Results 1 - 6 of 6
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Should we bias our religious studies? | Lev 18:22 | GodsWord4me | 60641 | ||
To all the scholars out there, hungry for the TRUTH about the Word of God...I pose this question (maybe you can help me.) In my first Bible class at a Christian University, we were instructed to see the Bible as a literary work instead of from a faith perspective, by the view of only the "proven facts". I propose that to understand any religious writings, practices, or belief systems, a true student must: if not accept it for themselves, then accept it from the unique perspective / viewpoint of the follower, the founder, or the author of the faith-based text. For example: I read an account of a man who went to China on a trip and was fascinated by Zen Buddism. He had an encounter with a religious order of monks that had mastered target archery. The queer thing about their mastery of this sport was that they neither aimed nor had their eyes open when they fired the arrow. The man tried desperately to accomplish this same semi-miraculous task. Once he asked one of the more approachable monks how they were able to do this and he replied, " We don't have to think about it, it comes naturally." The man did not understand and puzzled asked him to clarify so the monk replied, "To know (Zen Buddism) is to experience it, you must find it before it will be clear." So the man forgot about everything and studied under this monk for more than twenty years. This went on until he was able to connect the arrow in the exact center of the bulls-eye without aiming without looking, without thinking about it, just as he had seen the monks do on his first visit. The primary point of that story is: to understand religious beliefs should we not view them from the perspective (while maintaining our skepticism) of the race or group of those who have this faith system. I propose that studying a faith without maintaining a bias or viewpoint (particularly the original one of the belief) is ineffective and leads only to universal facts. Another example would be: In study of the Hebrew scriptures, Take out the statements accepted only because of faith (ie... that YHVH delivered the nation of Israel out of slavery, Noah actually took 2 [and in some cases 14] of every animal on a huge boat built when he was 600, etc) and all you have is blunt fact, which is rarely definitive of the faith (religion) as a whole. Such things include: laws (The fact that they were written, not that they were Divinely commanded), earliest recorded history (ie: locations, existence of a race, etc, and scientific-based, geographically sound, historical events or people. I argue that in studying the Bible, it is the same way. When a statement of faith was inserted in the original manuscript, it was for a purpose, not to be discarded as a perspective but as a way of explaining that which human minds can not understand (for as a species we have much yet to learn) in terms they can accept and derive wisdom and discernment from. My challenge is that we'd look past our personal biases and attain the point of view of the believer that it is clear why a text says a particular thing, or reveals only part of need to know information. Many times the "need to know " information is acquired by accepting the 'givens' that faith in a faith-based text provides. So my question is: Does the extensive study of a particular belief (either foreign to or accepted by the student) require all biases to be stripped away, or does a better understanding of the believing party's viewpoint become essential? Is there a middle ground? And if so, to what extent should a student have bias for, or remain critical of, the concerned viewpoint? --Please send your relevant personal opinions, findings, and discussions to LghtWyTrth@apu.edu |
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2 | Should we bias our religious studies? | Lev 18:22 | CDBJ | 60665 | ||
What you are saying might hold true with other studies but when it comes to the study of the Bible there is a different concept that the Bible conveys. The problem being that seeing, is not believing, but believing, which is PISTIS or faith in the original Greek, is seeing. It is impossible to know the real truth that the the Bible teaches with out faith! The Bible is a supernatural book, that the natural man can’t understand. 1 Cor. 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Christianity per se, is not a religion but a relationship. Religion is man by man's best efforts trying to gain the approbation of God. Christianity on the other hand is God doing all the work and man can only receive what God has done for him as a gift; it is non meritorious, we can’t work for it and we sure don’t deserve it, but God demands that we believe it or He will not reveal the truth that is contained within His precious word, namely the facts about his Son. Matthew 16:16-17 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. [17] And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Sad to say not all are in the family of God, one must be born into God’s family before they can perceive God’s kingdom. Once a person becomes a child of God the Bible literally comes alive with meaning and understanding. This is not my personal opinion but has been my personal experience alone with thousands of others. John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. I hope this helps, CDBJ |
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3 | Should we bias our religious studies? | Lev 18:22 | Hank | 60676 | ||
CDBJ, good post. The Bible is a different book indeed! It is powerful, that we are told, and says of itself that it is sharper than any two-edge sword. Nevertheless, it is entirely possible to read it from cover to cover, to study it, to become quite knowledgeable of it, and still not really know the Author nor come to a saving faith. Ernest Hemingway has been reported as having made it a practice to read the King James Bible once through every year. Hemingway died by his own hand, a saddened and disillusioned man, and there is no evidence that he ever came to be a born-again believer. He read the Bible for this reason: to keep his literary skills sharp, because he admired the masterful language of the King James Bible. There have been and continue to be men and women who study the Bible, who know it better than some Christians do, but who are skeptics, unbelievers, even enemies of Christianity. Jesus told the Jews, "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me." So in the study of Scripture, it is not so much a stripping away of one's biases as it is the laying bare of one's own soul and coming to grips with the reality that man is hopelessly and eternally lost and in desperate need of the Savior of whom the Scriptures testify. Merely reading Scripture cannot save anyone, but Scripture has the power to lead him to Him who can. --Hank | ||||||
4 | Should we bias our religious studies? | Lev 18:22 | CDBJ | 60689 | ||
Hi Hank, your post mentioned a quotation that Jesus made in John. John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. This is where a lot of people come up short by not acting on the next verse. John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. This is where the reading stops and the reality must take hold if one is to be a child of God by actually going to Jesus our Savior. The precious part is that we all have to come the same way and there is a genuine bond with true believers without any mention of a denomination. (JUST GIVE ME JESUS) Maybe it is not given to them of the Father, I don’t know but it sure is a burden that I have with some of the people in my local church. John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. I have been off line for quite a while, my PC got very sick for a while; it is good to hear from you! CDBJ |
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5 | Should we bias our religious studies? | Lev 18:22 | Hank | 60691 | ||
And good to hear from you too, CDBJ. I think it as foolish to think that by merely reading the Bible we can read our way to heaven as it is to think that we can earn our way there by doing good works! When Jesus said that He is the way, the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father but by Him, I get a strong impression He knows what He is talking about and means what He says, don't you? --Hank | ||||||
6 | Should we bias our religious studies? | Lev 18:22 | CDBJ | 60720 | ||
The fact that Jesus rose from the dead should be proof enough for anyone that he was telling the truth. There is no need to look any further or to base ones hope on superstitious supposition; we believe in a living Savior. | ||||||