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Biblical Interpretation and Proper Context

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When dealing with professing atheists and other religious groups, we expect them to take passages of the Bible out of context. These things can often be refuted quickly by examining the larger context. Sometimes it may require digging into the contexts of history, culture, language, and so on, but not always. (Indeed, most alleged contradictions in the Bible that were refuted by Veritas Domain were based on context tampering.) Some atheists object to our pointing out how they take things out of context, but it happens a great deal.

It is expected when atheists and others in false religions take the Bible out of context. We must be careful not to make that mistake ourselves.
Genesis and reading glasses, FreeDigitalPhotos / Janaka Dharmasena
Christians tamper with the context as well. Those who actually believe the Bible probably do not do this intentionally, but it can easily happen. Especially when someone is teaching and mislead his hearers. (James 3:1 has a warning for teachers of God's Word — I reckon those who use bad hermeneutics make the Bible about us are in big trouble.) We should ride up on the hill for the bigger picture — and see the context.

What follows is an article with a fascinating illustration about aircraft in World War II, and how that context applies to us today. It would be good if you read "The Importance of Context in Sound Biblical Interpretation."