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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | 4 Principles of Interpretation | 2 Tim 2:15 | Morant61 | 52077 | ||
Greetings Hank! Excellent post my friend! To you comments, I would also add one more aid to proper interpretation - a proper understanding of grammar. It is a fact of life that most cannot read the original languages of Scripture. Thus, most Christians are forced to rely upon someone's translation. Fortunately, there are many aids available today to help even those with little or no knowledge of original languages to examine the translations which they use for accuracy. However, there is another critical problem facing American Christians - a lack of understanding of English grammar. I have taught many classes over the years, and I am always saddened at the lack of ability I see in many invididuals to even understand the basic structure of a sentence. I'm sure there are a variety of reasons for this situation, but it must be addressed. I really believe that this is one of several key issues in why so many differences in doctrine exist. Individuals or groups take a verse and interpret them in ways which are not supported by the rules of grammar. Knowing your background in literature, I'm sure this is a major concern for you as well. :-) The only solution to this problem is a little work! Every Christian should obtain a good English grammar and spend some time learning the basics of usage and composition. A little work will pay big dividends in one's understanding of Scripture. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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2 | 4 Principles of Interpretation | 2 Tim 2:15 | Hank | 52081 | ||
Tim, I too thought Dr. Patterson's four hermeneutical principles clear and of considerable value, especially for the everyday layman, into which category I certainly fall and, I suspect, so do a number of other users of this forum. These principles [which Dr. Patterson admits are but four of numerous other principles] were extracted from a much larger article called "The Bible: A Book of Destiny." .... This forum on which you and I have been rather active for a year or more has been an eye-opener for me in several respects, not the least among them being the fact that hardly a day goes by when I don't see a post that attempts to address some fine point of biblical interpretation right down to the fractured stab at parsing some Greek or Hebrew word or locution. But the fact is, sad to say, that more often than not the poster shows a woefully inadequate knowledge and command of his own native language. I do not say this to demean or ridicule the poster, but it is a fact of the forum nonetheless. I am always inclined to ask myself, "How can this poster presume to understand the intricate and subtle patterns of grammar and syntax of a foreign language when clearly he does not understand them in his own?" And I definitely concur with your thinking that many of the problems that divide us as Christians into splintered and often opposing factions may well have, at least in some measure, their genesis in a weakness in the area of plain semantics. --Hank | ||||||