Every time I quote Jesus, Christians tell me I am quoting him out of context. Why would the writers of the gospels try to mislead people by always putting his sermons and sayings so consistently in the wrong context? What is the right context, and who decides?
2006-09-24 12:30:37 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
It seems the context is continually open to christian interpretation. How convenient....
2006-09-24 12:34:06 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
The apostles did put Him in the right context which would include the entire chapter or several chapters around the scripture you are quoting. We should try to do the same, instead of taking one verse "out of context" or "all by itself", we should consider what else was going on in the chapter when Christ was prompted to make that statement.
For example - Matthew 23:33 says "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?". I could just throw that out at any passer-by and say that Christ said it to him or her. But it really helps to put it into context, read the entire chapter, and understand that Christ was speaking to the Pharisees and teachers of the law at the time. He also tried to help the people that were acting this way immediately in the next verse as He stated, "Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town." See what a big difference the proper context can make? :)
2006-09-24 19:39:19 · answer #2 · answered by desmartj 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is because you quote Jesus and because the Gospels do not tell you when Jesus spoke and when Christ spoke and because the Bible is a Hoax and can be solved like any jigsaw puzzle.
Christ is mocked in the Gospels and Jesus arrived on the scene only in the journey of two thieves from the Judgment Hall to Golgotha with their crosses identifying them as Jesus, and the Gospels tell you this if you will take the time to check them out, and this is why the the Father, Zeus, appeared to Joseph as an angel to make the change of name to Jesus for the start of the Gospels.
The Gospels were written after and about the crucifixion of two thieves named Jesus for the Hoax, but the truth remains with the Gospels and you can use The Age Of Reason to go through the Bible and find the Hoax exposed.
Christians may say they believe but they dont know what.
2006-09-24 19:43:18 · answer #3 · answered by mythkiller-zuba 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Interpretation from the original writings to various languages loses some meaning; i.e. the word love had has seven different translations in the Hebrew language. Now we have interpretations of interpretations. I can pull your words "His sermons and sayings so consistently" and interpret that as meaning you think his sermons and sayings are consistant. What's your reaction - 'that's not what I said'? I'm sure this can be a continuous circle of 'What if?'
I can see everyones point for argument sake - However,
I believe Jesus paid the ultimate price and we are free to choose because He paid our debt as sinners. If I am wrong I am out nothing and if you are wrong you are out eternal life in Heaven.
2006-09-24 19:55:58 · answer #4 · answered by whiskercreek 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In context means to be a part of the text as a whole. In the bible, it IS in context.
When you take a single sentence or verse and quote it to make a point, while that sentence has a completely different meaning in the paragraph in which it was written, then it's taken out of context.
Perhaps if you were more specific, I could address your concerns in a more useful way.
2006-09-24 19:36:27 · answer #5 · answered by Privratnik 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, certainly context has its place, that is why one reads the full story in the bible. But taking the word of Jesus out of context to use it for some purpose maybe justified. For I made a study of just taking his sayings, from the King James Bible, in one sentence at a time,,,,and they can be used good arguments and also, for not so good. Kind of like reading the paper and using one sentence out of the entire article to prove my point, when in reality maybe I needed a bit more back up.
As to who decides what is the right context, well, that is what our wonderful Luther did for us, when he went to bat for us all to be able to read the word of God and then have a personal relationship with God, and discern the truth as revealed to us by our relationship, not that of some priest, minister, bishop, guru, mullah, etc.
2006-09-24 19:39:04 · answer #6 · answered by kickinupfunf 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The proper context of all scripture can only be found within the sacred deposit of faith that God entrusted to the only church he ever personally founded, the Holy Catholic Church.
The odds are slim and none that anyone can properly interpret scripture without understanding all the additional revelations that God has provided to his people and his church, over the last 2,000 years.
The Catholic church maintains 2,000 years worth of scholarly writings, plus detailed councilar and papal decrees, which provide a complete and truthful framework for every authentic Christian belief and practice.
Anything else, especially "late" attempts by others, who simply do not possess all the facts, will not do it.
If you really want all the answers, complete with citations and footnotes, go here:
http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/index.htm
2006-09-24 19:41:18 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
what we mean by out of context is that YOU are quoting only a part of the scripture so you can make is say anything you want it to say. Your testing God when you do this, have you no fear?
2006-09-24 19:36:01 · answer #8 · answered by setfreejn836 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Good question.
Of course when they need the quote to be explicit, then there is no room for interpretation.
Like, when you point out that in Genesis, the "creation" of Light happened before the "creation" of the sun, christians will say Genesis is not meant to be interpreted so strictly. Yet these same christians will argue the evils of premarital sex (for instance) by saying "the bible clearly says....Blah, blah, blah."
Well, maybe they are "taking it out of context." Right?
2006-09-24 19:40:32 · answer #9 · answered by Yinzer from Sixburgh 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Damn, that GreenEyedDevil has some "christian spirit" happening doesn't she? LOL
The answer is, only the believer is allowed to use bible quotes "out of context" to prove whatever contradictory thing they think they are trying to prove. They don't like it when we know the bible better than they do, and won't listen to our bible arguments that shows the bible is fiction.
2006-09-24 19:32:25 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