"Forcing" the Bible to agree with me.

Does anyone else find that people are often quoting the Bible just to fit their own preconceived moral position? Or worse, political position?

Does anyone ever experience this? Sometimes I don't understand how people arrive at their idea of this Western American 21st century Jesus.

He was a Jew, 1st century, Eastern culture. We need to consider that.

So many posts are proof-texting the Bible. (◇Proof-texting◇ is the practice of using Bible verses to support a belief or argument without considering the original context of the passage.)

I took a class on Biblical Hermeneutics and it was eye opening. Hermeneutics is the branch of knowledge that deals with the ☆interpretation of literary texts☆. Philosophy, history, legal documents. It doesn't have to be the Bible.

Regardless of the specific content or genre, the principles of hermeneutics can help us explore the ☆author's intent☆ the cultural context of the text, and how meaning has been understood over time.

So many Christian posts are aimed at "forcing" Bible verses to fit what they think THEY WANT TO PROVE.

■Exegesis■ is interpreting a text by "drawing out" its meaning from the original context and author's intent, while ■eisegesis■ is interpreting a text by "leading in" or imposing one's own ideas, biases, or preconceived notions.

I'd love to know other people's thoughts on this.