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Origin
of the Bible
We cannot arrive at a true
understanding of God's Word by detaching texts from their contexts to find
personal meaning in them and be feeding them into the world of our private
preoccupations and letting that world impose new senses on old phrases.
A theological student whom
later I knew as a senior friend had committed himself to starting his ministry
in the north of England when he received a very attractive invitation to join a
teaching institution in South Wales instead. He did not feel able to withdraw
from his commitments
but one day he read in Isaiah 43:6 (Authorized Version)
"I will say to the north
Give up"
and concluded that this was God
telling him that he would be providentially released from his promise and so
set free to accept the second invitation. No such thing happened
however
so
he went north after all wondering what had gone wrong. Then he reread Isaiah
43:6 and noticed that it continued
"...and to the south
Do not withhold."
At this point it dawned on him that he had been finding meaning in the text
that was never really there. Instead
the concerns which he brought to his
reading of the text had governed his interpretation of it.
To impose meaning on the
text is not the way to learn God's Law. Yet we constantly do this (don't we?)
and it is one chronic obstacle to understanding.
James Packer
Your
Father Loves You
Harold Shaw Publishers
1986.
At the height of her fame
as the other woman in the Ivana and Donald Trump breakup
Marla Maples spoke of
her religious roots. She believed in the Bible
she told interviewers
then
added the disclaimer
"but you can't always take [it] literally and be
happy."
C. Colson
The Body
p. 124.
A bishop of a century ago
pronounced from his pulpit and in the periodical he edited that
heavier-than-air flight was both impossible and contrary to the will of God.
Oh
the irony that Bishop Wright had two sons
Orville and Wilbur! Wright was
wrong. Sure of himself
but wrong.
Robert P. Dugan
Jr.
Winning
the New Civil War
p. 38.
A professional boxer was
converted to Christ. He felt it was wrong to continue hitting people but only
knew boxing as a profession. So he sought counsel of the deacons. One
responded
"Don't see why you can't continue. Bible says that it's better
to give than to receive."
Source Unknown.