--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some people read the Bible as if its…" description: "\"“Some people read the Bible as if its passages were Rorschach inkblots. They see what is in their head. In more sophisticated language, they project on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6d/scot-mcknight-10650_bible_some-people-read-the-bible-as-if-its-pas_2664227.jpg" --- # Some people read the Bible as if its passages were… ![“Some people read the Bible as if its passages were Rorschach inkblots. They see what is in their head. In more sophisticated language, they project onto the Bible what they want to see.” quote by Scot McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6d/scot-mcknight-10650_bible_some-people-read-the-bible-as-if-its-pas_2664227.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6d/scot-mcknight-10650_bible_some-people-read-the-bible-as-if-its-pas_2664227.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6d/scot-mcknight-10650_bible_some-people-read-the-bible-as-if-its-pas_2664227.jpg) > ““Some people read the Bible as if its passages were Rorschach inkblots. They see what is in their head. In more sophisticated language, they project onto the Bible what they want to see.”” [Scot McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-mcknight/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People project personal ideas onto scripture, seeing what they expect rather than text. **In simple terms:** Readers see what they want in the Bible. Key Takeaway Recognize personal bias in interpretation. Themes faith interpretation psychology Mood contemplative serious Type theological educational When to use this quote - Bible study - counseling - preaching Key Concepts projection subjectivity hermeneutics Questions to Reflect On - How do you check your assumptions? - What methods ensure objective reading? A Different Perspective Bias can distort meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Rorschach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rorschach/) ## Related quotes > [I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older; then it dawned on me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-was-thinking-about-how-people-seem-to-read-the-bible-a-whole-lot/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“I was thinking about how people seem to read the bible a lot more as they get older, and then it dawned on me—they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-was-thinking-about-how-people-seem-to-read-the-bible-a-lot-more-as/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“The issue is not whether young people can read the Bible (they can). 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You find that skeptics often take one particular part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-l-moody/good-way-is-to-study-bible-characters-take-them-right-from-the-cradle/) [D.L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-l-moody/) > [“Go ahead—read your Bible through in a year from a sense of duty. Pray for hours each day. Go to church every time the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilkerson/go-ahead-read-your-bible-through-in-a-year-from-a-sense-of-duty-pray/) [David Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilkerson/) > [“We do not read the Bible aright until we learn to read it as the Story of Israel that comes to completion — fulfillment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tremper-longman-iii/we-do-not-read-the-bible-aright-until-we-learn-to-read-it-as-the/) [Tremper Longman III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tremper-longman-iii/) > [This is the Book. 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You find something new each time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-penland/if-you-read-the-bible-from-cover-to-cover-you-will-want-to-start-it/) [Amanda Penland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-penland/) > [Let us read the Bible without the ill-fitting colored spectacles of theology, just as we read other books, using our judgment and reason. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/let-us-read-the-bible-without-the-ill-fitting-colored-spectacles-of/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [I read novels but I also read the Bible. And study it, you know? And the more I learn, the more excited I get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-cash/i-read-novels-but-i-also-read-the-bible-and-study-it-you-know-and-the/) [Johnny Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-cash/) > [Where I come from you're not raised to think on your own. It's not that you're pushed to read the Bible. The Bible is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/where-i-come-from-you-re-not-raised-to-think-on-your-own-it-s-not/) [Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/) ## More by Scot McKnight > [“If you want to know how Jesus understands the Christian life, the place to begin is with what he means by kingdom of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scot-mcknight/if-you-want-to-know-how-jesus-understands-the-christian-life-the/) [Scot McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-mcknight/) > [God's idea of redemption is community-shaped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scot-mcknight/god-s-idea-of-redemption-is-community-shaped/) [Scot McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-mcknight/) > [“The test results also suggest that, even though we like to think we are becoming more like Jesus, the reverse is probably more the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scot-mcknight/the-test-results-also-suggest-that-even-though-we-like-to-think-we/) [Scot McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-mcknight/) > [We need to shed our unearthly and nonsocial and idealistic and romantic and uber-spiritual visions of kingdom and get back to what Jesus meant.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scot-mcknight/we-need-to-shed-our-unearthly-and-nonsocial-and-idealistic-and/) [Scot McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-mcknight/) > [“One of my favorite kingdom preachers is Minneapolis pastor of Sanctuary Covenant Church, Efrem Smith.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scot-mcknight/one-of-my-favorite-kingdom-preachers-is-minneapolis-pastor-of/) [Scot McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-mcknight/) > [To walk into the Jefferson memorial is to be in a temple of the pure idolatry of reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scot-mcknight/to-walk-into-the-jefferson-memorial-is-to-be-in-a-temple-of-the-pure/) [Scot McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-mcknight/) > [The ultimate end of redemption is that we worship God with our whole being and in the whole company of the redeemed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scot-mcknight/the-ultimate-end-of-redemption-is-that-we-worship-god-with-our-whole/) [Scot McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-mcknight/) > [Those who aren't following Jesus aren't his followers. Its that simple. Followers follow, and those who don't follow aren't followers. To follow Jesus means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scot-mcknight/those-who-aren-t-following-jesus-aren-t-his-followers-its-that-simple/) [Scot McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-mcknight/) > [God's love entails a covenant commitment on the part of with us, and that covenant commitment means a promise to be with us and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scot-mcknight/god-s-love-entails-a-covenant-commitment-on-the-part-of-with-us-and/) [Scot McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-mcknight/) > [“To reveal what the kingdom of God is like, Jesus tells parables. 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But we have to have an ear for them and an eye for them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scot-mcknight/angels-are-here-and-around-us-perhaps-all-around-us-but-we-have-to/) [Scot McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-mcknight/) > [“This has to be emphasized, because today too many of us emphasize kingdom but ignore the Holy Spirit and Pentecost and church—as if kingdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scot-mcknight/this-has-to-be-emphasized-because-today-too-many-of-us-emphasize/) [Scot McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-mcknight/) > [Angels will frequently - even when they're comforting us with good news - touch the awe of God's eternal presence and drive us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scot-mcknight/angels-will-frequently-even-when-they-re-comforting-us-with-good-news/) [Scot McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-mcknight/) [Explore all 64 Scot McKnight quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-mcknight/) ## More Bible quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“God hates Hell. 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Peterson > [“The wife of a junior officer cooped up in a horrible canvas partition in steerage for five months wrote: "I had enjoyed much peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-taylor/the-wife-of-a-junior-officer-cooped-up-in-a-horrible-canvas-partition/) Stephen Taylor > [O Word of God incarnate . . . 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