Bible Question:
Serenetime: Did you know . . . "The text of Scripture can be understood when taken at face value, making allowances for obvious figures of speech, near/far interpretations, its context, and comparative passages of Scripture that harmonize with it, without contradiction." Hermeneutic 'Hermeneutic is the method of interpretation that one uses to study something written or spoken; it is how one understands the Scriptures. To have validity, one's hermeneutic must be consistent and without contradiction and must never be governed by a theological predisposition or school of thought. In other words, if hermeneutic is controlled by theology then the Bible can be twisted to say whatever that theology would have it say. 'By employing a face value method of interpretation, the reader of Scripture attempts to discover the normal, natural, customary sense of the text as it was intended by the Author/author (God/human) at the time that it was written. 'When a consistent hermeneutic is applied, the meaning of Scripture can be understood. Then, as A.W. Tozer put it, "When you find the truth of Scripture, that truth always stands in judgment of you; you never stand in judgment of it." 'TWO CONDITIONS FOR INTERPRETATION '1) Understand that we are working with English translations of texts originally written in other languages. '2) Scripture never contradicts Scripture. 'FIVE PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION '1) Seek to discover the Author/author's intended meaning. '2) All Scripture is to be taken in its proper context be it words, phrases, passages, chapters, books,etc. Remember, "a text taken out of context is a pretext." '3) All Scripture is to be compared with other Scripture. "The best interpreter of Scripture is other Scripture," said Martin Luther. '4) Determine the literal reference of figures of speech. '5) Recognize that many passages of Scripture, in both Testaments, have both near and far implications and applications. 'The text of Scripture can be understood when taken at face value, making allowances for obvious figures of speech, near/far interpretations, its context, and comparative passages of Scripture that harmonize with it, without contradiction. '"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)' (www.signministries.org/hermeneutic.htm) kalos |
Bible Answer: Dear Kalos, Hope all is well with you! Between the holidays, a head cold and a new job, I have not been able to spend as much time on the internet lately and have chosen to study away from the web. Anyways, today I have found some time. You have spent a great amount of energy in this thread regarding Judas went to hell?. Also, it is clear you think Judas to be the son of perdition, based on John 17:12. Perdition means to perish eternally, the permanent death. The fact still remains Scripture does not say in plain words,"Judas went to hell". Why does Judas need to be in hell? This thread has made me remember a carnival we had at my grade school. There was a big jar full of MandM's and we had to guess how many MandM's were in the jar. Who ever guessed right won the jar of candy. I have a challenge for everyone who believes Judas is the son of perdition(sentenced to perish eternally). Lets put an MandM in a empty jar for everyone in the Bible that is judged to eternal damnation and after we are done searching from cover to cover, I am sure there will only be one MandM in the jar, satan's, because the Bible does not say Judas is judged. Judas did betray Jesus, but he also had a change of heart and repented. Why do people still want him to be the son of perdition(to eternally perish)? Who are we to judge whether Judas' apology was sincere enough for God? As Serenetime stated elsewhere in this thread, Peter denied thrice and the other disciples forsake Jesus in the garden. Where were Peter and the other disciples when Jesus was on the cross? If God could forgive Saul, the worst Christian Family killer of all, please explain why Judas is not also forgiven. Saul, by his own words was a Pharisee and a scholar of the law, does it not seem apparent that Saul was a big part in the judgement of death towards Jesus? When Paul says he is the least of the apostles, he is not kidding, he was a real bad guy, yet he is like a superhero. Judas merely did what Jesus told him to do and he fulfilled his role of betrayal, but I believe man has made a great mistake to judge Judas to hell as the son of perdition which I will work to show in my posting to Serenetime on this thread. I get a feeling that many scholars today, feel that we know all there is to know in Scripture, that there are no more mysteries to be revealed, man has understood all there is to know and now we are just waiting. When I read the Bible, every single time I pick it up I learn something new. If I wasn't learning anything new then I would suspect that I had stumbled. If I ever stumble, I pray God corrects me and I am not foolish enough not to listen. Anyway, it appears you are saying that Serenetime is misinterpreting something or contradicting Scripture. What it is, I am not sure. If it is that Judas is in hell, as you seem to believe, then you need to show Scripture clearly and plainly stating," Judas is in, or went to hell", which has not been done. I have to be honest, I have a sick feeling in my stomach thinking of condemning someones soul to eternal damnation based on any mans face value understanding of Gods Word. Bless you, Love Fountain I have always been fascinated by the fact that the eleven out of twelve disciples were Galileans(Midianites) and only Judas was of the tribe of Judah. Why do you think this was? |