Readers read what they want to believe.

This is from Gary North. At one point in time I never would’ve believed what he is saying. Now I have seen others and myself do it so many times that I know its true.

The word says as a man thinks, so is he. What you are, what you are becoming, can be unrelated to reality. I was given an education that was devoid of the fear of the Lord. By biblical definitions I have not been taught to think properly. I was taught to be…wise in your own eyes.

This was reinforced in church….”What does this verse mean to you?”

Fits into the “do not be taken captive” category of scriptures.

From Gary North, June 5, 2009
“The most frustrating aspect of my life as a writer has always been this: readers read what they believe into what I write. Some of them simply cannot process information counter to what they believe.

This is how sleight-of-hand artists accomplish their tricks. Magicians do, too. They work in terms of what they know people will notice and not notice….

When making key decisions, you had better pay close attention to what is said or written. If you process the information in terms of your present understanding, forcing the new material into the pattern established by your present understanding, you risk misinterpreting what is written.
In this case, the man read the opposite of what I had written -- not in one article, but in
two….”

I think that this is absolutely rampant in the church today.