Tag Archives: biblical interpretation

Bible Bites [Exegesis], Thinking Theology Aloud [Random]

5 Ways to Understand the Bible Better in 2015

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I just finished reading Revelation, and… I confess I don’t understand it all very well. Even in the New International Version, with its goal of “providing the best possible blend of transparency to the original documents and comprehension of the original meaning in every verse,” Revelation has one or two mildly confusing spots.

I know, that’s hardly a news flash. But the non-news comes with a point: I, like you, long to understand the Bible better. The good news is that I think I understand parts of Revelation better than I did five years ago. The other good news is that there is still much left for me to learn!

Brief story: About five or six years ago I was assigned to preach from Matthew 24–that confusing chapter about the signs leading up to Christ’s return… or is it the non-signs that occurred before the destruction of Jerusalem? Anyhow, puzzling over such questions aroused my interest in Bible prophesy, and I started wishing to understand Revelation better. I soon learned that if you hope to understand Revelation, you must first understand the OT prophetic books, where much of Revelation’s imagery comes from. Then I learned that if you hope to understand the OT prophetic books, you must first understand the five books of Moses, for the OT prophets were enforcers of the Mosaic covenant.

These observations shaped my growing interest in serious Bible study. So I listened to the Pentatauch repeatedly while pounding nails at work, and I read some big semi-technical commentaries on [amazon text=Genesis&asin=0805401016], [amazon text=Exodus&asin=0805401024], and [amazon text=Leviticus&asin=0802825222]–straight through, cover to cover. It was very rewarding, but I got bogged down as I began a commentary on Numbers, and I haven’t yet read a commentary on any of the Major Prophets straight through. And my Revelation commentaries… well, I’ve dabbled in them, but not enough to fully defuse my confusion.

Thank God, you don’t need to understand much prophecy to become “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus”! And thank God, he rewards the diligent student of “the sacred writings” so that we can become increasingly “equipped for every good work” as we grow in our biblical understanding (2 Tim. 3:15-16).

