Bible knowledge does not equal wisdom
It can be very threatening for some people to question and deconstruct their belief system. This is largely because they have wrapped their identity and security in that system. For that reason we should have compassion; it is quite difficult to look objectively at or apply critical thinking to one’s beliefs when a person is attached to them in this way. Let this be a lesson to not replace old beliefs with new beliefs, and then become attached to your new beliefs. Begin by questioning the whole premise that the path is about swapping one belief for another.
It makes complete sense in modern Western culture to anchor one’s religion or belief system in a book such as the Bible. But it should be noted that Jesus himself did not espouse this view. Jesus chastised the religious leaders of his day for burying their noses in their sacred text, and missing the plain and simple truth that was right before them and in them. The Bible has extraordinary spiritual value but it was not meant to be the source of our spiritual reality. Jesus taught that the source was the Spirit or true Self within us. In some sense, people who are attached to the Bible the way they are is not a “spiritual” thing but a cultural one.
Throughout history and spanning the the world, people have related to the Bible in many different ways. It would be a gross misrepresentation of even Christian history to say that there is only one way to view or relate to the Bible. If someone comes around and starts laying on you some big sermon about how you should understand or relate to the Bible, keep in mind that they are only expressing their subjective view, which has been shaped by their culture, including their narrow religious sub-culture.
Just because people have significant Bible knowledge does not mean they are any wiser for it. This was part of the point Jesus was making when he challenged the religious leaders of his day.
