Dive In: prooftexting

Although I haven’t added a Dive In entry for awhile, I always reserve the right to throw one on the table when the urge hits. If you haven’t read the Dive In series, take a look here.

One of the handiest tools we have in our Bibles is the chapter-verse divisions laid out by Stephen Langton in the 13^th century. One of the biggest hurdles to understanding our Bibles is the chapter-verse divisions laid out by Stephen Langton in the 13^th century.

What frequently happens in modern-day Bible studies is a microscope approach to the text, where the point is “proved” by referencing a single verse or perhaps a short passage. But that approach, although simple and easy to approach, generally misses the nuances of the context.

And the system can lead to prooftexting, which happens when a verse is used as proof for a doctrinal belief. Pulling verses out of context can be misleading and may well ignore other passages that might modify or even change the conclusion.

Our churches love topical Bible studies today (and they can be very practical and easy to apply). The danger with topical studies is prooftexting, using stand-alone verses to make points.

Here are a couple of examples:

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

We often use this verse to comfort those who are suffering, weary in their difficult time. If you read chapter 40 and 41, you will see that the context is dealing with idolatry. The people of Israel were choosing to trust golden statues and wooden icons over God. So this verse, although a comforting verse, has more to do with choosing God rather choosing other methods of hope or comfort.

Context doesn’t reverse the meaning of Isaian 40:31 but does change the focus somewhat. It’s not about rushing to God in times of trouble, but choosing God over other gods in times of trouble.

Another example:

Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test

the Spirit of the Lord?" Acts 5:9

This is the story of Ananias and Sapphira, the couple who tried to polish their spiritual resume by donating money from a land sale to the church, even while they were lining their pockets with the portion they secretly withheld.

This verse seems to be about testing the Spirit of God, but the larger context adds nuances. The spark for Ananias and Sapphira came at the end of Acts 4, where Joseph (also known as Barnabas) sold some land and gave the money to the church. Many in the church at that time were sharing everything they had and many freely gave money to the church to be used to help the poor.

We could surmise, then, that Ananias and Sapphira concocted this grand scheme out of greed while hoping to impress other believers, perhaps nudged by competitive zeal. In that context, the verse we looked at refers more to the sin of seeking people’s favor over God’s heart. Other believers were donating money because ownership meant nothing to them. Ananaias and Sapphire were clinging to their own goods while trying to impress others with their spirituality.

In our examples, the larger context didn’t reverse the meaning but enriched and sharpened it.

There’s nothing wrong with singling out a verse to help make a point, but you’ll find that reading the larger context will almost always enrichen the conclusions – and may sometimes reshape them.

God’s Word is beautiful. Ignore the chapter-verse divisions and read it as the authors intended. You’ll uncover veins of gold throughout.

Dive In: Digital Tools

This is our last regular entry of Dive-In, although I will probably publish additions intermittently. We’ve studied 16 units together and, although there is much more that can be discussed, it’s time to move on.

Today I want to tell you about the computer program I use. There are many other excellent programs and I’m not trying to push this one. But in the telling, I hope you can see some of the benefits of computerized studies.

I use Bible Navigator, which is a first-cousin to Bible Explorer. There are several levels, of course, and I am annoyed with most computer programs because they bundle a lot of things that are outside copyright and therefore free to anyone. The book count is bloated by the old-and-free. Bible Navigator is no exception.

So don’t be blown away by the number of books you get if you choose a particular program. Instead, look carefully at what you will use. You won’t use a lot of the books.

Here’s what I’d suggest:

Have several Bible translations so that you can compare. Right now, when I read, I usually have open three: NIV, NRSV, and NASB. The NASB is open because it is linked to a Strong’s Concordance so I can easily do a word search. But you don’t need 20 obscure translations that you’ll seldom use.

Other Bible translations that are helpful are KJV and NKJV. I also like the NLT and the Message, for a change of pace. The Holman Bible is pretty good, too. You may have translations you use a lot and you’ll want those in your Bible studies package.

Plan on buying a commentary for your computer program. The included commentaries are usually o-l-d and, although somewhat insightful, often inadequate on their own. Don’t rely on Matthew Henry alone. Frequently the old commentaries blended preaching and scholarly work, coming with a bias that suppresses some insights while over-emphasizing others. Some of the old commentaries by Calvin and Luther are helpful.

A newer (and sometimes free) commentary that I like is the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown. But the best are the ones you have to buy. Don’t plan on buying an entire set at once. Buy a single-book commentary on the book you’re studying or teaching right now. Be patient. You’ll build a good library. I wrote about some commentary suggestions a few weeks ago.

Devotionals are often packed into the program package. If it includes one you want to read daily, then grab that. Often they pack in many devotionals that aren’t read. I have Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest in Bible Navigator, but know it’s available in more modern text online. So I wouldn’t pay for that devotional.

Be sure you have a good dictionary and atlas. We discussed those topics recently. Also, a Strong’s Concordance is vital. Usually several word study books are included and you need at least one concordance. Vine’s Expository Dictionaries (both Old Testament and New) are helpful. Get a Nave’s Topical Bible. That will greatly help your studies over the years.

Those are the basics. Often you can pick up literature from online sources and don’t need to buy those for your biblical studies. As you discover a church leader or writer, first check sources online, like CCEL, to see what’s available.