So, without further ado and in random order, here are…

Five Ways You Can Understand the Bible Better in 2015

  1. Read, read, and reread the Bible. This is obvious, yet it is exactly here where most of us fail worst. First, most of us read far less than we need to if we are ever going to understand the Bible well. Second, when many of us do read, we read in such a way (poor technique, poor heart condition) that our understanding doesn’t grow as it could. Two excellent blog articles I read recently address both these problems. “How to Change Your Mind” by Joe Carter describes a Bible reading plan that I heartily endorse, based on my own similar short-term efforts while preparing to preach and teach. “What Kind of a Thing Is the Bible? 6 Theses” by Gavin Ortlund reminds us of the forest before we get lost in the trees reading individual Bible passages. He says he’s “naming the obvious,” but this article is packed with pregnant points that invite deep consideration and help make sense of the Bible. Read these articles, then read your Bible–more, and more wisely. Bonus tip: Audio Bibles count, too!
  2. Read a book on biblical interpretation. Don’t let words like exegesis and hermeneutics scare you. They aren’t any worse than words like carburetor (had to check how to spell that one) or hemorrhage (had to look that one up, too). They’re just words that are suited for the job and help us understand how things work. There are books on biblical interpretation suited for every reader, and it’s a shame that more of us aren’t reading them. I’m a case in point: Despite graduating from a four-year Honours English Literature program with a bachelor’s degree, I had never read a single book on biblical interpretation! It wasn’t until Allen Roth assigned Understanding and Applying the Bible (McQuilkin) as reading material for our church leadership team that I opened such a book. Since then I’ve read at least four others through and scanned others, besides reading more specialized books on related topics. You don’t know which one to choose? I have a page (see here) that lists nine such books, with descriptions to help you find the right one for you. None of these books are perfect, but all have proven helpful again and again for hundreds and thousands of people. Better yet: find some friends and read one together!
  3. Listen to free seminary lectures on the Bible. If I had to name a single resource that has been most helpful in my own growth in biblical understanding over the past 5 years, it would probably be the website biblicaltraining.org. This website–the brainchild of Bill Mounce who served as the NT chair of the ESV translation team–aims “to help leaders in the local church become effective ministers of the Gospel by providing them with world-class, Christ-centered educational resources that will allow learning to take place in community. In other words, our goal is to help make fully-formed followers of Christ.” This website has free audio recordings of Bible classes for all levels, from new believers to graduate students. Free lectures from dozens of seminary courses are included. Most of the speakers are well-known evangelical professors and authors. I’ve listened to most of the seminary lectures on this site. I’ve found all the Bible courses helpful for growth in biblical understanding, and several courses like Robert Stein’s excellent “Biblical Hermeneutics” are especially relevant to this post. (By the way, one great thing about this website is that the speakers don’t agree on every point of interpretation or doctrine! This diversity-within-gospel-unity provides excellent training in discernment and nudges you back to the Bible to think things through for yourself.)
  4. Subscribe to some good blogs. The number of scholarly blogs and websites devoted to biblical interpretation and theology is astounding! The best you can do–which can be good indeed–is to pick a handful and begin following. Here are some I’ve been following:
    * http://readingacts.wordpress.com/  Phillip Long, a conservative seminary prof, started a blog on Acts but now writes on all things NT.  Includes helpful book reviews and monthly links to a “Biblical Studies Carnival”–long lists highlighting “the best and the brightest in the world of bibliblogs.”
    * http://zondervanacademic.com/blog/  Jeremy Bouma posts most often, with a wide range of thoughts usually triggered by some book he’s reading. Other blog authors take their turns as well, including Bill Mounce with his “Mondays with Mounce” about NT Greek and Lee Fields with a similar series about Hebrew. A great way to be introduced to lots of big name biblical studies and theology authors.
    * https://bbhchurchconnection.wordpress.com/  Louis McBride, the Bible and academic book buyer at Baker Book House, a Christian bookstore, writes on all things biblical and theological, again usually triggered by a book he’s reading. Lots of good stuff to chew.
    * http://marccortez.com/  Marc Cortez teaches theology and supervises doctoral students at Wheaton College and writes here at Everyday Theology. Thus says Marc: “The purpose of the blog is to connect theology with everyday life. I’m convinced that what we believe matters – it shapes who we are and how we live in the world. So I want to help people access the best that theology has to offer and see how it matters for life today. Having said that, I’m also a bit random. They say that a good blog should have 3-5 categories that provide focus and purpose for the blog. Following that guideline, my three categories are: life, the universe, and everything.” Yup, that’s about right!  🙂
    * http://www.challies.com/   Tim Challies provides a firehose for all things Reformed and conservative, with daily postings that include links to theological blogs and Kindle books on sale. Lots of very good stuff (even if you question his Calvinism and wish he’d include more diversity of voices at times). For example, the two blog articles I recommended in point #1 above were recommended by Challies. If you follow Challies you’ll soon learn of lots more helpful Reformed bloggers that I won’t name here.
    * This list could go on forever, and I know I haven’t even mentioned some of the best. For a dizzying list of helpful and not-so-helpful blogs, see this. I’ve only visited a tiny fraction of the blogs listed there.
    A final caveat is extremely important: Blogs like the ones I’ve listed contain a mixture of truth and error. (So does my blog!) Some others are only helpful as case studies of heresy. Of my five suggestions in this post, this is the one that is least helpful unless you already have some solid biblical grounding. That said, good biblical blogs have prodded my thinking with new insights and perspectives, helped me assess the strengths and weaknesses of popular evangelical scholars (good prep for book buying), and introduced me to valuable online and print resources. The five blogs I mentioned first generally do a good job of achieving these benefits without throwing in intentionally provocative or theologically liberal ideas.
  5. Attend a good Bible conference or training program. I’ll keep this point short by directing you to my page about upcoming events for Bible students: see here. Two things: (a) I recently added a couple more events that will be helpful for some of you; (b) the BMA Ministers’ Enrichment Weekend (end of January and open to everyone) is now open for registration. Go if you can!
    (By the way, thanks to those of you who have been sharing this events page on Facebook and elsewhere. Let’s spread the word and help people–especially our pastors–get some good training.)

