Interpretation

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The Declaration of Independence is easily the most well-known document in American history, right?

Not so fast….

As promised, Jessica brought her new boyfriend, Dylan, by the house to meet her parents on Friday evening. When they opened the front door, mom and dad weren’t exactly thrilled by the young man standing on their doorstep.

Believer or not, just about everyone is familiar with the account of Daniel’s night spent with the lions. In the well-known story, a pagan king threw one of God’s prophets into a den filled with the terrifying animals. Of course, Daniel walked out the next morning completely unscathed.

The same cannot be said about a man in Taipei who willing confronted a group of lions.

Some people make the Bible “say what they want it to say,” meaning they take teachings out of context, misinterpret passages, or even interpret Scripture through their own biases. But President Thomas Jefferson took this error to the extreme.

He made the Bible “say what he wanted it to say” by creating a whole new Bible!

Some things in life allow for multiple interpretations, each of which may be valid. For instance, dreams, paintings by Da Vinci, song lyrics, the Constitution…and the actual winner of the Cal/Stanford game from 1982.

However, there are also some things in life that have only one correct interpretation.

Joy to the World is the most-recognized and most-published Christmas hymn in America. Since its writing in 1719, Isaac Watts’ tune has become a holiday necessity at sacred – and even secular – gatherings.

But ironically, Watts never intended the song to be about Christ’s birth; in fact, he had a very different occasion in mind.

In Psalm 133:1, King David joyfully declared, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” The ancient king could easily distinguish between hostility and peace…and probably knew that the latter was often hard to come by.

Just like it is between two churches in modern day Toledo, OH.

When the Imperial forces of Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States on December 7, 1941, many American soldiers simply thought U.S. military commanders at Pearl Harbor were conducting drills. In fact, many of the sailors’ misunderstanding cost them precious minutes in response time, only making the “day of infamy” that much more infamous.

Eternal punishment, aka, Hell, has been a sore spot for believers for thousands of years. Questions and speculations swirl around this topic like no other. Fortunately, the Bible has plain teaching on the subject that will plainly answer people’s questions.

That is, if people choose to believe what they plainly see.