Linda and I made a quick trip to Boston the end of May, primarily to accrue points on our airline account, and to see a Red Sox baseball game at Fenway Park. We had been to Fenway many years ago when our kids were young, but I didn’t remember much about how we got there. So, we asked the concierge at our hotel for his advice about taking the subway, and frankly, he made it so complicated that we sought out a transportation expert at the subway station.

The Boston subway system is old, and convoluted. For example, the Green Line has five branches, labeled A, B, C, D, and E. We were advised to take Green D to the ballpark, although by looking at the map, it appeared any of the Green lines would work in the direction we were traveling.

On the subway to the ballpark I overheard a local telling his friend about his familiarity with the transit system. I asked him if any of the Green trains would get us back to our station after the game. He said, in theory, “yes,” but he advised us to wait for the Green D train just to be sure. Well, it turned out the D train was stuck somewhere, and we had to catch another Green line train. We just followed the crowd after hearing an announcement over the speaker system in the station that this was the train to take.

We did make it back to our station and to our hotel, but the whole experience illustrated the need for a reliable guide when it comes to navigating a complex transit system. The same is true for navigating the Bible, which is even more complicated that the Boston railways. In fact, without a trained guide, it would be easy to read the Bible and get lost.

For example, the Bible has been misread to conclude that slavery is justified, that women are to be subjugated, and that people of a different sexual orientation are to be condemned. I explore these misinterpretations in the Introduction to Spelunking Scripture: The Letters of Paul. There are indeed passages in Paul’s letters that seem to justify slavery, and the subjugation of women, and the condemnation of persons of a different sexual orientation. For centuries, and even into our time, certain verses in Paul’s letters have been quoted to defend those positions.

The problem is failing to distinguish cultural conditions from God’s eternal truth. The Bible reflects many cultural conditions that are contrary to the message Jesus came to give. While most Christians have come to recognize that slavery is wrong, many Christians even today continue to discriminate against women and the LBGTQ+ community. Women are not allowed to serve as pastors in Roman Catholic and Southern Baptist Churches, and “don’t say gay” is the mantra in many churches. But is that what Jesus taught by his words and example?

The aim of the Spelunking Scripture Bible study books is to help readers explore important passages of the Bible with a reliable guide—namely, yours truly. I can’t promise there will never be stoppages along the way, but together we can explore those important passages and find our way home.