Account

Company

  Menu
Large Image

Silly Putty Bible Study

by (Stand to Reason)

£0.99

Share This

Description

"Do you take the Bible literally?" is a question frequently asked about biblical interpretation. I answer that I take the Bible with the precision the particular biblical 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 "taking the Bible literally" 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 (allegedly), 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 (I'm not making this up). 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 in this case is so extreme it's simultaneously funny and tragic. In the second case I get chuckles, but it's clear to me some are not convinced anything is amiss.

While the woman's attempt to validate a sinful relationship is obviously misguided, there is nothing morally questionable about the young man's designs on Grace. Maybe God was speaking to him through his verse. Who's 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 "spirit led" approach, meaning in some circumstances is not based on a careful analysis of the passage in its context. Context is irrelevant. On this view, the important thing is not learning what the Spirit was originally saying in the inspired writings. Rather, the key is determining what the Holy Spirit is allegedly "speaking" in the unique personal circumstances of particular readers.

Christians use this method all the time, as do pastors from the pulpit, even though they should know better (they never learned this in seminary). When the "Spirit begins to move," all standards used to discover the objective truth of God's Word go out the window and the subjective reigns.

When verses can have different meanings for different people based on Holy Spirit "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.

That's why I've devoted this issue of Solid Ground to offering a biblical argument against this practice. I hope you give careful attention to the scriptural case I present. If I'm right on this, lots of quiet-time theologizing - not to mention a host of devotional writings - is seriously misguided. For many Christians, their moments of "truth" turn out to be moments of emotion-filled fiction.

Tag This Book

This Book Has Been Tagged
It hasn't. Be the first to tag this book!

Our Recommendation

Get It This book is only £0.99.

Notify Me When The Price...

  • £
  • If I'm already tracking this book...

to track this book on eReaderIQ.

Track These Authors

to track Gregory Koukl on eReaderIQ.

  • to be notified each time the price drops on any book by Gregory Koukl.
  • to stop tracking Gregory Koukl.

Price Summary

  • We started tracking this book on December 25, 2018.
  • The current price of this book is £0.99 last checked one day ago.
  • This book is currently at its lowest price since we started tracking it.

Genres

Additional Info

  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Lending: Disabled
  • Print Length: 14 Pages
  • File Size: 195 KB

We last verified the price of this book about one day ago. At that time, the price was £0.99. This price is subject to change. The price displayed on the Amazon.co.uk website at the time of purchase is the price you will pay for this book. Please confirm the price before making any purchases.