exegesis
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De-creation language: it’s not the end of the world
There are a few parts of the New Testament which contain dramatic language about divine judgement resulting in what appears to be a cataclysmic end to the world, or even the solar system. Some of these passages include Matthew 24-25, 2 Peter 3, and lots of passages in the book of Revelation. If you’re not Continue reading
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Eight barriers to biblical exegesis
1. Ignoring context. This is the big one, but so many people fall prey to it (including me, at times). All written words derive their intended meaning from enculturated grammatical and syntactical patterns, expressed within a larger literary context. It’s always helpful to remember the axiom, “a text without a context is a pretext for a Continue reading
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in totidem verbis – considering a problematic hermeneutic (part 6)
I have been arguing something fairly obvious to most people who take the Bible seriously: there is much more to the Bible than just the bare, explicit words we read. Hence my concern with the in totidem verbis, “in just so many words” approach. To be sure, almost all of the big things that the Continue reading
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in totidem verbis – considering a problematic hermeneutic (part 5)
In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John records his observations and experiences during a series of visions. Here’s part of one: After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you Continue reading
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in totidem verbis – considering a problematic hermeneutic (part 4)
I continue in this series, thinking about how we should read and interpret the Bible. The principles that undergird the interpretation of the Bible are called “hermeneutics”. There are many hermeneutical principles that people use when interpreting the Christian scriptures, but most of these are not clearly stated, examined, or applied consistently. The criterion I Continue reading
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in totidem verbis – considering a problematic hermeneutic (part 3)
This is my third post thinking about a hermeneutical principle I have called in totidem verbis. That’s a Latin phrase which means “in just so many words”. It’s where a person reading the Bible relies on the explicit words and ideas presented in the text to determine what the Bible is trying to say. I Continue reading
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Acts is whack, man.
whack \ˈhwak, ˈwak\ – adjective: appalling in nature, unconventional. According to the folks at urbandictionary.com, that’s one way to define the word “whack”. It can be used to describe something that’s strange and out of the ordinary. Though it’s not a theological term, in some ways it describes the book of Acts. Since Acts contains information that is Continue reading
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Hyperbole? It’s pretty much the best thing ever.
According to the font of all knowledge – Wikipedia – “hyperbole” comes from the Greek word huperbole, meaning ‘exaggeration’. Hyperbole is the use, or an instance of, exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression but is not meant to be taken literally. As a literary device it is often Continue reading
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Reymond on Genesis 1-11
“The fact that the Bible sweeps across the thousands of years between the creation of man and Abraham in only eleven chapters, with the call of Abraham coming in Genesis 12, suggests that the information given in the first eleven chapters of the Bible was intended as preparatory “background” to the revelation of the Abrahamic Continue reading
spes clara 