What does the Bible say about itself?
This is the third in a series of posts on Understanding the Bible in the 21st century. It is important we begin not with what people say about the Bible, but what it says about itself.
Category: Bible
Interpreting the Bible
I have argued (Everyone disbelieves some parts of the Bible) that, while most christians say we follow the Bible as our standard of what to believe and do, in fact all of us make exceptions for certain parts. So how do we decide how to interpret the tricky parts of the Bible?
Everyone disbelieves some parts of the Bible
Christians have probably argued more about the Bible, and how to interpret it, than almost anything else. Many churches say they believe the “Bible alone”, echoing the Reformation doctrine of sola scriptura. Yet I believe there is always a gap between the claim and the actual belief. I am a christian who believes the Bible […]
NT Wright on reading the New Testament
. I liked this NT Wright quote, posted on the Enough Light blog.
Who wrote the Gospel of John?
None of the four gospels explicitly states who the author(s) is/are, and the names given to them reflect the understanding of the early christians. So scholars are left to determine as best they can whether the names we have were indeed the authors. Knowing the author probably doesn’t change all that much, but I have […]
Interpreting the Bible through Jesus
I am looking at some of the core convictions of the Anabaptists, not because I am an Anabaptist, but because I think we learn from them. We have seen that they emphasise following Jesus, not just believing in him or worshiping him. What does this mean for how we read the Bible?
How does reading the Bible change you?
Some people read the Bible nearly every day. Some people feel guilty that they don’t read it every day. Some people read it only to criticise it, while others never read it. What effect does Bible reading have on the reader? Some recent surveys have some interesting findings.
Jesus the subversive
Not only did Jesus re-interpret many Old Testament passages (see Interpreting the Old Testament), but he sometimes undermined the authority of the Old Testament. This has some interesting implications.
Interpreting the Old Testament
A long time ago I noticed that when Jesus and the New Testament writers quoted the Old Testament, they did not always do it literally or accurately, but often used translations and interpretations that did not seem to be present in the original. I felt this was an important fact, so I researched the matter […]
Back-to-front Bible?
Have you come across people, not believers, who have decided to read the Bible from cover to cover to check it out, only to get discouraged and give up round about the book of Numbers? I know I have. There must be a better way!