So, there you have it: five ways to understand the Bible better in this coming year. My advice would be to pursue #1 and then pick two or three others to supplement it.

What else would you add to this list? What has helped you understand the Bible better? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

 

By Elaine Gingrich

Two Trees [Poem By Mom]

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Today I’m pleased to begin a new blog series in which I plan to share one poem or article from my mother, Elaine Gingrich, each month.

PhotoOfMomAndDad
My parents, Ken and Elaine Gingrich.

Mom has been a life-long amateur wordsmith. She loves literature, especially poetry, and has spent many more hours enjoying literary arts than this English Literature graduate ever has or is likely to. I have a fond memory of Mom joining me in class for a day, meeting my Victorian literature professor, and then writing a poem based on the experience in amazing imitation of Gerard Manley Hopkins, to the delight of student and professor alike.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I hope to share that poem another day. For today I’d like to share a more ordinary poem, one neither too complex nor too simple, one that most of you should enjoy.

Why else have I chosen this poem? I think “Two Trees” hints at Mom’s way of drawing spiritual analogies from the world of nature–although in this case she is following analogies prepared in Scripture. Sometimes she draws more directly from the world of nature outside her door in Parry Sound, Ontario. I also thought I’d share this poem now because its themes overlap with some posts I’ve been sharing recently on original sin.

Before I scare you with visions of abstract theological unknowables, here is Mom’s poem. Enjoy!

 TWO TREES

In the center of a garden stood a tree to make one wise,
Dripping fruit ripe-sweet for eating and most pleasing to the eyes.
Eve reached out to pluck the knowledge in the fruit, twice bittersweet.
She would know both good and evil. She would take the risk and eat.
“You shall be as gods,” the promise of the serpent taunted her
As she hid from God with Adam, His displeasure to defer.
Plagued by thoughts of guilt and evil, savouring things of Satan’s sphere,
Less a god and more a devil, trading innocence for fear.
This can be no godly wisdom, this confusion, grief and strife.
Earthly, sensual and devilish–bringing death instead of life.
Sorry wisdom that she tasted, sorry reaping to live by.
For this tree of bitter knowledge was a tree to make one die.

Near a garden on a hillside stood a tree to make one good.
Here the apple of God’s eye was nailed and Calvary’s tree dripped blood.
From this wine rough-crushed and scarlet came the only antidote
For the ancient cursed enlightenment Eve’s awful morsel wrote
On each cell of mind and body. This rare blood God sacrificed
Gives the damaged human seeker the transcendent mind of Christ!
Free to know the pure and lovely, yet untainted by the sin,
All our world becomes God’s garden, Satan banished in chagrin.
Truly this is godly wisdom–hating evil, loving good.
Fellowship with God restored and peaceful living understood.
Sweetest fruit man ever tasted, gladdest wisdom time could give.
For this tree of sacred suffering was a tree to make one live.

— Elaine Gingrich,  December 4, 1998

“Poetry writing has been one of the avenues God has given me to learn to know Him better. My deepest desire is to honour Him with everything I write, and to live what I have learned from Him.” — Elaine Gingrich

A Three-Part Postscript

First, some technical details.

  1. Please don’t republish or repost Mom’s writings without asking permission. Links to this page are always most welcome, as is printing off a copy for a friend.
  2. If you want to thank Mom for her poem, you can leave a comment here, message her via Facebook (if you are her friend) or email her at MomsEmailAddressImage.php.
  3. I’ve retained Mom’s Canadian spelling. So “savouring ” is not a spelling error.

Second, some reflections on “Two Trees.”

I like the way this poem builds on nature imagery found in the Bible, and how the second stanza builds on the imagery of the first stanza. For example, compare the opening lines of each stanza: “In the center of a garden stood a tree to make one wise” becomes “Near a garden on a hillside stood a tree to make one good.” Here we have Eden versus the garden of Gethsemane; a tree in the middle of the garden versus one near a garden (but banished outside); a tree to make one wise versus a tree to make one good. This garden imagery reappears later in the second stanza, in one of my favorite lines of the poem: “All our world becomes God’s garden.” This is Eden turned into New Earth via Gethsemane. Only God!

