Seven Common Biblical Misconceptions

Here are seven widely held misconceptions about biblical teachings. Hey, we're dealing with the Holy Bible here - what other number would you expect?

1) We are supposed to be our brother's keepers. Many of my fellow Christians feel that the Bible teaches that we are indeed our brother's keepers. However, you will not find that anywhere in the Holy Scriptures. When confronted by God about the whereabouts of his brother Abel, whom he had just murdered, Cain asked, "Am I my brother's keeper?" So God replied, "Yes, Cain, you are", correct? Well, no! Actually, God never answered that question.

2) Gambling is forbidden by the Bible. While you might honestly believe gambling is wrong, you won't be able to prove it with Holy Scripture. There's not one word in the Bible that says gambling is an undesirable activity. In fact, many of the major positive figures of the Bible are depicted as casting lots, a form of gambling, and God never condemns it. Now, I have to give some people credit for effort - they'll use all kind of verbal gymnastics to try to prove that the Bible does indeed condemn gambling. They will point to the fact that those who crucified Jesus cast lots to divide up his clothing among themselves. However, the biblical writers remained neutral regarding the specific method of the distribution of Jesus' clothing. In other words, would the Gospel writers have considered these men's actions any less wrong if they had sold Jesus' clothing to highest bidder? I think not.    

3) Adam and Eve committed the first sin by eating an apple. Nope, it was an undisclosed type of fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The word 'apple' isn't even mentioned in the book of Genesis.

4) Money is the root of all evil. This belief is the result of a misquoting (often intentional, I would suspect) of a passage of scripture. In 1 Timothy 6:10, the apostle Paul says, "For the love of money is the root of all evil ..." So, what the Bible actually teaches on this subject is that money is just fine, as long as you don't love it too much.

5) The Bible says God helps those who help themselves. Wrong answer! While God might indeed help those who help themselves, the Bible doesn't even come close to saying any such thing. This saying has become so popular and has been repeated so often that many people actually believe it's in the Bible. However, it's just not so.

6) Lying is forbidden by the Ten Commandments. However, like they say in that old song, "It ain't necessarily so." That Commandment says, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against they neighbor." Therefore, the Ten Commandments only forbid a specific type of lying, i.e., telling lies and making up stuff about other people, inside or outside of a court of law. Now, don't get me wrong, there are many passages in the Bible (more than I could possibly recount here) that condemn liars and anyone who makes habitual lying a way of life. However, you might be surprised to learn that the Bible does leave the door open for some types of lying. Jacob lied to his blind father Issac and told him he was his brother Esau, and God never condemned him for it. Rahab, the harlot, was even praised and regarded as a heroine for lying to her own people about the whereabouts of the Hebrew spies. In fact, there is at least one instance in the Bible in which God even advises someone not to tell the whole truth. The prophet Samuel was preparing to go out to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem to anoint David as the next king of Israel, but was fearful that King Saul would kill him for it if he found out. When he told God about his concerns, God told Samuel to take a heifer with him and say he was going out there to make a sacrifice.

7) The human soul is immortal. The Bible does not say this. In fact, nowhere in the Bible will you even find the words soul and immortal in the same sentence. Actually, there are verses that fly in the face of this belief. For example, twice in the 18th chapter of Ezekiel, the prophet says, "the soul that sinneth, it shall die." How could the soul be immortal of it can die? In another example, Jesus says (in Matthew 10:28), "And fear not them which can kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." If the soul could be destroyed, as Jesus clearly says it could, how could it be immortal? If the human soul were truly immortal, not even God Himself would be able to destroy it. The Bible clearly does not teach this.

Comments

[David]

concerning no. 2 Gambling. God has said that we are suppose to be good stewards of our money and use it wisely. He also told us not to be partakers of other mens sins.

[Mike]

This post is an excellent example of something many Christians already know: Anyone can take passages from the Bible to prove anything they want (just be sure to take it out of context). Here's one verse that covers a lot of the "gray area" you are creating: Abstain from all appearance of evil (I Thessalonians 5:22). Please do not willingly mislead people based on a logic that says "if it doesn't address the matter specifically, then it's okay." I suppose internet pornography is okay since God doesn't actually address the issue. (Sorry for the extreme example, but you get my point.)

Amen!