Jan. 21, 2018 Demographics are important when understanding how people read the Bible. Sometimes beliefs line up perfectly with those around them, while others tend to be polar opposite of those around them. My demographics are important to my understanding of how to read the Bible, as well as how not to read the Bible. Growing up in a small, conservative town definitely impacted the way that I read the Bible as a small child. As a United Methodist, I was encouraged to ask questions about my faith in order to grow, but my peers prompted me to do otherwise. I grew up very conflicted in the way that I understood my faith, but as I would come home with controversial biblical topics that I heard from my peers at school, my parents often held very different points of views from the ones I initially received. United Methodism helped me to value interpretation and the theories behind questionable Bible stories. Most people are largely affected by their peers’ opinions, but I believe that since I was raised in a household that held God’s love and grace so highly, I was able to form my own opinions. It allowed me to embrace interpretation of the Bible, …show more content…
Dark blonde hair, blue eyes, and slightly bronzed skin. The culture that I grew up in did not appreciate geography, therefore, it was difficult for me to see what Jesus most likely looked like because I believed it to be wrong. It was almost empowering for me to believe that Jesus was white, and when I realized Jesus was from the middle east, I felt confused because I had been lied to. Christianity is not a white man’s religion, but sometimes we act it so; racism and xenophobia occasionally seep into Christian culture and affect how others read the Bible. When such interpretation happens, I remind myself of Jesus’ ethnicity and his acceptance of all people. This is a case in which I have learned from others’ views of the Bible and how I do not want to read it in such