Results 1 - 2 of 2
|
|
|||||
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 |
||||||
2 | Should we bias our religious studies? | Lev 18:22 | Searcher56 | 60770 | ||
Scripture ... Rom 10:17 (context 14-21); Heb 11:1; Jam 2:19 ... GodsWord4me, greetings and welcome to the forum. CDBJ and Hank have great posts. As you study Azusa Pacific University, I hope you hold fast to your faith. We need it to be saved. Just studying Scripture will not get you saved, nor will just believing (Jam 2:19). It takes faith to believe, not study. When you study Scripture, you may need to strip your biases. Something you have been taught may not be right or you may come up with another view. Do not be afraid to change what you believe in the non-essentials. There is middle ground on these ... but there is no middle ground on the essentials. Hope this helps and remember to cite your sources, Searcher PS Prove what day of the week Christ died. |
||||||