For example, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs can be located on the internet, so don’t spend extra to get that in a computer program.

Those are my basic suggestions. I’d like to hear what program or online resources you use and what you like about them. Do you recommend them? I’d like to know more about you have found and like.

Reading too much and too little

Douglas Groothius suggests that we read too much and not enough in this country. His point is an excellent one: we often choose to feast on marshmallows and disdain broccoli.

I’ve been seeking out some vegetables lately and want to share a few articles that I’ve found. Like a good eating plan, however, you won’t find yourself hungry again at 10 am. These will challenge your mind and fill your soul:

Ben Witherington, considered one of the top evangelical biblical scholars in the country, examines a news report about God getting sued. His style is approachable and insightful.

Sarah Scott exposes biases she experiences as a student at Colorado State University while a follower of Jesus.

At Conservative Reformed Media, a group of bloggers revel in their name – a label thrown at them by some more liberal groups. They tag-team when writing topics, and this recent one about analogies and eastern religions is interesting.

Scott McKnight is featuring a series on Colossians at his Jesus Creed site.

Try some vegetables today!

John's world

Why the book of John? At John’s writing, there were already three gospels, the synoptics (Matthew, Mark and Luke). Why John?

First, we need to understand that each of the gospels was written to a specific audience. For example, Matthew, with its many references to the prophets and Jewish customs, was written largely to a Jewish audience.

John was written to an audience wrestling with unbelief, pummeled by society’s philosophies that were, at best, diluting the gospel message.

Gnostics were in search of knowledge (the word “gnosis” means secret knowledge). Irenaeus, an early church father (he was martyred in 155 AD), wrote that John refuted Gnosticism. Scholars today assert, however, that the Gnostic movement didn’t really have strength until the second century – Irenaeus’ time. However, the aroma of that viewpoint wafted into the church even in the first century. Influence was already beginning.

Early Gnostic teachings celebrated all that is spiritual and condemned all that is physical. That was at the core of their “secret knowledge” and obviously Gnostic thinking would deny God coming to earth as a man.

They toyed with such ideas as Jesus being a spirit who looked like a man but they denied Jesus as fully God and fully man.

John wrote to a broad audience – Jew and Gentile – but especially to those swaying in the wind of cultural philosophies.

The opening paragraph of John (v. 1-5) describes Jesus in a way that would have resonated with those early philosophies, using familiar terms (light/dark, Word/Logos) in a new way.

John’s ultimate goal was to present Jesus as truly God – as described in this opening of his book – and as truly human, as seen through the stories of his life.

He was the light of the world, God who became man to banish the darkness. This was the talk of philosophers and John chose his approach and word choices intentionally to refute false values.

John can be read, not just as another narrative of Jesus’ life, but as a brilliant literary work intended to defend Jesus’ incarnation. Yes, Jesus was God but he was also man – vital for belief in his redeeming work.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 (NRSV)

Spiritual understanding

The golden rule for understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience.
—My Utmost For His Highest

Dive in

Corn ears were rustling outside my bedroom window this morning. Baby goats were searching for their mamas and a pickup rumbled down the dusty road to check his irrigation water.

I’m a Colorado farm girl. That means that on my morning walk, when I see a freshly-mown alfalfa field studded with trussed-up round bales of hay, I rejoice in God’s grace. Watching a newborn calf stumble on rubbery legs as it searches for its mama and its first meal reminds me of hungering after God’s Word.

What it means is that the agricultural metaphors in the Bible make sense to me. I’ve handled sheep and watched wheat harvested.

My friend is a city girl. Recently we read Jesus’ words about his yoke (Matt. 11:29) and she was stumped. What was a yoke? How could it be easy? The agricultural analogy didn’t work as well for her, but she understood instantly many implications from the Good Samaritan story. She knew about muggings and gang attacks. She probably understood the Samaritan’s fear better than I did.

An analogy draws a comparison, assuming that if some things are similar, others are as well. The Bible is packed with them.

When God calls himself our heavenly father, he is comparing himself with an early father. We understand something about the nature of a father – his leadership, his care, his creative potency – and can apply what we know to what we don’t understand: the divine. It’s a limited analogy, of course, for no father is perfect like God is, and some don’t display the very traits that are complete in God.

All analogies are limited; none are absolute. But God has hardwired into us the ability to understand words and analogies. He created us for communication with him and he uses words to help us understand what is cannot be know through our natural senses. How do we describe God apart from analogies? Our descriptions are comparisons.

Many of the analogies in the Bible are drawn for the specific audience. Jesus used agricultural comparisons when he spoke to farmers. He shifted to legal comparisons when he spoke to scribes. Paul used philosophical terminology with the thinkers in Athens and terms of power when confronting the magicians and shamans in Ephesus.

Our challenge today is not to be limited to our own comparisons. My friend may not know what a yoke is, but she can learn. I may not fully comprehend the tensions of the Jews and Samaritans in the first century, but I can learn.

Unpacking the Bible takes effort. But if we know that it is God’s method of expressing his nature, we will get to work. Let’s dive in!

(Note: I am hoping that this article is the first of a weekly series about digging deeper into the Word. Please leave a comment or e-mail me if this would be helpful. I hope to discuss many tools we can use in unpacking Scripture and your input is very valuable.)