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One of my pet peeves with preaching and most Bible teaching in churches is the propensity to skip odd or difficult passages in the Bible. This happens for several reasons.

Sometimes the person talked with presenting Scripture presumes the only passages truly "relevent" for folks in the pew are those that have some transparent point of application to life.  That's usually the byproduct of poor Bible study, which in turn is often due to laziness.  Passages that give us something to say after only a surface readling are good fodder for a last minute sermon; but they are not healthy Bible study.

At other times fear of getting the interpretation wrong encourages pastors or teachers to bypass a passage.  Some passages appear to have no coherent explanation and application.  I understand that one, but you should not believe it.  The solution involves a combination of the right tools and tenacity.  Diligence is the friend, not the enemy, of the Bible student.  It may take weeks, months. or longer to feel like you have a handle on a passage, but that should not matter.

Still another reason is fear of discovery.  For some Bible students, digging too deep into a passage mioght result in surrendering a belief they cerish.  In my experience, this is more common than one would suppose.  Fear of discovering something they believe many not be true prompts them to study something else.

Lastly, I've met all too many Bible students who don't want to think about certain passages because they are "too weird."  Surprisingly, this fear-based response often concerns ideas the Bible affirms that are uncomfortable in a modern world.  If the passage turns out to mean what it seems to say, it wouldn't be rational.  This fear is very inconsistent, especially since some of the things Christians believer are from from what someone who dismisses the supernatural would consider rational.

I am not suggesting that we can always be certain we are interpreting strange or obtuse passages correctly.  None of us is ominiscient.  Rather, my contention is that every passage in Scripture merits our attention.  In many instances, the strange and difficult passages are part of a greater idea that is theologically signicant.  We just don't see it because we don't share the writer's anicent worldview.  In my experience, if it's weird, it's important - there is a purpose for every passage in the Bible.  It is our job to discover what it is..