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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Do not aim to spiritualize every passage | Acts 17:11 | kalos | 163830 | ||
Do not aim to spiritualize every passage "Beware of mystical and ingenious refinement; do not aim to spiritualize every passage. Real spirituality and fanciful spirituality are different things. The former is real, deep, sublime, and satisfactory, the latter is ideal, shallow, specious and delusive. "Seek the literal before the spiritual meaning." ____________________ Rules For Reading The Bible (Quoted from an article at The Bereans Apologetics Research Ministry) The following Rules of Interpretation and Practical Rules were taken from Smith's Bible Dictionary, Revised Edition (Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville) that was compiled from Dr. William Smith's Dictionary of the Bible (pp. 483-484). I. Rules of Interpretation 1. Put yourself, as it were, in the times, places, and circumstances of the sacred writers. 2. Form as correct a view as you can of the geography of the Scripture, of the simplicity of ancient manners, of the arts and habits that existed in those times. The Psalms abound with allusions to hunting wild beasts. many passages in Job are clear to him who has a correct view of judicial matters. 3. Ascertan, as far as it is possible, the plain, literal and primary meaning of the scripture. Exercise sound common sense. A right use of reason will supersede much criticism, and prove a valuable substitute for it. 4. Beware of mystical and ingenious refinement; do not aim to spiritualize every passage. Real spirituality and fanciful spirituality are different things. The former is real, deep, sublime, and satisfactory, the latter is ideal, shallow, specious and delusive. 5. Seek the literal before the spiritual meaning. 6. The true spiritual sense of a passage is that which is to be most highly esteemed. 7. Avoid ingenious conceits and far-fetched interpretations. 8. Make all allowance for idiomatical and figurative diction, especially when an absurdity would follow from adhering to the literal sense. 9. Always distinguish between plain and figurative language. 10. Never press a metaphor too far. 11. Carefully consider the context before you draw a conclusion from a separate passage. 12. Carefully consider the circumstances of a passage as far as you can; that is, the occasion of it, to whom it was written, by whom it was written, and with what design. 13. Compare spiritual things with spiritual. Never be weary of referring to what are called parallel passages; that is, to illustrate passages: for Scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture. 14. Explain what is difficult by what is plain and easy. 15. Never expect fully to understand all things in the Scriptures; yet remember that wise, humble, devout, and persevering study will be always adding something to our knowledge. 16. When words and phrases are of doubtful meaning consider them well. 17. Do not always fix the same meaning to the same word, for the same word is frequently used in Scripture in various senses. 18. Endeavor to form clear and distinct ideas of the great and peculiar words of Scripture, such as faith, repentance, redemption, justification, sanctification, grace, righteousness, etc. [N. B. -- It is to be deeply lamented that there is so little agreement among serious Christians about the ideas to be attached to such words. In vain do we look for peace and unanimity among Christians, while the sacred vocabulary remains so undefined as it is at present.] 19. Consider (see 12) the character of a writer, the state and character of those whom he wrote, the errors which he opposed, the truths which he inculcated and established. 20. The New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old. Carefully compare them with each other... ____________________ To read more go to: www.thebereans.net/ref-bibrules.shtml |
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2 | Do not aim to spiritualize every passage | Acts 17:11 | kalos | 163849 | ||
What does this verse mean to you? ____________________ "Otherwise, we would be saying that God did not actually mean anything specific when He inspired the writers of the Bible. If we were to say that God's word can mean different things, then the word of God doesn't mean anything at all." ____________________ "I was once at a Bible study and the Bible study leader read several verses of Scripture. He then pointed out a particular verse and asked people what they thought it meant. The verse was not particularly ambiguous, and it was not explicitly clear. So, people in the room began to give their opinions on what the verse meant. Some of the opinions contradicted each other. I waited to see what the Bible study leader would do with these contradictions and how he would handle what the verse might actually mean. He simply said that all the opinions sounded good and that we must find out for ourselves what God's word means. Of course, this bothered me. Such relativism is dangerous. "The Bible study leader proceeded to go on to another verse where the same thing was done and other opinions were offered. After a few minutes I could no longer remain silent and I spoke up. Not wanting to dominate the study, I tried to remain polite and cautious as I attempted to correct an error that had just happened in the Bible study. "I carefully pointed out that though there are times when certain scriptures are difficult to understand and that our opinions on these verses might be equally valid, if they contradict each other, they cannot all be valid. Furthermore, I pointed out that we must not subject God's word to our opinions. It is a mistake to have a group of people look at a Scripture and offer varying opinions on what it means as though God's word means only what it means to us at that time and that we can contradict each other and that's fine. Instead, we should ask ourselves "what does a text say?" We should work hard at trying to discover the best single possible meaning to the text -- if that is applicable. We should not view God's word as a well from which we draw whatever feeling, sensation, or opinion that suits us for the time. Instead, we must do our best to find out what the word actually says to the best of our ability instead of "feeling" our way through the scriptures using relativism as a guide. Otherwise, we would be saying that God did not actually mean anything specific when He inspired the writers of the Bible. If we were to say that God's word can mean different things, then the word of God doesn't mean anything at all. The problem here is that relativism was creeping into the Bible study. "The danger in this is that if taken to its logical extreme, verses could mean anything we wanted them to mean. With no absolutes to draw from, apostasy would begin to creep in. For example, I am reminded of how some major denominations are actually putting millions of dollars into studying the issue of homosexuality to determine to what extent people can be held responsible for this sin...if they determined that it is a sin at all! This, of course, leads down the road to apostasy and needs to be stopped. "So I ask you. When you study God's word devotionally, or otherwise, do you hope to find what it actually means so you can subject yourself to what it says, or do you try and find a meaning for Scripture that suits your needs, your feelings, and your desires? I would hope that you do the former. We need to check ourselves. (...) "Let our devotion to God be a subjection to his word." ____________________ (www.carm.org/devotions/verse.htm) |
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