38 thoughts on “How to Read The Bible For All Its Worth – pgs. 11-31”
Hello Mr. Webster,
I’m leaving in a few hours, but I wanted to give you my blog address.
I appreciate you and your family so very much. Thanks for all your investment and just your care of me. God is great and greatly to be praised. Knowing your family is yet another blessing that spurs me on to praise Him. Have a lovely day!
Off to Ireland,
Krista
I don’t quite understand some of the section The Reader as an Interpreter. It talks about the “plain meaning.” Does that mean that what is plainly stated is what it actually means? For example, when Jesus says “Love your enemies” are the authors saying that that is a “plain” statement? p. 20 Well thats all for now
Okay, on page 25 it talks about the camel through the needle’s eye passage. It talks about how it was once said that there was a gate in Jerusalem known as the “needle’s eye”, that camels could go through only by kneeling. It goes on to say that there was no such gate. My question is: How do we know which things said about the history/culture back then are true?
How much exegesis is normally required to get back to the “plain meaning” of the text? Is it enough in most cases just to know what kind of a society the Jewish people were (I.E. agricultural vs. commercial, etc.) and what was going on in their history or is there more required?
How do you find out the time and culture of the authors and their readers and how can you trust the information is reliable that is found if you research it? (Page 26)
My question is basically the same as Katie’s. How can we know that the information is real and reliable? I had a lot of other questions too but most of them were answered in paragraph following:)
***in THE paragraph following
I’m not sure this is the type of question you would want, but I’m quite curious about it. How does the author know that the type of cross Jesus was hung on was not in the shape of a “t” and was in the shape of a “T”? Because he mentions that the cross that we think that they used was Roman, and that is who hung Jesus. Im just a little confused on that one
Sorry forgot the page #, its page 18
How does one safeguard against putting his/her own spin or opinions into the text? Wouldn’t that be a natural tendancy for anyone reading scripture? pg. 24 where it’s talking about selective exegesis.
how can we be for sure that information is real and reliable because there are so many things that you cannot trust?
didnt mean to submit…
what makes a source reliable?
On page 20 he mentions “plain meaning” multiple times. Could you expand on what he is talking about.
It seems like we’ve lost a lot of original meaning with each translation that has been completed. Is there any translation in English that is closer to the original text than another? I know the best would be to learn the language it was written in…
When they say that the sources of many exegetical expressions are “secondary sources that also often use other secondary sources rather than the primary source.” I am inclined to think that he means they use other authors and books as a basis for their works, is that true? And how would that work since it would not involve exegesis at all?
On page 19, Fee and Stuart say that we interpret the word “flesh” incorrectly when Paul says, “Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” They say that “flesh” seldom refers to the body. How can we best decipher when it literally means the flesh as in the body, or when it means something different as it does in this verse? That statement kind of threw me because I’ve always taken “flesh” to mean the body.
I guess that does kand of prove fthat we all bring our own preconceived ideas when it comes to reading the Bible and how we interpret what it says in different ways…
How do we know the proper amount of interpretation of Bible. If there are ways to interpret the Bible too much or too little, how do we find the medium of “plain meaning of the text.”
The introduction talked about how people try to “dig” too deep into the bible and its meaning to try to discover something that no one else has before… i feel like this is so true and there are so many different ideas about the same thing. The intro also says that good interpretation is simple…so my question is when a pastor or someone is preaching and their idea is really outside the box or there is a lot of extra info, how should we decipher if that is a really good interpretation that is accurate or if it is just another over-thought idea that could really be much simpler?
p.s. sorry that was sooooo long and confusing =[
Grr so i just wrote out my whole question and it actually made sense but the server was busy so it got erased. Boo. So this is the not as good, second time around question. And actually it’s a wee bit like my question in church bout the head coverings. On pages 15-16 it talks about the “plain” meaning of the text. And i was just wondering how you tell what is simply sultural and what is commands. I know you said the whole repetative thing versus one obscure mention, and also common sense. But since it’s in the Bible it kinda seems like it (esp. the New Testament) should all be followed. So i guess my question is how do you know what “plain meaning” is cultural, and what we need to do too?
The text says that need to learn how to interpret what the original author is saying. Translators are often called used to make choices with word meanings. How can we get to the bottom of the original authors intention if we’re not able to know the exact wording the author used? Different demoninations believe different things about the same text. How do we know which one is right? pg 18-20
kind of*
I didn’t have too much trouble understanding any part of this reading selection, but I would like to know a little bit more about what the authors mention on page 26. They mention something about reading correctly or effectively and I would like to have that explained in a more detailed fashion.
