tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19505042.post223341904287411426..comments2024-01-29T06:02:39.583-08:00Comments on Suzanne's Bookshelf: Grudem puts Foh before CalvinSuzanne McCarthyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07033350578895908993noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19505042.post-41341235334608088152007-12-05T05:15:00.000-08:002007-12-05T05:15:00.000-08:00Grudem: But in no case are we free to say that the...Grudem: <I>But in no case are we free to say that the teaching of the Bible on any subject is confusing or incapable of being understood correctly.</I><BR/><BR/>The Apostle Peter, in the translation Grudem was brought up on: <I>So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.</I> (2 Peter 3:15-16, RSV)<BR/><BR/>Perhaps Scripture is not in fact all that clear, even confusing in some places. Perhaps it is not safe to let "the ignorant" interpret it on their own. That is not an argument for ecclesiastical authority over the Bible, rather for using <A HREF="http://www.qaya.org/blog/?p=51" REL="nofollow">proper scholarly study methods</A> rather than proof texting.Peter Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13395635409427347613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19505042.post-23058782353378913192007-12-05T04:19:00.000-08:002007-12-05T04:19:00.000-08:00I take a slightly different path: sola scriptura, ...I take a slightly different path: <I>sola scriptura</I>, but not <I>sola</I> (whatever is Latin for <I>interpretaton</I>).<BR/><BR/>The Bible does say it keeps some things hidden. We have not only the parables of Jesus: "The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?" He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them" (Mt. 13:10-11), but also the writing of Paul: "Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past" (Rom. 16:25).<BR/><BR/>In 1 Corinthians 2:8 Paul tells us that the problem is also one of understanding: "None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."<BR/><BR/>So we see that some things are hidden from the lost, and some are hidden from the learned, but that the Spirit enlightens those who seek to know. Yet we cannot dismiss our varying individual levels of growth as affecting our understanding. As someone put it, God is a perfect transmitter, but we are imperfect receivers.<BR/><BR/>Also, there is no way around the fact that no English translation can be taken as "the plain meaning of scripture" when it wasn't written in English at all. We are not all experts in Greek or history or a lot of other things we'd need to bridge the gap between ancient Koine Greek and modern English.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19505042.post-30270836796426133802007-12-05T00:05:00.000-08:002007-12-05T00:05:00.000-08:00You are too kind. :) Excellent thoughts. You "g...You are too kind. :) Excellent thoughts. You "got it," exactly what I was trying to communicate.Alaskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05493872411356521812noreply@blogger.com