The following excerpts and links come from one of my favorite websites for Bible study–oldtruth.com:
Do Your Feelings Have Veto-Power Over Scripture? (Link)
There is no shortage of people today who refuse to believe something in the bible because it goes against their feelings or against some tradition that they were brought up with. We could nickname this error of Subjective Interpretation “if it feels good – interpret it”. Those who succumb to it are sometimes heard to say “my God would never do that!” as they skip-over or explain-away passages that they don’t personally prefer. And when we think of “small-groups”, especially in those large churches that downplay (or even mock) theology, doctrine, and deep sermons, this is what often takes place; it’s a pooling of ignorance in which everybody takes their best guess at what the bible is saying.
My own mother recently said to me “what you are saying about the bible makes sense but I’m going to keep believing my way because I was brought up Catholic”. She is however, willing to embrace bible passages that she thinks speak about Peter being the first pope. I have a Universalist friend who isn’t willing to believe the passages in the bible about eternal destruction, saying of them “a good God would never keep somebody in hell”. He does however, believe other parts of the bible.
While some pick and choose which verses to believe, others give assent to them all, but interpret them according to “what feels right”.
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Related:
Video: “The Consequences of Neglecting Context”
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