Subject: How are we to understand? |
Bible Note: Hank brings up some excellent points here. I would like to add one more if I may. We must never lose sight that it is primarily the Holy Spirit's job to teach us the meaning of scripture. John 16:13 makes this abundantly clear. He wrote it, therefore He is prime interpreter of it. Knowing what the scripture says does not inheritantly guarantee that we know what it means. If knowing Greek were the only prerequisite to understanding God's truth, then the entire Greek world would have been saved :) and all Greek scholars would be saved (which is certainly not the case). Am I saying that it is not helpful to understand the source languages? Not at all. It is very helpful to be familiar with the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic languages, especially in biblical passages where the meaning of the text is not immediately apparent. But the fact of the matter is that most people are NOT going to learn the ancient languages. Therefore, as Hank says, they need to be educated in what criteria makes a translation a "good" translation and where a particular translation may have problems. Lastly, people need to be taught good Bible study methods. There are way too many self-proclaimed Bible scholars that take the text out of the context and do more damage than good. If we combine a good English translation with good Bible study methods and the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit Himself, most of the time we will arrive at very similar understandings of what the scripture means. If this 3-legged "stool" becomes 1 or 2 legged, then there is more potential for problems. I know many people who claim that the Holy Spirit has given them "revelations" that either aren't found in the Word of God or contradict God's Word out-right. I know a few who have made a particular translation their "god" and will not consider any other (including the Greek and Hebrew). And I also know of a few Greek scholars who can cross every Greek 't' and dot every Greek 'i', but know nothing of the love and compassion of God. In the end, our understanding must come down to God revealing Himself to us. He does this through the scriptures, through others and their gifts, and through circumstances. The scriptures need to be our primary "plumbline" for truth. But I am not entirely convinced that the majority of interpretational problems stem from not knowing the original languages. I believe that most of the problems arise from "hearsay" interpretation ("my pastor says"), poor Bible study methods, and little reliance upon the Holy Spirit to do what He promises. Let's endeavor to give the Holy Spirit as many "tools" as possible by advocating good translations and excellent Bible study methods. Great topic, saints! ChristLifer2001 |