Mind over Matters

The mind only recognizes that which it already knows. So when we say "The text says…", what we are really saying is, "This is what I say and the text supports it!" No matter how liberal or conservative or fundamentalist we are, we bring our own minds to the text. There are as many interpretations of the text as there are those that read it. The experts in the law (read 'text') were almost always wrong or didn't quite get it right. Their minds recognized what they already believed to be true, or not true for that matter. We allow, no, need the text to endorse our belief system. The bible validates that which we validate and condemns that which we condemn. Didn't Jesus say that the words are like a mirror that we see ourselves in? Should this alone give us pause? Shouldn't this alone make us cautious when we make judgments? Shouldn't this alone make us stop for just a second before we say the text condemns the beliefs, choices, lifestyles, or orientations of a person or a whole people group?