Every time you start quoting the bible, my eyes glaze over. No, not because it is your beacon, but because when you write specific quotes, i am never quite sure what it says. I have never claimed to be the smartest guy in the room, but more often than not, clearly written words i am able to understand.
The bible, i suspect because of the antiquated translations, i am often left scratching my head. Is it just me Steve? Or, has it taken you years to become able to make sense of what sounds like indecipherable sentences and paragraphs? Or maybe the books left by your Dad help sort stuff out.
Rather than babbling on, here is an example: "For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." In fact, that whole paragraph left me buggered, but what really threw me was "gullible women?" What am i missing, aren't men sinners as well?
The more i read, the better i understand the pull of religious zealots preaching all democrats are the devil. I am smart enough to know what you wrote offsets their mantra, but it also means they abandon their bibles and lead for other purposes. Money? Power? Prestige? Take your pick.
I guess that was your ultimate point, at least that was my take away.
I didn’t get hung up on that verse, because I took it as “for example” and I can’t argue there’s no such thing as a gullible woman. But I’ll give you my process when I do get hung up.
1) Look at different translations. The Bible was written in Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew. Unless you read one of those languages (or all three) you aren’t reading an original text. I will look at three or more translations. In fact the original draft of this post used the NIV and I decided to go with NKJV for the final.
2) Dig down on troubling words. Like “gullible” - it’s also translated as “weak” or “vulnerable.” Think today’s sex trade. People who take daughters and sell them into sex trades is what Paul meant.
3) Read for context. Read the whole chapter and the chapters before and after. Know who was writing and who was the audience. Learn why the particular passage was written.
4) Consult orthodox (long held, long researched, generally accepted) commentary. This tends to expound on the theme and specific meaning of the passage.
There’s no secret sauce here. It’s just Bible study.
Also, prayer helps a lot as the Holy Spirit leads into all truth. So whatever verse or passage means, God is the ultimate author through the Holy Spirit. Asking the author is a privilege Christians have in prayer.
We are all imperfect, including the politicians we have to choose from. Either choose or be the victims of others' choices.
Loved this article. So very true and really needed at this time.
Every time you start quoting the bible, my eyes glaze over. No, not because it is your beacon, but because when you write specific quotes, i am never quite sure what it says. I have never claimed to be the smartest guy in the room, but more often than not, clearly written words i am able to understand.
The bible, i suspect because of the antiquated translations, i am often left scratching my head. Is it just me Steve? Or, has it taken you years to become able to make sense of what sounds like indecipherable sentences and paragraphs? Or maybe the books left by your Dad help sort stuff out.
Rather than babbling on, here is an example: "For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." In fact, that whole paragraph left me buggered, but what really threw me was "gullible women?" What am i missing, aren't men sinners as well?
The more i read, the better i understand the pull of religious zealots preaching all democrats are the devil. I am smart enough to know what you wrote offsets their mantra, but it also means they abandon their bibles and lead for other purposes. Money? Power? Prestige? Take your pick.
I guess that was your ultimate point, at least that was my take away.
I didn’t get hung up on that verse, because I took it as “for example” and I can’t argue there’s no such thing as a gullible woman. But I’ll give you my process when I do get hung up.
1) Look at different translations. The Bible was written in Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew. Unless you read one of those languages (or all three) you aren’t reading an original text. I will look at three or more translations. In fact the original draft of this post used the NIV and I decided to go with NKJV for the final.
2) Dig down on troubling words. Like “gullible” - it’s also translated as “weak” or “vulnerable.” Think today’s sex trade. People who take daughters and sell them into sex trades is what Paul meant.
3) Read for context. Read the whole chapter and the chapters before and after. Know who was writing and who was the audience. Learn why the particular passage was written.
4) Consult orthodox (long held, long researched, generally accepted) commentary. This tends to expound on the theme and specific meaning of the passage.
There’s no secret sauce here. It’s just Bible study.
Also, prayer helps a lot as the Holy Spirit leads into all truth. So whatever verse or passage means, God is the ultimate author through the Holy Spirit. Asking the author is a privilege Christians have in prayer.