Members of the Churches of Christ often believe they are plainly reading the Bible, however they are actually reading the Bible through a learned interpretive lens that feels so familiar and unquestioned that they mistake it for the text itself.
Churches of Christ often used phrases related to plain reading to give the impression that they are simply picking up the bible and reading the page.
“Anyone can read the Bible for themselves without outside authority.” “No special training, background, or scholarly tools are required.” “God intended for ordinary people to grasp it plainly.” “We follow the Bible, not creeds or traditions.”
Yet, when you read something different they tell you that something about your plain reading is incorrect. You must be adding to the bible, making the scriptures too complex, or influenced by something outside.
“Just read what it says. Do not complicate it.” “Complicated readings are usually excuses for disobedience.” “You’re overthinking it.” “That’s a denominational doctrine.” “Where did you get that? Who taught you that?”
Why doesn’t your plain reading match theirs? Why are they so convinced they are reading plainly, when their plain reading seems to ignore history, context and mashes verses together to force a point. And they seem convinced they are simply reading the bible. They’ll even imply you are being disobedient or that you lack intelligence.
“If you just read it plainly, it would be obvious.” “You just do not want to see the command.” “You’re ignoring what it actually says because you want to. “You just cannot read the bible correctly.”
Your plain reading does not match theirs because you are actually reading, and they are repeating a learned interpretive method that they believe is not interpretation at all.
Where Their Plain Reading Really Comes From
You think plainly reading the bible means to open it up, turn to the page, read it, and understand what is happening. They believe they are doing that too, but in reality they absorbed the correct meaning by mirroring someone they trusted as the authoritative reader. Over time they internalized that reader’s interpretive lens so completely that it feels natural and self-evident. They mistake their inherited interpretation for the Bible itself.
The minister they trust learned his method from a previous minister or caregiver, who learned from their minister or caregiver, and that lineage ultimately traces back to Alexander Campbell’s restorationist assumptions. Campbell intentionally removed historical, theological, and safeguards such as creeds, catechisms, trained clergy, and confessional boundaries, because he believed eliminating them would force everyone to arrive at his understanding of the Bible.
Campbell’s vision for unity was everyone agreeing with him, not Christian Unity. He believed everyone being of the same mind and interpretation would create unity. Removing safeguards against false teaching did not produce independent readers; it produced congregations that unconsciously internalized Campbell’s interpretive lens as the only faithful one. The result is people believe they are simply reading Scripture, when in reality they are reproducing an inherited, unexamined method shaped by Campbell’s own conclusions.
The Making of the Rebuke Proof Mind
For plain reading to take hold in a member of the Churches of Christ, the individual must have a particular psychological and social makeup. They are typically fearful of correction and reluctant to ask questions, especially when doing so might make them appear ignorant or wrong. Correction is not love, asking questions receives ridicule, and being wrong is punished. Inside of the Churches of Christs exists that very environment, asking questions or appearing not to understand makes you look like an outsider. To be an outsider means you could potentially lose your salvation.
Harsh upbringings condition someone to be easy to subconsciously teach, children who were punished for mistakes or asking questions. Reflection and curiosity are dangerous in a cruel world to a child reared this way. Children raised in environments where obedience is demanded and questions are discouraged learn to fear making mistakes. Harsh punishment, ridicule, or withdrawal of love for perceived misbehavior can teach that being wrong is dangerous. Churches of Christ mimic that environment where one is punished with damnation or shunning. It is an easy system to understand for them, be correct or face punishment.
For this type of person, being correct, right, and good drive them. It is why the free gift of grace is impossible for them to accept. They were taught that they weren’t good enough unless they were obedient, docile, and silent. Grace must be transactional.
