"Do you take the Bible literally?" is a question frequently asked about biblical interpretation. I answer that I try to take the Bible with the precision the writer intended. I take the words at their plain meaning unless the writer has signaled me to do otherwise.
When you think about it, this is the basic rule we apply to everything we read, whether novels, newspapers, periodicals, or poems.
Ironically, Evangelicals who pride themselves on being "biblical literalists" often feel comfortable fleeing the plain, literal sense of a passage whenever "the Spirit leads."
I'm talking about the habit of isolating verses or phrases from Scripture and, under the Spirit's influence, finding in them personal messages unrelated to the original circumstances of the text.
For example, at a meeting in Simi Valley, California, a woman told me someone in her fellowship claimed God "gave her" a verse while seeking guidance for an adulterous relationship she was involved in. The verse said, "Put on the new man," which she did.
At another church a young man understood "Grace be with you" in 1 Timothy 6:21 to be God's "leading" to date a worship leader who'd caught his eye. Her name was Grace.
When I relate these two stories to audiences, I get two different responses.
The combined laughter and groaning in the first case is appropriate; the abuse of the Bible is so extreme it's simultaneously funny and tragic. In the second case I get chuckles, but some are clearly not convinced that anything's amiss. The cases do not seem parallel.
While the woman's attempt to validate a sinful relationship was obviously misguided, there is nothing morally wrong questionable about the young man's designs. Maybe God was speaking to him through his verse. Who am I to say otherwise?
The ambivalence here is telling. The objection in the first case was to the application of the method (Justifying adultery and divorce), but not to the method itself. But the method was the same in both cases and therein lies the problem.
According to this practice, meaning in some circumstances is not based on a careful analysis of the passage in its context. Context is irrelevant.
The important thing is what the Holy Spirit is allegedly "speaking" to them at the moment in their unique personal circumstances instead of learning what the Spirit was originally saying through the inspired writers.
Christians use this method all the time, as do pastors from the pulpit, even though they should know better. When the "Spirit begins to move," all standard rules of hermeneutics go out the window.
When verses can have a different meaning for different people based on the Holy Spirit's "promptings," it begins to undermine the truth of the "faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). There are as many "truths" as there are readers.
If I'm right on this, a lot of quiet-time theologizing - not to mention a hose of devotional writings - is seriously misguided. For many Christians their moments of truth turn out to be moments of fiction.
by: Gregory Koukl
www.str.org
(This was not cut and paste, but rather typed from a newsletter I receive from the above website.)
James, this is a great article, I consider myself evangelical Christian and the thought that god would use the scriptiures to tell someone something contrary to the word is insane! He wouldnt do such , the bible is not for fortune telling and certainly not something to be used in a way that excuses sin and abominations! However I do believe that God can and will sway your heary to recieve a scripture that directly applys to you, something that is in the mind of God and one scripture only means one thing but that one thing can apply to anyone, I have experienced this one time in my life and I know for sure it wasnt my flesh wanting something to happen it was very peowerful, when I was sick with hcv and people had been praying and praying for me to be healed of this disease! And in my regular reading time I just happend to be in exodus now the lord in the scripture was speaking to israel but what he said was
And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I [am] the LORD that healeth thee
Now I know he was talking to israel but He was talking to me too, God was showing me that he was God, while I was running around trying to get drs and pharmacutical companies
to fund my treatments as I had no insurance He was saying HELLLOOOOOO !! I didnt believe HE would or could heal me of this disease, and besides that the drs couldnt heal me, even if I had got all the treatment in the world there is no cure!
anyway so I was not searching for something to happen or looking for anything super natural in fact at the time I had no idea that people even claimed that sort of thing happend, when it happend to me I thought I had gone bananas, i told sister carla about it, she said God was speaking to me!
I couldnt explain it, the scripture like jumped off the page at me, it was so strange and very super natural!
I promise you james I had nothing to do with that, I had never hear d the term "God gave me scripture" I was clueless, and I didnt believe he was going to heal me either!
But He did heal me and I know youare tired of hearing that story, but the fact is that scripture jumped off the page at me, and when it did I knew exactly what it meant deep down I knew I was going to be healed of this disease!
So call it whatever you want to but it did happen to me, its never happend since them either:ROFL:
I have foind scriptures that I knew the lord wanted me to find and scriptures that brought me comfort and I have rab across scripture that helped me through things, but what happend that night never has happend again!
But I have wanted it to really really bad, it was so amazing!
ut some people that say they have expereinced this have not really experienced it, if they really had experienced it they would know, these people in this article were loooing for a sign I was not looking for anything but they were and therfor their flesh or satan one conjered a sign up for them!
*** I sure dont take it Metaphoricly...nor for Granted...:glow:...and Sister Angel and Elisha...YUP !!!...God does speak throuh HIS WORD (Jesus)...however the Articles examples are Extreemly Rediculus...:goofball:...xo
amen Jude those examples are coo coo for cocoa puffs! and I am just gonna say it, but its nut bars like that ,ake us look bad! But its just like the way they make people from alabama look on TV they alwasy put the half dressed illiterate guy missing 2 or 4 from teeth on TV when something happens in the south so that everyone will think we are the idiots the media and hollywood have made us out to be! WEEEE DOOOGGIEEE!! YEEEE HAW! I mean really! Its stupid and its not the way I believe and I know for sure it isnt the way God does things
It is coo coo. ( love that Elisha) but i had it happen to me at the baptist church i was a member of. That is what happenes when we are big (prideful) and God is small( needs our help to save us)