I have two questions. The first one is somewhat taboo, but it holds significant importance to me. On page nineteen it talks briefly about the belief of speaking in tongues. This has always been confusing to me. My confusion has been compounded when I have asked people about it because two of the most knowledgeble people concerning the Bible I’ve ever met completely disagree on the issue. Since you have had much more backround knowledge on the Bible than either of them I was interested in your opinion. I know that you’ve said that you can’t stand it when people ask complicated questions wanting a five minute answer so I won’t do that to you, but if you ever have time I would love to discuss it with you.
The second is probably more relevant to what we are discussing. You have said in the past that to understand the Bible, namely the Old Testament, you need to understand the culture of that day. Since most of us aren’t going to seminary to learn about all that I was wondering if there were some shortcuts. Are there any hugely important historical things to know that would unlock huge portions of the Bible for us?
With all different translations and translators interpretation of the Bible, Why don’t people go back to the original Hebrew for passages that the reader has a hard time understanding?
I couldn’t really think of a good question, but i’ll say that i did feel comfort when reading on page 22 that God had designed the O.T. in a way that everyone is able to understand because of its multiple kinds of writings. This is hands on proof that God has been watching out all along and we don’t have to feer anything.
My question is very much like Mitchell Patrick Carter’s first question. I also know that you are not a big fan of questions similar to this one but i would really like to find out an answer. The issue of speaking in tounges has been around for a couple of years now in my life. I’ve read some things about it in the New Testament and I’ve come to believe that it was used by the apostles to preach to others in a language they couldn’t speak. Can it really be used in the Church today, and if so how? From what I’ve heard from people who attend churches that believe in the gift of tounges they speak in a language unknown to man.
On page 19 it talks about how the translation of the text affects how we perceive it and it references Romans 13:14 as an example. What i don’t understand is why the people doing the actual translations don’t fill in the proper greek definition in the first place to avoid the obvious misconceptions.
I don’t know if anyone has asked this yet but on page 24 the author’s say exegesis must be employed for every text. They say we must understand the original meaning to the original people. Is it possible that sometimes we are the people it was intended for? Was the Bible always written directly for the people of that time period?
Also, on page 21 they say the church has historically believed the Bible to be like Christ- at the same time both human and divine. When you were talking about it in class I believe you said you didn’t believe it to be divine. Could you explain more?
How am I supposed to be able to do exegesis, and interpret the Bible’s original meaning with little knowledge of those times? I can see how the biblical scholars do it with their knowledge of the original language and all of the background, but it seems like it would be extremely difficult without that knowledge. Are there any resources that would help you find the true meaning, without knowing everything else.
page 19, 2 things that stick out are woman should keep silent in church and also speaking in tongues. A) whats your feelings on speaking in tongues and is it real or was it ever real. and B) should women keep silent or be in a less powerful role then men in the church and also in work places? which gets me thinking is it wrong that women are getting more power these days like a women president? i think its kinda wierd…..maybe im just anti hilary
I think they have tried to explain it but I dont really understand why genre is so important to the authors of our book. What makes it such a crucial part of interpretting the Bible? Also, i feel like this is something I should know but the book makes a few references to Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons and I dont think I quite know what they actually believe that makes them so different from Christians.
Sorry about a repeat question, but I was also curious about how much we need to interpret the Bible. How do we know when to look into a passage more or if we’re looking into it too much? And page 29 also mentioned different kinds of tools for good exegesis, but that there are other tools besides a good translation, Bible dictionary, and commentary. What other tools are there?
Page 21 it says, what we do hope to achieve is to highten the reader’s sensitivity to specific problems inherent in each genre. I feel like it’s kind of an important sentence to understand since that is what the book wants for us. Does that mean that we’ll just be more aware of problems in general, in our society? Then I really get lost when he talks about genres. It came out of nowhere. What does that sentence actually mean?
I have 2 questions. after reading that I’m curious to know how you (Mr. Webster) read the Bible for all its worth? And secondly when we all go off to college and many of us won’t have a Bible class like this what’s a good way to like it says on pg 29- have a devotional and also read for learning and understanding..on our own? If that makes sense..
I just wanted your opinion on something stated on pg. 20. It says that two different theories are preached in the church, one is “eternal security” the other is that you can lose your salvation. Which one do you believe andh why?
How can you truly read and understand the true meaning of the words in the O.T. if you are 110% sure they mean something and someone tells you they mean something different?