The Fears of Our Grandparents
My Church of Christ grandmother walked past churches every Sunday that practiced membership, discipline, and accountability. Those environments would have triggered her fear of correction, being wrong, or feeling morally bad. Anything that involved examination, pastoral oversight, or being asked to explain her beliefs would have exposed her to the possibility of being wrong, inadequate, or morally insufficient. To protect herself, she learned to make herself rebuke-proof, avoiding the appearance of being wrong by never allowing correction. She did this not by becoming spiritually mature, but by structuring her life so she would never have to face rebuke in the first place. If you avoid accountability, you avoid the experience of being corrected. If you avoid correction, you avoid the feeling of being wrong and bad.
The Church of Christ she attended in that mountain top Tennessee town offered exactly what her psychological makeup required. It was the only congregation within walking distance of her home with no formal membership process, no examination, and no pastoral review. They welcomed her immediately without probing her beliefs, motives, or spiritual condition. For someone who feared evaluation, this felt like safety. And once inside, they provided her with a system that allowed her to feel righteous without ever undergoing scrutiny: the Plan of Salvation, a checklist she could complete, and the Acts of Worship, a set of simple practices she could follow perfectly. She found the ideal environment to avoid correction while still feeling obedient, faithful, and right.
Idolizing Perfect Correctness
People like my grandmother idolize those they perceive as possessing the correct understanding, ministers, elders, or even parents. They defer to them rather than trusting their own judgment. Early on, they may notice interpretations or ideas that differ from those of the minister or authority figure, but their fear of dissent and desire to conform and be seen as morally or doctrinally correct leads them to suppress those initial reactions. Over time, this creates a mental pattern where they adopt the learned interpretive lens as if it were their own, believing they are plainly reading the Bible when in reality they are mirroring the authority’s interpretations.
For people like my grandmother, the Churches of Christ social structure validated deep personal fears and coping strategies. She entered a congregation that never framed its teachings as interpretations or human judgments. Instead, it presented its conclusions as simple, objective Bible truth. To a person already afraid of correction, that framing was comforting. If nothing is interpretation, then nothing needs to be questioned. She could remain safe from scrutiny simply by repeating what was presented as unquestionably right.
Because the Churches of Christ community treats agreement as unity and dissent as a threat, conformity is consistently rewarded. Individuals who adopt the approved language, behaviors, and doctrinal positions gain acceptance, security, and a sense of belonging. This creates strong incentives to internalize the group’s methods, even if it conflicts with personal observation or earlier formation.
Deviation, however mild, incurs social consequences. Questioning a teaching signals disloyalty or outside influence. Requesting clarification implies ignorance or insufficient faith. Those who break from the established pattern risk being labeled divisive or rebellious. These pressures shape the individual into someone who suppresses doubts, censors their own thoughts, and believes compliance is spiritual maturity.
This creates a loop that sustains itself. Members personal avoidance of rebuke fit perfectly within a community designed to reward uniformity and to punish deviation, particularly deviations of thoughts and interpretation. The church reinforces their avoidance coping strategy, and their coping strategy reinforces the church’s social structure. Over time, both became mutually dependent, producing a system where fear, conformity, and certainty sustained each other.
The Myth of Plain Reading the Bible
The claim of plain reading in the Churches of Christ is largely a social and psychological phenomenon rather than an actual exercise of independent interpretation. Members who appear to read the Bible plainly often possess a particular personality shaped by fear of correction, perfectionism, and idolization of authority. They internalize the interpretive lens of ministers or elders, believing that following this model is simply reading the Bible as it is, when in reality they are repeating learned patterns.
This supposed plain reading reinforces itself socially: conformity is rewarded, deviation is discouraged or punished, and the interpretive method is never presented as interpretation at all. My grandmother’s experience illustrates this clearly, she sought a church environment where she could avoid examination and correction, and the Church of Christ provided precisely that. Its lack of membership or disciplinary oversight allowed her to feel righteous and secure without ever questioning the interpretations she absorbed from those around her.
Ultimately, what members call plain reading is a product of psychological conditioning and social reinforcement, not independent engagement with Scripture. The apparent simplicity and clarity are an illusion. Their interpretation is learned, internalized, and self-perpetuating.
Churches With Kitchens 