Why the Bible Is so Hard to Understand ... and Tips to Understanding It: (Revised and Expanded Edition)

The Bible continues to be a source people turn to in their hunger for God. Yet, the Bible can be a challenging, confusing book to understand. In Why the Bible is So Hard to Understand...and tips to understanding it, author Steve Langford explores the challenges readers commonly encounter in reading the Bible. The first challenges Steve identifies are those found within how we naturally, unconsciously read the Bible. Then he addresses the Bible's nature as sixty-six different books written from an ancient, near-Eastern, pre-scientific perspective. He then offers a simple model of interpretation that guides the reader in unwrapping the spiritual truth from the human "wrapper" used to deliver it. The model is followed by guidelines for using it. Two bible studies are included, one of Jesus walking on the water that illustrates how to use the model and one from the life of Peter that outlines the process of spiritual growth that is prompted as we read the Bible. The book also offers guidelines for exercising spiritual discernment and for praying the Bible using the practice of lectio divina. It presents an outline of biblical history that helps the reader put each of the six-six books in its historical context. It ends with theological reflections on God's eternal redemptive purpose, the kingdom of God, and the church.