recentling was notified when advocting that we hold our spiritual leaders (past and present) accountable,,, that the bible says "resist not evil". I look it up and it does say that but in the context of physical aggression. Since that was what I was calling attention to our leaders doing it is actually saying the same thing I was. That aggression should not be perpetrated by God lovers. Out of context is a big problem. Twisting the Word a big no no. but I forgive them.
2006-09-02 13:40:50 · 9 answers · asked by icheeknows 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
people take scripture out of context for three basic reasons:
ignorance - the root word of which is "ignore". these people know what they WANT the scripture to say, and they arent going to let the scripture get in the way of their opinion.
arrogance - see above
laziness - these people would rather let someone else interpret scripture for them than to xamine it 4 themselves and form their own conclusions. this is uncharted territory and very uncomfortable for the complacent. lots of christians in ww2 let the "church" interpret scripture in such a way as to allow jewish persecution, and went far astray from the truth. they should have known better - and they did. but it was less costly in the short term to not bother with examining the context of the scripture.
fear - sometimes doing the right thing is very costly. not knowing for sure what the right thing is, is a seemingly good excuse for doing nothing. look too closely at the scriptures, and one might be forced to make a hard choice. better to just give the law a perfunctory glance, and interpret it without delving into the cultural and literary context in which it was written.
i.e. the verse "wives submit to your husbands". people looooove to take this one out of context, and it has been much abused for waaay too long. so lets look at it in context.
1. the word "submit". this is a pretty rotten translation in the modern context of the word. the gist of the greek word here would com out roughly as "to overlook yourself in the interest of meeting the other person's needs".
2. the good folk who divided up the bible into chapter and verse (an historically recent addition to holy writ) chose in their less than infinite wisdom to split the chapter at this point (mostly in the interests of chauvanism). the first verse of the next chapter says "submit to ONE ANOTHER out of reverence for Christ". the meaning of the word "submit" here is identical to the previous verse. these two verses were obviously intended to be together, but were deliberately separated. it changes the meaning of the entire passage radically. there is no stipulation of who is to submit to whom. this means that every believer regardless of sex, should "submit" (look out for the other person first) to one another. by that logic, if every person who believes lives in a state of mutal "submission", there would be very little friction between believers in general. instead this verse has been abused, and used to suppress women. what a waste. all due to arrogance and fear.
so yes it really bothers me too. i'd rather know the truth - even if it makes me uncomfortable. this applies to the study of any scripture, not just the bible. one can misinterepret the koran, the torah, and the writings of the buddha - not to mention harry potter:) - though i wouldn't call harry potter scripture,,, it's like christians trying to say that the lord of the rings is allegory for the bible...j.r.r. tollkien HATED allegory.
2006-09-02 14:28:06 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here's something to consider. Non of the Early New Testament church leaders (Pastors more specifically) were ever tossed out. The Pastor is the shepherd, the people are the sheep. Since when has a shepherd ever been ejected by the sheep? Never.
If your pastor is not up to snuff (so to speak) then find another Church with a Pastor who is. The sheep do not rule the shepherd. Understand? Thats the biggest mistake American churches make when they vote out Pastors. The easiest and most practical thing is - try to discuss the problem with the Pastor (even if it regards not him but a deacon or other) and if nothing gets resolved - Leave! Find another Church.
PASTORS ARE ACCOUNTABLE BEFORE GOD! Not from the people. He will be held accountable for any abuse, misuse or worse if in fact he is. Now sometimes a Pastor will step on some toes when he lays the law on the line and speaks the truth for our benefit. Its his duty to rebuke, reprove and lift up those who need it, and its never any fun to have to face up to our own wrongs, and easier to turn it around on the pastor.
However - just because a man wears the cloak of Pastor does not always mean he is fit for the Job! There are far too many ordained to preach by MEN, and not of God.., if you get my meaning. Not everyone is a leader. Too many chiefs and not enough Indians, a tribe does not make.
2006-09-02 13:56:17 · answer #2 · answered by Victor ious 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Irritating...but not uncommon.
Authority figures learned long ago that you can prove nearly anything you like from the Bible, if you are willing to take a few scriptures out of context, put your own spin on them...and of course, rely HEAVILY on your audience not to read or study for themselves. Since most don't, well...
2006-09-02 14:03:03 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I too have an issue with context.
An example:
What is the context of this.
Exodus 22:16
"If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife.
Actually there is no context, it says if you have sex with a virgin and she is not pledged to be married you must pay the bride price and she is automatically your wife. Simple right, let the context folks get hold to it and you will not be able to make head nor tail out of it.
Context is a Bogey man the disingenuous use to evade the issue.
2006-09-02 15:07:14 · answer #4 · answered by zurioluchi 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why choose to be offended over this one instance of taking scripture out of context? xians do that as a matter of course all the time, every day. Entire sects of christianity are based on this practice.
2006-09-02 13:44:42 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
what's with each and all of the detest comments? lol the colleges in u . s . a . of america have been occurring through fact the 70's....hmm with regard to the comparable time the dep. of training became instituted isn't it? Carter and all that? while you're making each and every thing run with the help of a million company (fed government) then all of it is going down, not each and every State is the comparable through fact the others
2016-11-24 19:03:37 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Seems to be a thing of the past, and present...looks like it isnt going to be any difference in the forseeable future either.
2006-09-02 13:45:58 · answer #7 · answered by kickinupfunf 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Follow the money. Authority figures are fueled by money, follow the cash flow and you'll get to the truth
2006-09-02 13:43:08 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
good for you?
2006-09-02 13:43:39 · answer #9 · answered by michelle112785 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