Should there be more than just words?

[jcright]

Howdy all! I was wandering through the OBOB and came across a thread regarding this article: http://www.religionnews.com/ArticleofWeek120904.html

I can't get over this quote: "We believe the Reformers missed something big," says Marcey, a doctoral candidate in visual rhetoric at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va. "When we limit the gospel message to the written and spoken text, we short-circuit it. We truncate it ... The soul is moved by more things than the word."

Whatever happeend to 2Tim 3:16???

What are your thoughts?

 

[Gold Dragon]

All revelation should be confirmed by the authority of the bible. But we should also rely on other gifts God has blessed us with including...

... personal revelation through prayer and the Holy Spirit
... historical revelation through the Holy Spirit working in the lives of other Godly people (including some traditions)
... natural revelation through God's marvelous creation
... logic, reason and discernment that God has given us the capacity for, especially with regard to how to properly interpret that sacred authority of the Bible.


I read the article and it is a commentary on using imagery to communicate the gospel message. While there is the danger of overemphasizing imagery to the extent of idolatry and entertainment, I believe that imagery is a powerful way to communicate what words simply cannot. We've all heard the saying that "a picture is worth a thousand words". In that same way, the gospel message is not simply a string of words but is a beautiful picture of God humbling himself to die for us. Images will never completely replace good solid teaching via the use of words, but they do provide a tangible/concrete complement to those words.

 

[rural_preacher]

I can't vote because I'm unsure of what you mean by the question. I would tend to agree with what Gold Dragon said. We have many methods and means by which to communicate the Truth. But the written Word of God is our sole and final objective authority for all matters of faith and practice.

I do believe the Word is fully sufficient but there are many ways to communicate that Word.

Should we limit ourselves to only reading the Word without explanation or comment? No.

Should we place something else (tradition or creeds) along side of Scripture as our authority? No.

Can we use these other things to assist in communicating the unique and unchanging message of the Word? Yes.

As long as the written Word of God remains our sole and supreme authority in all matters.

--

 

[Cright]

I think the Word should be our final authority!!

however, I think that knowing and understanding history and what the world was like during the time the NT was written helps to understand the bible... so I guess the bible plus a little history... and a good resource for looking up greek/hebrew text when we have an issue with a word.

rural preacher hit the nail on the head pretty much!

 

[Ave Maria]

Maybe, but it depends on what it is.

 

[SonOfThunder]

We have limited brains, some more so than others... it is nice to read 'other material' to clarify what Jehovah God is saying in The Bible. The problem with this is false teaching (intentional or otherwise) You need to be a scholar to then undo the wrong teaching and see what God is saying through the Bible. I am used to 'other material' to the point where I did not ever read a chapter of The Bible alone. Sometimes we read 'other material' more than we read The Bible. That is dangerous and something I would say try and avoid.

James

 

[Crazy Liz]

Even the Bible will tell you that words are not sufficient.

 

[Ave Maria]

Even the Bible will tell you that words are not sufficient.

Really? I didn't know that. Where does it say this at Crazy Liz?

God Bless,
Holly

 

[Crazy Liz]

Really? I didn't know that. Where does it say this at Crazy Liz?

God Bless,
Holly

[bible]matthew 23:2-3[/bible]

[bible]james 2:15-16[/bible]