You Are Asking Some Very Good Questions : 0 )
Hi ArtGuy:
You are asking a very good question here that confronted me decades ago in my youth and having the right answer sooner could have helped my growth in Christ immensely. Here are your questions.
ArtGuy >> Okay, so we all know that the Bible is the word of God. But... how are we to interpret it?
The key is to begin using the original languages in your study ASAP. We must think in Hebrew and Aramaic while studying the Old Testament from right to left and in Greek for the New Testament in a left to right manner. Everyone should have an Exhaustive Concordance for their own Translation of Scripture, whether that is the New King James or the New American Standard Bible. The Old King James is far too laborious and limits our ability to understand exactly what God is saying in any given verse. A good habit is to mark each word you look up in pen, so your Concordance carries a record of the terms you have been studying over time. Another fantastic study help is Nelson’s Greek English Interlinear New Testament, which gives you a comparison of the major manuscripts and where they differ from one another. I personally prefer the New American Standard Bible, because the Lockman Foundation used the older Critical Text instead of the later Antiochian Manuscripts of the Received Text. However, that is because I used the Received Text all of my life and became familiar with the copyist errors, so later in my life I prefer the Critical Text to become more familiar with those also. To say one is superior to the other is fruitless, because both have errors and we must examine each fork in the road and allow God’s Spirit to lead us in the right way.
ArtGuy >> The Bible started out in a combination of greek and hebrew, and has been translated repeatedly over the ages. Simply picking up, say, the KJV and saying, "Hey, this is clearly a 100% accurate translation!" seems rather troublesome
.
We agree. Any translation becomes worn out over the centuries, as our use of modern English evolves over time. Therefore, our modern scholars must retranslate the terms every few hundred years or so, not because the manuscripts require altering, but because our use of terms often change. Anyone picking up the 1601 Old King James Version knows what I mean . . .
ArtGuy >> In fact, it would seem that relying solely on any one translated copy of the Bible is unwise, as many current versions conflict each other.
We agree. The idea is to educate yourself on what the ‘Greek’ terms meant 2000 years ago, instead of trying to incorporate our modern English definitions into the mix. Thinking in English will get you off the track many times, which requires us to keep Vine’s Expository Dictionary of NT Words or a Strong’s Lexicon handy. My posts are generated by using those resources online here:
Vines >>
http://www.antioch.com.sg/cgi-bin/bible ... nd_term.pl
Strongs >>
http://www.blueletterbible.org/index.html
ArtGuy >> It's not hard to accept certain broad strokes within the Bible. I mean, we know that Jesus died for our sins, and that we can be saved through him. We know that the Lord created the world in all its glory. We know that someday Jesus will return. But that's simple, uncontroversial stuff.
We disagree. Every verse of Scripture can be ‘interpreted’ in a variety of ways depending on the context each reader brings to the table. That is why the USA alone has more than 2000 Denominations of ‘professing’ Christians who will argue with you over just about every verse. : 0 ). This bible thumper never takes anything for granted, but tries to examine himself and his interpretations as often as possible and in writing every post. Sometimes the things we take for granted are stunting our growth about things, when God would like to lead into deeper truths. Remember that Christ says the way to life is but a path and that the road to destruction is a paved highway (Matthew 7:13-14). That should tell you that the common interpretations are the wrong ones. For example: Scripture says that “NO ONE
has seen God at ANY TIME . . .â€Â. John 1:18. John the Baptist comes along and says,
"I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God." John 1:34.
And yet, millions and millions of people ‘interpret’ these verses to say “Jesus is God,†even though He claims to be the “Son of God†before (John 10:36) and after (Revelation 2:18) Calvary; and Jesus Christ never changes (Hebrews 13:8). Therefore, you might be surprised how many Bible Boards will label your testimony ‘heresy’ and you a 'heretic' for standing with John the Baptist proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the “Son of God.†John 1:34. Something that seems so very simple and basic has divided professing Christians for the past 2000 years, so that we can take ‘
nothing’ for granted as being ‘uncontroversial stuff.’
ArtGuy >> It's the details that are tricky, and it's in those details that some serious meta-analysis seems useful. So, what non-biblical sources do you people use to help make sense of the ins and outs of the Bible?
The resources named above represent a good start as study materials for accurately handling the word of truth (2Timothy 2:15). Of course, there is no substitute for the dedicated heart diligently seeking God through His Living Word. Thank you for asking these questions,
In Christ Jesus,
Terral
