One of the biggest stories in the news last month was Harold Camping's assertion that the rapture would occur on May 21, 2011. Dozens of his followers sold all their possessions and gave him the money, convinced they would not need it after May 21. They did this even though Jesus said the following about the time of his return: "no one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36). A "church" in Kansas preaches a message of hate: "Thank God for 125 dead in Joplin, MO" tornadoes and "Thank God for 13 more dead troops". They protest at funerals and add to the suffering of those who are already grieving. They do these things even though Jesus taught us to love everyone, even our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48) and to comfort those who are suffering (Matthew 25:31-46). It makes you wonder: how are people so easily misled? How can those who claim to be Christians do such evil things?
People are misled due to ignorance. If you don't know what the Bible says, then you have no way of judging fact from fiction in spiritual matters. If you study the Bible and know what it says, "you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). No one will be able to mislead you, because your knowledge is not based on the shifting sands of human wisdom but on God's eternal & unchanging word. It doesn't matter how much the world accepts something as the truth; if it is contrary to the Bible, it is false.
Some of the greatest evil occurs when people think they are doing what is right. For instance, Adolf Hitler thought he was doing the world a favor by killing millions of Jews. The "church" in Kansas that I mentioned earlier believes they are doing what is right, yet the Bible clearly shows it is not. Theirs is a different form of ignorance. They don't study the Bible and let it direct them to the truth; they start with their own beliefs & prejudices (in this case a hatred of homosexuals) and look to the Bible for justification. They take a verse here and a verse there, usually out of context, but ignore the big picture that comes from a logical study of the entire Bible. They believe their wisdom is based on God's word when they actually filter God's word through their flawed human perspective. In a nutshell, their beliefs are not based on the Bible - they twist the Bible to fit their beliefs. They are not the only ones guilty of this - throughout history men have misused God's word to justify their evil deeds, and God will judge them accordingly.
Why is there so much ignorance about the Bible? Some people just refuse to read it. Others think it's a bunch of nonsense even though they've never read it. That's rather arrogant, believing you're an expert on a book you've never read (I'm ashamed to admit it, but that was me at one time). Probably the most dangerous form of ignorance is believing someone else's interpretation without reading the Bible & judging for yourself. The only cure for ignorance is knowledge. Like I said before, if you study the Bible and know what it says, no one will be able to mislead you.
