Why can't everyone understand the Bible?

[2timothy316]

Those that read the Bible, rarely do they agree on what the Bible's message actually is. Why is that? Why didn't God make the Bible easy to understand for everyone? The Bible holds the key to the answer to this question right?

[MissKate13]

[MissKate13]

[2timothy316]

...Take your pick from: the trinity, ...

The word Trinity is not in the Bible, so it is not a Biblical problem.

Yet people continue to pick out pet scriptures to convince themselves and others that there is a triune god. Why didn't God see this issue coming and write something plainly so that there would be no confusion?

[2timothy316]

[MissKate13]

[fredo]

God didn't make the Bible easy to understand because He wants us to search and read it in order to discover its true meaning. The Bible is actually a collection of writings from a variety of authors, each with their own perspectives and interpretations. This means that as readers, we can never be absolutely certain of what the Bible is actually saying. As well, there are cultural, historical and linguistic aspects to consider when reading the Bible that can significantly shape how it is interpreted. It is important for us to approach the Bible with open minds and hearts in order to unlock its true message and learn the lessons God has for us.

[Miles]

God didn't make the Bible easy to understand because He wants us to search and read it in order to discover its true meaning. The Bible is actually a collection of writings from a variety of authors, each with their own perspectives and interpretations.

So what do you do with the following?

2 Timothy 3:16-17
"All Scripture is given by God. And all Scripture is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. "

and

Proverbs 30:5-6
"Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Just ignore it?

This means that as readers, we can never be absolutely certain of what the Bible is actually saying.

Considering all the contradictions and misleading verses, see HERE, one certainly can't.

It is important for us to approach the Bible with open minds and hearts in order to unlock its true message and learn the lessons God has for us.

Which you have concluded to be, what?

.

[1213]

...Take your pick from: the trinity, ...

The word Trinity is not in the Bible, so it is not a Biblical problem.

Yet people continue to pick out pet scriptures to convince themselves and others that there is a triune god. Why didn't God see this issue coming and write something plainly so that there would be no confusion?

I think Bible speaks plainly for example by saying:

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
1 Timothy 2:5

[historia]

Those that read the Bible, rarely do they agree on what the Bible's message actually is. Why is that?

I would maybe answer this in two ways.

First, I think there are lot of times when people misunderstand what the text is saying because they are ignorant of the historical background. A lot of people naively read their own modern-day assumptions into the Bible.

Second, and more broadly, I think the problem is not so much that people misunderstand what the text is saying, but that they want the Bible to definitively answer certain theological questions that the biblical authors themselves did not set out to address.

The Bible is, after all, mostly a series of stories. It's not a work of systematic theology or like a creed or catechism laying out in detail what one ought to believe. It often only tangentially touches on various topics that modern-day Christians are interested in. And so, when it comes to these topics, readers naturally come away form the text with a variety of differing interpretations.

[Eloi]