Subject: How literal is the Bible? |
Bible Note: Interpretation has become synonymous with mere opinion. Responsible interpretation is based on exegesis but never on uninformed, subjective opinion. One hears the expression, "This passage of Scripture means so and so TO ME," thus implying that the passage has no intrinsic meaning but means whatever the reader wants it to mean. If the reader chooses to believe Darwin instead of God, he calls the creation account a myth. If he finds the account of Jonah a fish story too big for him to swallow, he calls it an allegory. If he is uncomfortable with the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, he calls the gospel account symbolism. If he finds the Bible's laws against immorality too challenging to his lifestyle, he calls them applicable to the culture that existed at the time of their writing but inapplicable to our culture and our time. ...... Last week I had a discussion on Bible inerrancy with an ordained pastor of a so-called mainline denominaion. The man was a pro-choicer (meaning he endorsed the brutal murder of unborn children) and a gay-rights advocate. I asked him the meaning of the sixth Commandment, "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13). I was told that it pertained to the taking of human life, not the surgical procedure performed on a fetus. ..... Then I asked him what was the meaning of Scripture's condemnation of homosexuality in such passages as 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10. What this man told me was shocking. This man who stands in the pulpit with the responsibility to shepherd his flock told me that Paul was simply writing letters giving his opinions, and that he (Paul) had absolutly no idea that we would be reading his letters today and calling them Scripture. I walked away heavy of heart. I already knew that some churches have sunk to apostasy and fallen away, but, Doc and other Forum brothers and sisters in Christ, I had no idea of the depth of the fall. Pray that they will repent and turn to God. May God have mercy on them and us. --Hank |