the same sway as one of a pastor or priest?

Do religious people depend more or less on their interpretation or one of someone in a church? What if you read a passage at home, and realized you figured it out, then went to church on Sunday, and the pastor read the same passage, but describes it different?

Do you re-look at it, or choose to follow the man behind the pulpit?

This of course is a question that I am sure do not require any quotes from the bible, but is a personal question to those that follow it.

Peace, NRE.

If I hold a light up to a painting in a dark room, do I see the room, the painting or the light? If a second person shines a light in the same room to look at the same painting, will they see what I looked at? Did the light, the painting or the room change? Could any of it be seen clearly apart from the light? Is the value of the light changed by what it reveals in the mind of the person looking?

For me, I see the Bible as a mirror I use to see myself. I don't see the mirror so much as I see what stares back. I think the bridge between spiritual understanding and literal interpretation is crossed by the moral life we lead. Each perspective will be unique. Each perspective reveals something about the person looking.

reply to post by NoRegretsEver

. . . does this "feeling" of understanding it, make you feel closer to god?

Well it would not be very rewarding for someone to read it and not understand it.
I think everyone gets something slightly different from reading the Bible. It takes your mind away from the purely mundane and focuses it on the sublime.

reply to post by TsukiLunar


would you rather pledge your allegiance to say Hitler, or Napoleon, or U.S.A, or what? You are obviously less than 120 years old and have it all figured out, O Great one. Which path must I follow to enlightenment Master of Opinion. There has to be more to life than Fema camps and world domination conspiracies.

I for one would like to see all that the scholars squabbled over as their version of events , the condensed version umm isn't working as it was intended to . That is where I'm drawing the line in the sand .

reply to post by TylerDurden2U

You are obviously less than 120 years old and have it all figured out, O Great one. Which path must I follow to enlightenment Master of Opinion.

I am great, aren't I. I would say follow the logical path. The one that doesn't rest on fallacies and fairy tales.

If you need any more advice I am always ready to help!

There is no "interpretation", it says what it says.

I feel closer to God when I read the Bible because I see an underlying theme which is the root of all faiths. I do not hold it in exlusivity other than as it is an exclusive branch of a universal tree. The tree is the fruit of the seed and the fruit of the tree is wisdom found within. Now if the branch becomes poisoned and suffers from disease, then it is prudent to prune the offending branch, lest it spread to and ruin the whole tree.

Thus, my personal interpretation is the result of my own pruning. The results of which are reflected in my own world.



With Love,

Your Brother

reply to post by NoRegretsEver


Each person that chooses to read the bible and is willing to have faith that every word is true and from God will each receive a message fit for them.

Although you may say that many interpretations are different, I would say look at the similarities and not the differences and there you will begin to understand the truth. God is love, this is a similar theme to all interpretations of believers.

Most of the pastors of today only preach what people want to hear because that is what pays the bills. Look at the Apostles did they seem afraid to tell the truth? You cannot serve both God and money. So I would say the individual experience is much stronger than what you receive at church for the fact that you choose to read the bible in obedience to God. Because of this faith you are rewarded with a closer bond to God than you could ever find at church.

The problem lies in the modern dogma of the Christian church. They have done to the bible the same as the Pharisees and Sadducees did to the law. In their search to interpret the message they have destroyed the message. The bible is far more literal and easy to understand than the modern church teaches.

reply to post by TsukiLunar


will you call me grasshopper when you address me?

Closer to God? Yes! I have learned that by becoming a Christian, I became adopted, and at that, adopted into the God family. Jesus is my redeemer and kinsman. God the Father is my father. In this life, we are like children, and do not have full access to the rights and privileges of family membership - that will only happen after the resurrection, and the full indwelling of God's Spirit in us.