Why do we argue over the meaning of scriptures in the Bible among ourselves?

All Christian people accept the Bible is true and God's words to the world.

Why do we join in community and not discuss but argue over what the various teachings or supporting passages are actually saying?
Is it up to us to translate God's words to our liking?

And why is it that in most all Christian communities the BDF, Bible Discussion Forum, is the most incendiary , drama filled, anger filled, confrontational, mean, board of any other on any Christian community site?

A lot of it has to do with the fact that it is really easy for our interpretation of Scriptures to become an idol and we lose sight of who and what Scripture is meant to lead us to.

Lack of self control?

For most/some folks, human pride combined with the bible teaching they received "runs deep" - so that they depart from 'intellect' and embrace 'emotion' if they meet with a moment of contention. (Promoted and facilitated by Satan, of course.)

The resulting reaction is:

"How dare you question what I was taught!"

We, who are alive today, began our faith surrounded by a fractured and institutional church system ruled by competition. What you are discerning (and what appears here often) is fruit of its influence.

"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

One word. Pride.

It's because there is a gray area where scriptures overlap, forcing us to make decisions based on the amount of wisdom and experience we have. You'll see that not everyone handles discussions the same.

For example, 1 Peter 3:15 "...says give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you." On the other hand, 2 Timothy 2:16 says "..."shun profane and vain babblings..." While at the same time not to cast your pearls, but often we don't know we shouldn't have shared those pearls before it's too late. Proverbs 9:8 says to not correct mockers or they'll hate you, but wise people will love correction. Often through trial and error we learn a measured approach to people, but only after much arguing and fighting.

That's a good excuse. However, when discussion degenerates into mud slinging accusations, often with no real basis, pride is the driver.

Sometimes confidence looks like pride, too. They aren't equal.

It's those who include insults and meanness in their posts who need to be ignored. Those who disagree without using insults are those to listen to, even if you end up disagreeing. We all have spoken to strongly at times, we aren't perfect but we should have a record of mostly friendly and professional communications.

Sometimes we are making a case for the best hermeneutic in a spirit of love and desire to edify. If someone reacts hatefully to that it is best to drop the discussion.

Sometimes we are going back and forth attempting to discover the best hermeneutic and though it looks like we are arguing we are really just challenging each other to show us where we are making a mistake in our interpretation and are both open to concede to superior hermeneutic if one can show us using the agreed upon rules of hermeneutics where we are making our mistake. Though this may appear to be arguing it really isn't at all and we are both being edified by the exercise.

Unfortunately not everyone keeps it so friendly.

There are not really that many "false teachers" here that are very good at deceiving people.

There might be plenty of false teachings that crop up but the people presenting them are not very well trained or know what they are really talking about so there is no real danger of anyone getting deceived by them. Arguing with them is like arguing with a mental patient in a psyche ward. They can't stay on point and most of what they post are not real sentences.

Going back and forth on a particular interpretation trying to narrow down what the author intended is not arguing, but quite edifying if one does it with the intention of give and take, informing and open to learning when someone presents a superior hermeneutic. That does happen here. I have learned from others when we started out disagreeing but by careful exegesis and several posts ended up agreeing.

Another thing I would add to this discussion is that the reason that there are so many debates on Bible Discussion boards is that it is the format people use for "Bible Questions."

One of the most useful things about an online Bible Question Forum is to explore possible interpretations of a difficult passage or one that is known for having several possible interpretations in church history.

It is to be encouraged that people would seek to want to know why others think certain interpretations are the right one. And it is to be expected that strong opinions will be voiced as to why any other interpretation is the wrong one.

What is edifying is when people can present their scriptural evidence for their interpretations using the rules of hermeneutics instead of emotional rantings.

Rules like:
immediate textual context
Cultural context (what it would mean in their day and setting)
Syntactical and Lexical analysis, (Greek, Hebrew word meaning, and sentence structure)
Who is speaking, Who is being spoken too
Other scriptures from the same author discussing the same topic
Other scriptures by other authors discussing the same topic

and other rules that are commonly agreed upon by modern evangelical scholars of the bible and taught in bible college classes or listed in books about hermeneutics (the art and science of bible interpretation)

When we can post a question about a controversial scripture and get people to stick to those rules we can often discover why certain interpretations are wrong and can be abandoned. In our quest we can discover the intended meaning of the author and by doing so can discover how we are to best respond to or apply that truth to our lives today.

So you may have to wade through a lot of mud here on Bible Discussion Forums to get to the refreshing water to swim in but just pull up your boots and wade through it to find the good stuff.

Another reason... People are bored.

We do, sadly, have a current contributor who basically does exactly that.

Sometimes I give myself a trophy.

no idea
I thought this was a bible discussion forum not a bible argument forum.

mean and insulting posters I just ignore because they dont add anything to the DISCUSSION.

some people want to learn, so they ask questions. That is a totally legit way to learn to inquire what this scripture means, It doesnt mean they already know! It means they want to find out something. so nobody should ever be afraid to ask questions!

Also those who want to edify, should do so because it is all for our learning. The answers are actually in the Bible if we seek we shall find.

But the Bible is a HUGE book and the it is not like a maths book where the answers are just in the back.

also, there is usually more than one answer....especially with open ended questions.

That's interesting because I actually do re-read my comments multiple times, and again when someone icons them in one fashion or another. Were you speaking of me?

Sometimes I re-read because I did indeed think it was a good post. Often because I'm still pondering the topic. And most often it is because I am still critiquing it for how it could have been better. That's also why I almost always continue making edits up to the 5 minute deadline. Our words matter. If I said something good, that people were able to receive and appreciate, I wan't to know what I did right and if it was honestly correct or if it was only that I was saying something they wanted to hear.

But here's my 2-cents on the OP:

• People are passionate about what they feel is important.
• This place actually allows the conversations to happen... which means subjects can be deeply explored... which means the underlying fears from which some doctrines arose might just be uncovered... And some people aren't ready or willing to be that honest...(That's when it tends towards volatile)
• People are at differing emotional and conversational levels. Some respond using anger rather than reason or compassion.
• Satan would love for people to fight, and people to get offended, and the site to be closed off so the deep truthful conversations couldn't happen, So he helps people get offended whenever possible.
• (IMHO)

Love in Jesus,
Kelby

11Now, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12As for those who are agitating you, I wish they would proceed to emasculate themselves!

For all the supposed "drama" and "mean"-ness on BDF, I have never seen anyone say anything nearly aggressive as this, about another poster. This has to be the most tame forum I have ever seen on the internet.

Just because we don't sit around posting cat pictures and sharing cookie recipes- that doesn't make us mean.

Well said. Probably 99% of the perceived drama around here isn’t really drama. The bar for being offended is just so low for some people that anything short of Christ-like perfection will ruin their day. Just can’t make some people happy so maybe they’re better off being left alone.