One of the biggest changes I have made to my Bible study and devotion time in the last couple of years is to pick a book from either Testament and just read it. Working my way through it ignoring chapter and verse and just stopping when I am ready or I need to a break. I am still young in my faith so I do not claim to know enough to debate and defend with but I have noticed an increase in my relationship with God and my deeper attachement and excitement for lack of more accurate words to Scripture by doing this.
Before I would treat it like a horoscope a few verses a day keeps the devil at bay, more time in the daily Bible notes than in the Bible. Memorizing 'key' passages without knowing the context of the verse before or after it. How many of you know John 3:15 and 17?
I did not realise how much impact this would have on me and my relationship with our Father.
I began to see why I was so 'fluffy' and nominal in my faith being very much a text out of context person being fond of providing and quoting cold walls of Scripture to people that fitted my interpretation or one I aligned too in most cases. Feeling good that I had done by bit for God.
This came full circle to me last night whilst I was watching a thread get intense. Wall after wall of solid passage quoting being thrusted back and forth from one viewpoint to another. It was deeply uncomfortable and stank of human ego more that an appealing perfume of glory to God.
It took me some time, I do not know if anyone else bothered to go through the 20 or so verses from both Testaments in no particular order that had been presented with no additional explanation, to go through them one by one looking them up and reading the verses surrounding them for the context and reading the chapter if it was not obvious. It hit me how this was such an unhelpful way to show the brilliance of God and respect for His Word and library. As I expected some of the verses quoting to fit the argument were clearly and specifically for a set people in a set time and although at first glance in a wall like that they look like they go together some of them did not which is why we all need to be careful about what we are quoting AND more importantly explaining how it fits in argument's context.
Would any of you take a paragraph from 10 different authors and 10 different books on loosly the same subject and splice them together without additional explanation and present that to someone who has either no viewpoint or an alternative one and expect that to suffice and 'win' a discussion? Unlikely, but that in essence is what happens here so frequently and it is so saddening and frustrating. I am too scared to ask God what He thinks about it.
I think some Christians here are under the presumption that as long as they are quoting Scripture it does not matter what argument or viewpoint they are discussing as long as Scripture is quoted it must be true and it will always bring glory to God. Wrong.
Wake up and realise whose words you are throwing about for games.
And on a happier note I am thankful for finding some mature Christians who do take time and encourage each other.
God bless.
Before I would treat it like a horoscope a few verses a day keeps the devil at bay, more time in the daily Bible notes than in the Bible. Memorizing 'key' passages without knowing the context of the verse before or after it. How many of you know John 3:15 and 17?
I did not realise how much impact this would have on me and my relationship with our Father.
I began to see why I was so 'fluffy' and nominal in my faith being very much a text out of context person being fond of providing and quoting cold walls of Scripture to people that fitted my interpretation or one I aligned too in most cases. Feeling good that I had done by bit for God.
This came full circle to me last night whilst I was watching a thread get intense. Wall after wall of solid passage quoting being thrusted back and forth from one viewpoint to another. It was deeply uncomfortable and stank of human ego more that an appealing perfume of glory to God.
It took me some time, I do not know if anyone else bothered to go through the 20 or so verses from both Testaments in no particular order that had been presented with no additional explanation, to go through them one by one looking them up and reading the verses surrounding them for the context and reading the chapter if it was not obvious. It hit me how this was such an unhelpful way to show the brilliance of God and respect for His Word and library. As I expected some of the verses quoting to fit the argument were clearly and specifically for a set people in a set time and although at first glance in a wall like that they look like they go together some of them did not which is why we all need to be careful about what we are quoting AND more importantly explaining how it fits in argument's context.
Would any of you take a paragraph from 10 different authors and 10 different books on loosly the same subject and splice them together without additional explanation and present that to someone who has either no viewpoint or an alternative one and expect that to suffice and 'win' a discussion? Unlikely, but that in essence is what happens here so frequently and it is so saddening and frustrating. I am too scared to ask God what He thinks about it.
I think some Christians here are under the presumption that as long as they are quoting Scripture it does not matter what argument or viewpoint they are discussing as long as Scripture is quoted it must be true and it will always bring glory to God. Wrong.
Wake up and realise whose words you are throwing about for games.
And on a happier note I am thankful for finding some mature Christians who do take time and encourage each other.
God bless.
