The Bible wasn’t written in such a way that a single verse will give the full context of a passage’s intended message. In fact, reading one verse might leave you with a complete misunderstanding of the point.
Take Matthew 7:1, for instance. It reads “Judge not, that you not be judged.” Taken by itself, someone might believe that we shouldn’t judge other people, period. But when we read the rest of the context, we learn that the point of the passage is to not judge hypocritically rather than never at all. When we read all the way through Matthew 7:5, we see that we’re called to first rid ourselves of the plank in our eye so that we can help remove the speck from the other person’s eye (the one who we judged to have a speck that needed removing).
That’s just one example of what Pastor Gabriel Hughes, creator and voice behind the YouTube channel WWUTT, is attempting to teach.
The channel’s name stands for “When We Understand The Text.” Hughes uploads short videos addressing questions about biblical interpretation and how Christians should live, and he delivers other content related to Christianity.
Wonder what the Bible says about tithing? Are you wanting a biblical basis for whether Christians should celebrate Halloween or use the Enneagram? Maybe you’ve got a burning theological question but aren’t sure you can find verses that might speak into it?
WWUTT doesn’t necessarily have all the answers. But it may be a good place to start.
As noted above, Hughes seeks to help clear up misinformation about the Bible and Christianity. It’s easy to simply take someone’s word as fact—especially when they speak in an authoritative tone. But WWUTT reminds us that such statements must line up with the Bible in order to be true.
WWUTT’s videos are very short, typically less than two minutes. While this means that viewers won’t be able to dive deep into these issues, it does provide a quick basis for them to consider about the video topic. And hopefully, these quick videos will compel viewers not to simply take Hughes’ word for it but to look it up themselves, too!
And, even if you don’t end up agreeing with the conclusions WWUTT makes, the fact that these videos are rooted in Scripture is a positive. This should likewise remind us that our theological views should be backed up by the Bible and not just our own opinions of who we think God is. In this way, we can debate the meaning of a specific objective text instead of throwing around subjective opinion.
None.
WWUTT, with its short and informative videos, is a good launching point for viewers who are starting to think about the Christian faith, or who want to think about it more deeply. It inherently encourages its audience to root their arguments in in-context Bible verses rather than personal opinion. What’s more, the quick videos are easy to show to someone who is asking questions without them needing to sit down for a long explanation.
We’re not suggesting that this channel is the final word on any biblical subject. But WWUTT is a good place to get you started.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
