Is the Bible Confusing?

by Stephen Bastin

When I was a freshman in college, studying to be a Mechanical Engineer, I purchased a Bible and began reading.  I had one purpose in mind.  I wanted to prove that somebody else’s view of salvation was wrong and my view was right.

I did not read to understand; I read to prove a point.  Needless to say, my understanding of the Bible was not appreciably increased by my reading.

Reading to prove you are right can lead to confusion.  Reading to understand God’s message will lead to understanding and enlightenment.  The proper question then is, “What is it you want to get from the Bible?”  Do you want to get understanding or do you simply want to reaffirm your present opinions?

Consider, for example, the first chapter in the Bible, Genesis, chapter one.  It begins with a statement that God created the heavens and the earth.  There follows a description of what He did over a course of seven days.

There are no precise scientific terms, but just a general description of what happened each day, concluding with the seventh day when God rested.

Take the fifth day as an example.  “Then God said, ‘Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.’  God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.  God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’  There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.”

There might be some question as to just what is meant by “great sea monsters.”  This might refer to whales, large sharks and other such sea-going creatures as we are familiar with.  Or, it might refer to the Loch Ness Monster (if such a creature truly exists) or some other exotic creature that is now extinct.  The reference is not confusing; we just do not know exactly to what it refers.

The passage in Genesis only becomes confusing when one attempts to harmonize modern theories with this simple account of the creation.  I say “theories” because nothing has been scientifically proven about the origins of life on earth.  There is the account of life’s origins contained in Genesis, chapter one, and there is the account of life’s origins contained in the theory of evolution.  No one was there.  No one has been able to replicate what happened, so we are just dealing (in a scientific sense) with theories.

If one accepts the Genesis account of our origins, then we know where we came from and where we are going.  We came from God and we are responsible to Him for our conduct while we are here.  If one accepts the theory proposed by some scientists, we came from nothing and we return to nothing and life is without meaning and purpose.  We are just random atoms in motion and nothing truly matters.  Getting in a tizzy to protect the environment makes no sense because ultimately everything is just going to return to chaos despite our best efforts to prevent that result.

When I was in second grade, one of my classmates introduced me to the idea of multiplying.  I understood that two plus four equals six.  I did not understand what it meant to multiply two times four and get eight.  I was confused.  If my classmate had just explained that two times four just meant that you added four twice, it would have been simple.  My classmate probably did not understand that simple concept either.

In the same way, the Bible can be confusing if you do not have all the information.  When one reads about monsters, blood, fire and plagues in the book of Revelation it sounds scary.  When one understands that this is a particular style of writing, common among the Jews and used by Ezekiel, Daniel and Zechariah in the Old Testament, there comes an understanding that helps to explain the puzzle.

Let me give you another example of how the Bible can seem confusing.  Suppose someone calls you and asks directions to your house.  You assume they are calling from one place, but they are not there.  They are coming from a different location.  The directions you give will not lead them to the right location because your assumption was wrong.

In the same way, the Bible gives various people directions on how to be saved.  If you do not understand where they are (spiritually) then the directions may seem confusing to you.  Directions for getting from New York to Chicago are quite different for directions from San Francisco to Chicago.  The final destination is the same, but the details are different.  They are not confusing if you know where each is beginning.

Perhaps another common complaint is that the Bible is confusing because of the way it is put together.  Unlike a novel, there is not a continuous story that begins on page one and ends with the last chapter.  There are 66 different books in the Bible and much of them are history, but the history does not run in a continuous story from front to back.  Some chapters, in different books, are even the same, word for word.  As one becomes familiar with the different books and their contents, this confusion is resolved.

Sometimes the Bible is seen as confusing because of the differences in culture.  The units of weight and measure in the Bible are not what we commonly use.  Instead of pounds they sometimes have shekels or other units of weight.  Instead of dollars they have a denarius.  Some translations are helpful by either converting in the text or giving a footnote that explains to the reader the difference.  A good Bible dictionary can be helpful with such matters or one can simply do a search on the internet.

Sometimes names have confused people.  In the older translations there was often a difference in spelling a name in the New Testament as compared with the Old Testament.  The reason was that the New Testament was being translated from Greek and the Old Testament from Hebrew.  The spellings were different in Greek and Hebrew.  Newer translations have eliminated that problem so that you read the same name with the same spelling in both Old and New Testament.  Sometimes there were differences between Catholic and Protestant spellings because the Catholic translations were using names derived from an earlier Latin translation.

If you have found the Bible to be confusing, do not get discouraged.  If you truly want to know the will of God, it is not that difficult to determine what God wants you to do.  It may make you uncomfortable when you find that you have been wrong, but there are benefits in eternity if you change and accept God’s plan for your life.

If you want us to help you understand the Bible, just send in the coupon on the back page.  Check the box “I am interested in a Bible study program” and we will get in touch with you.