Interpreting God's word
Dear all,
It's been a while. Just wanted to update that i've finally got my internet back [long story..don't ask] and my bank account is happy too [ cos Dsta finally banked in the cheque..haha..] and my belly seems to be happy too [i'm not too happy with the waist line though]
And maybe i can share a little something that i learnt in class and church.
Disclaimer: when i talk about God's word below, i am talking about the written word, not the revelation that God may give you when you read; that revelation is to you alone, and it may even come from other sources[other than the bible].
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As we all know, God's word is like a double-edged sword. Wield it well and it will do all sorts of wonder and good. But when used wrongly, you could end up cutting what you do not want [ even yourself]
Someone once said that there is a very stringent requirement for anyone who wanted to be deemed worthy of lifting up the holy tome and opening the cover and reading what lies within. For it IS God's word and truth, not just any mere text book or history book to be read lightly. To do so without understanding and training would be sacrilegious and disrespectful of the original intent or the author, God.
Which i begin to understand why.
The first time i read the bible i was awed by the heavy reading and the amount of historical information that was recorded, as well as the rich content of stories and lore. The first time i went for a bible study, i realised that there was so much to understand between the lines as well. That each line in the Psalms can mean more than what is apparrent. I thought that it was like a literature text, in which meanings can be inferred as according to what you felt and what made sense.
Terribly dangerous way of treating the text.
Which is why i would exhort everyone out there, to read in context when you do read the bible. Especially when you intend to use it to teach someone else. Because the text can be read in so many many ways, some which may even be misleading. A common practice is to read the text before and after the verse in question, to make sure that you read in context. An even better way would be to do a little research and find out what other commentaries say about that verse, chapter. Most of these commentaries do talk about the historical background as well as the situation around the author as it was written.
For example, the opening of Luke mentions that there are other books[Gospels written] about Jesus, and that he writes the gospel according to St Luke so that we may not be mislead. It would be silly to understand that he was referring to the other 3 gospels [Matthew, Mark and John] but other gospels like the gospel of Mary Magdalene, Judas, St Bartholomew and the infancy gospels of Jesus.
Or that Jesus never did teach the Jews to pay tax; when he said 'give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God', he was referring to the currency that the accuser held, which was a roman coin, a coin with the image of Caesar engraved on it. This form of currency violated the 10 commandments [Thou shall not make any graven images], and Jesus was referring to this violation, and not exhorting the people to pay the taxes.
Reason being that it was a trap laid out for him; to ask the people to pay the oppressors would be to betray the trust that he would deliver them, and to ask them not to pay would open Jesus to accusation of being a trouble-maker and revolter and he would be easily sentenced to crucifixion by Pontius Pilate.
And in the text i'm reading now, the Malleus Maleficarum [hammer of the witches] which explains why women are more open to attacks by the devil than men, and quotes several women in the bible and casts them in such anti feminist light that if i were to quote the tract, i would be accused of being a male chauvinistic. What is amazing is that how this 2 authors [of the malleus] manage to write such incredible 'crap' and annote part of the bible as justification for this twisted argument. It only shows how man can twist even the word of God to mean what they want to say.
And this is one of the reason i can think of to explain the many factions and denominations that have been birthed forth within christianity, and why we are so split in the body of christ. It is when man tries to enforce his will within religion in which only God should have domain over, that such a tragedy actually happens.
Sorry for such a long answer to a relatively simple question. The bottom line is, read carefully the next time you do open that bible, especially if you intend to teach and share knowledge.
God guide us all
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's been a while. Just wanted to update that i've finally got my internet back [long story..don't ask] and my bank account is happy too [ cos Dsta finally banked in the cheque..haha..] and my belly seems to be happy too [i'm not too happy with the waist line though]
And maybe i can share a little something that i learnt in class and church.
Disclaimer: when i talk about God's word below, i am talking about the written word, not the revelation that God may give you when you read; that revelation is to you alone, and it may even come from other sources[other than the bible].
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As we all know, God's word is like a double-edged sword. Wield it well and it will do all sorts of wonder and good. But when used wrongly, you could end up cutting what you do not want [ even yourself]
Someone once said that there is a very stringent requirement for anyone who wanted to be deemed worthy of lifting up the holy tome and opening the cover and reading what lies within. For it IS God's word and truth, not just any mere text book or history book to be read lightly. To do so without understanding and training would be sacrilegious and disrespectful of the original intent or the author, God.
Which i begin to understand why.
The first time i read the bible i was awed by the heavy reading and the amount of historical information that was recorded, as well as the rich content of stories and lore. The first time i went for a bible study, i realised that there was so much to understand between the lines as well. That each line in the Psalms can mean more than what is apparrent. I thought that it was like a literature text, in which meanings can be inferred as according to what you felt and what made sense.
Terribly dangerous way of treating the text.
Which is why i would exhort everyone out there, to read in context when you do read the bible. Especially when you intend to use it to teach someone else. Because the text can be read in so many many ways, some which may even be misleading. A common practice is to read the text before and after the verse in question, to make sure that you read in context. An even better way would be to do a little research and find out what other commentaries say about that verse, chapter. Most of these commentaries do talk about the historical background as well as the situation around the author as it was written.
For example, the opening of Luke mentions that there are other books[Gospels written] about Jesus, and that he writes the gospel according to St Luke so that we may not be mislead. It would be silly to understand that he was referring to the other 3 gospels [Matthew, Mark and John] but other gospels like the gospel of Mary Magdalene, Judas, St Bartholomew and the infancy gospels of Jesus.
Or that Jesus never did teach the Jews to pay tax; when he said 'give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God', he was referring to the currency that the accuser held, which was a roman coin, a coin with the image of Caesar engraved on it. This form of currency violated the 10 commandments [Thou shall not make any graven images], and Jesus was referring to this violation, and not exhorting the people to pay the taxes.
Reason being that it was a trap laid out for him; to ask the people to pay the oppressors would be to betray the trust that he would deliver them, and to ask them not to pay would open Jesus to accusation of being a trouble-maker and revolter and he would be easily sentenced to crucifixion by Pontius Pilate.
And in the text i'm reading now, the Malleus Maleficarum [hammer of the witches] which explains why women are more open to attacks by the devil than men, and quotes several women in the bible and casts them in such anti feminist light that if i were to quote the tract, i would be accused of being a male chauvinistic. What is amazing is that how this 2 authors [of the malleus] manage to write such incredible 'crap' and annote part of the bible as justification for this twisted argument. It only shows how man can twist even the word of God to mean what they want to say.
And this is one of the reason i can think of to explain the many factions and denominations that have been birthed forth within christianity, and why we are so split in the body of christ. It is when man tries to enforce his will within religion in which only God should have domain over, that such a tragedy actually happens.
Sorry for such a long answer to a relatively simple question. The bottom line is, read carefully the next time you do open that bible, especially if you intend to teach and share knowledge.
God guide us all
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posted by B-Rok | 6:10 PM
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