Hello Mr. Webster,
I’m leaving in a few hours, but I wanted to give you my blog address.
I appreciate you and your family so very much. Thanks for all your investment and just your care of me. God is great and greatly to be praised. Knowing your family is yet another blessing that spurs me on to praise Him. Have a lovely day!
Off to Ireland,
Krista
I don’t quite understand some of the section The Reader as an Interpreter. It talks about the “plain meaning.” Does that mean that what is plainly stated is what it actually means? For example, when Jesus says “Love your enemies” are the authors saying that that is a “plain” statement? p. 20 Well thats all for now
Okay, on page 25 it talks about the camel through the needle’s eye passage. It talks about how it was once said that there was a gate in Jerusalem known as the “needle’s eye”, that camels could go through only by kneeling. It goes on to say that there was no such gate. My question is: How do we know which things said about the history/culture back then are true?
How much exegesis is normally required to get back to the “plain meaning” of the text? Is it enough in most cases just to know what kind of a society the Jewish people were (I.E. agricultural vs. commercial, etc.) and what was going on in their history or is there more required?
How do you find out the time and culture of the authors and their readers and how can you trust the information is reliable that is found if you research it? (Page 26)
My question is basically the same as Katie’s. How can we know that the information is real and reliable? I had a lot of other questions too but most of them were answered in paragraph following:)
***in THE paragraph following
I’m not sure this is the type of question you would want, but I’m quite curious about it. How does the author know that the type of cross Jesus was hung on was not in the shape of a “t” and was in the shape of a “T”? Because he mentions that the cross that we think that they used was Roman, and that is who hung Jesus. Im just a little confused on that one
Sorry forgot the page #, its page 18
How does one safeguard against putting his/her own spin or opinions into the text? Wouldn’t that be a natural tendancy for anyone reading scripture? pg. 24 where it’s talking about selective exegesis.
how can we be for sure that information is real and reliable because there are so many things that you cannot trust?
didnt mean to submit…
what makes a source reliable?
On page 20 he mentions “plain meaning” multiple times. Could you expand on what he is talking about.
It seems like we’ve lost a lot of original meaning with each translation that has been completed. Is there any translation in English that is closer to the original text than another? I know the best would be to learn the language it was written in…
When they say that the sources of many exegetical expressions are “secondary sources that also often use other secondary sources rather than the primary source.” I am inclined to think that he means they use other authors and books as a basis for their works, is that true? And how would that work since it would not involve exegesis at all?
On page 19, Fee and Stuart say that we interpret the word “flesh” incorrectly when Paul says, “Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” They say that “flesh” seldom refers to the body. How can we best decipher when it literally means the flesh as in the body, or when it means something different as it does in this verse? That statement kind of threw me because I’ve always taken “flesh” to mean the body.
I guess that does kand of prove fthat we all bring our own preconceived ideas when it comes to reading the Bible and how we interpret what it says in different ways…
How do we know the proper amount of interpretation of Bible. If there are ways to interpret the Bible too much or too little, how do we find the medium of “plain meaning of the text.”
The introduction talked about how people try to “dig” too deep into the bible and its meaning to try to discover something that no one else has before… i feel like this is so true and there are so many different ideas about the same thing. The intro also says that good interpretation is simple…so my question is when a pastor or someone is preaching and their idea is really outside the box or there is a lot of extra info, how should we decipher if that is a really good interpretation that is accurate or if it is just another over-thought idea that could really be much simpler?
p.s. sorry that was sooooo long and confusing =[
Grr so i just wrote out my whole question and it actually made sense but the server was busy so it got erased. Boo. So this is the not as good, second time around question. And actually it’s a wee bit like my question in church bout the head coverings. On pages 15-16 it talks about the “plain” meaning of the text. And i was just wondering how you tell what is simply sultural and what is commands. I know you said the whole repetative thing versus one obscure mention, and also common sense. But since it’s in the Bible it kinda seems like it (esp. the New Testament) should all be followed. So i guess my question is how do you know what “plain meaning” is cultural, and what we need to do too?
The text says that need to learn how to interpret what the original author is saying. Translators are often called used to make choices with word meanings. How can we get to the bottom of the original authors intention if we’re not able to know the exact wording the author used? Different demoninations believe different things about the same text. How do we know which one is right? pg 18-20
kind of*
I didn’t have too much trouble understanding any part of this reading selection, but I would like to know a little bit more about what the authors mention on page 26. They mention something about reading correctly or effectively and I would like to have that explained in a more detailed fashion.
