Subject: Properly Interpreting the Bible |
Bible Note: Dear Brother Hank, That is a common problem, usually exacerbated by the other common mistakes, as you've pointed out. I didn't put these mistakes in any given order, but I rather suspect one of the more common ones is failing to take the whole council of God into account. The word "all" is an adjective. It is hard to judge the significance of an adjective without the noun it describes. Consequently, context is everything, even with the noun it is everything! (I wish I had your linquistic skills and knowledge, brother Hank! There are probably names for this sort of thing.) You can do this same thing with "all men" but here are some passages that say "all the world:" And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (Luke 2:1) Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. (Romans 3:19) These two phrases mean different sets of people. One must understand the context. One must also understand how this word is commonly used in specific contexts. It would do well, too, to understand what the Holy Spirit has revealed to other men as they have deliberated over the specified passages. One of the problems with our forum is that it only lets you cite a single verse. This gives the faulty impression that all Scripture is just a bunch of profound sound-bites. In Him, Doc |