I have two questions. The first one is somewhat taboo, but it holds significant importance to me. On page nineteen it talks briefly about the belief of speaking in tongues. This has always been confusing to me. My confusion has been compounded when I have asked people about it because two of the most knowledgeble people concerning the Bible I’ve ever met completely disagree on the issue. Since you have had much more backround knowledge on the Bible than either of them I was interested in your opinion. I know that you’ve said that you can’t stand it when people ask complicated questions wanting a five minute answer so I won’t do that to you, but if you ever have time I would love to discuss it with you.
The second is probably more relevant to what we are discussing. You have said in the past that to understand the Bible, namely the Old Testament, you need to understand the culture of that day. Since most of us aren’t going to seminary to learn about all that I was wondering if there were some shortcuts. Are there any hugely important historical things to know that would unlock huge portions of the Bible for us?
With all different translations and translators interpretation of the Bible, Why don’t people go back to the original Hebrew for passages that the reader has a hard time understanding?
I couldn’t really think of a good question, but i’ll say that i did feel comfort when reading on page 22 that God had designed the O.T. in a way that everyone is able to understand because of its multiple kinds of writings. This is hands on proof that God has been watching out all along and we don’t have to feer anything.
My question is very much like Mitchell Patrick Carter’s first question. I also know that you are not a big fan of questions similar to this one but i would really like to find out an answer. The issue of speaking in tounges has been around for a couple of years now in my life. I’ve read some things about it in the New Testament and I’ve come to believe that it was used by the apostles to preach to others in a language they couldn’t speak. Can it really be used in the Church today, and if so how? From what I’ve heard from people who attend churches that believe in the gift of tounges they speak in a language unknown to man.
On page 19 it talks about how the translation of the text affects how we perceive it and it references Romans 13:14 as an example. What i don’t understand is why the people doing the actual translations don’t fill in the proper greek definition in the first place to avoid the obvious misconceptions.
I don’t know if anyone has asked this yet but on page 24 the author’s say exegesis must be employed for every text. They say we must understand the original meaning to the original people. Is it possible that sometimes we are the people it was intended for? Was the Bible always written directly for the people of that time period?
Also, on page 21 they say the church has historically believed the Bible to be like Christ- at the same time both human and divine. When you were talking about it in class I believe you said you didn’t believe it to be divine. Could you explain more?
How am I supposed to be able to do exegesis, and interpret the Bible’s original meaning with little knowledge of those times? I can see how the biblical scholars do it with their knowledge of the original language and all of the background, but it seems like it would be extremely difficult without that knowledge. Are there any resources that would help you find the true meaning, without knowing everything else.
page 19, 2 things that stick out are woman should keep silent in church and also speaking in tongues. A) whats your feelings on speaking in tongues and is it real or was it ever real. and B) should women keep silent or be in a less powerful role then men in the church and also in work places? which gets me thinking is it wrong that women are getting more power these days like a women president? i think its kinda wierd…..maybe im just anti hilary
I think they have tried to explain it but I dont really understand why genre is so important to the authors of our book. What makes it such a crucial part of interpretting the Bible? Also, i feel like this is something I should know but the book makes a few references to Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons and I dont think I quite know what they actually believe that makes them so different from Christians.
Sorry about a repeat question, but I was also curious about how much we need to interpret the Bible. How do we know when to look into a passage more or if we’re looking into it too much? And page 29 also mentioned different kinds of tools for good exegesis, but that there are other tools besides a good translation, Bible dictionary, and commentary. What other tools are there?
Page 21 it says, what we do hope to achieve is to highten the reader’s sensitivity to specific problems inherent in each genre. I feel like it’s kind of an important sentence to understand since that is what the book wants for us. Does that mean that we’ll just be more aware of problems in general, in our society? Then I really get lost when he talks about genres. It came out of nowhere. What does that sentence actually mean?
I have 2 questions. after reading that I’m curious to know how you (Mr. Webster) read the Bible for all its worth? And secondly when we all go off to college and many of us won’t have a Bible class like this what’s a good way to like it says on pg 29- have a devotional and also read for learning and understanding..on our own? If that makes sense..
I just wanted your opinion on something stated on pg. 20. It says that two different theories are preached in the church, one is “eternal security” the other is that you can lose your salvation. Which one do you believe andh why?
How can you truly read and understand the true meaning of the words in the O.T. if you are 110% sure they mean something and someone tells you they mean something different?