Two themes central to this poem are the themes of goodness/evil and of wisdom. As I trace these themes through the poem, beginning with the opening lines of each stanza (“a tree to make one wise/good”), this paradoxical thought arises: If you make wisdom your primary goal (“a tree to make one wise”), you probably won’t end up either wise or good. But if you hunger and thirst above all to be made good (“a tree to make one good”), then you will gain both goodness and wisdom. And as the final lines of each stanza show, lusting for wisdom leads to death, while hungering for goodness leads to life. Ponder that for moral formation.

My only theological complaint about this poem is that I think Adam gets off too easily! 🙂 But perhaps that’s a gracious result of the fact that the author is female.

There is much more happening in this poem, both theologically and literarily. What do you see? Enjoy the craft and worship the Christ!

Third, a question: Why share poetry on a blog about biblical interpretation?

Here are several answers:

  1. This blog features biblical interpretation, but is also interested in other kinds of exploration. Remember my three-part website vision (see here): “Exegesis, Ecclesiology, and Exploration.”
  2. Poetry underlines the necessity of the interpretive task. Some of us like to think that we can just read the Bible without worrying about interpretation. But almost no one thinks this of a poem. Rather, some of us rather dislike poetry for this very reason: it demands interpretation. Poems are often rather cryptic. The formal constraints of poetry (such as meter and rhyming patterns) tend to leave little room for superfluous, explanatory sentences or footnotes. These formal constraints force poets to choose words consciously and purposefully. Readers, in turn, are forced to slow down their reading in order to trace or produce meaning.
  3. Poetry trains readers in the interpretive task. Slow reading helps readers ask “Why this word and not some other?” In bad poetry the answer too often is merely “Because it rhymes!” In good poetry–poetry where the author masters the form rather than the form mastering the author–or, better, poetry where the author has learned to sing in the key of her chosen form–the answers to “Why this word and not another?” are more profound. But, quite apart from the question of how profound the answers will be, the mere asking of the question trains readers to ponder authorial intent. What did the poet mean by this sentence? The more cryptic the sentence, the more we wish the author were at our side to explain it. But the author is not present. So, in the absence of the author, we are forced to try to discover authorial intent through the words on the page. Now, with biblical interpretation there is a crucial difference: For the Spirit-filled believer, the divine Author is present. But (a) the human author is not, and we must not overlook the significance of human participation in the writing of Scripture, (b) words are still a primary–I would argue the primary–way in which God speaks to us, and (c) even with the Spirit’s presence to guide biblical interpretation and speak fresh words, many Christians seem to be in dire need of reminders to actively seek Authorial intent.

So, to underscore an important point and bring this to a close: Reading poetry (wrestling it, riding it, meditating on it, singing it) can help us become better readers. And, all else being even, better readers are usually better Bible readers, too.

What do you think? Share your comments below!

Bible Bites [Exegesis]

On Translation Choices and Pastoral Concerns

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This morning I noticed an example of the NIV being very politically correct–or, to be kinder, very pastorally aware:

The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. (1 Cor. 7:4)

The Greek text for this verse has no word that corresponds to the NIV word “yields.” The ESV translates the end of each sentence well: “but the husband/wife does.” This translation supplies the implied verb, “does.” The KJV does not supply any implied verb. So it is less clear but mirrors the Greek even more closely: “but the husband/wife.”

On Translation Choices…

In the NIV Paul sounds like he is urging voluntary mutual submission in this verse, rather than providing a reason why such submission is important. It is more likely, I think, that Paul is urging mutual submission in the previous verse (“The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband” 1 Cor. 7:3.) and then adding a reason why in this verse. In other words, I think verse verse 3 says what married people should do–give each other their conjugal rights–and verse 4 says why–because married people don’t possess autonomous authority over their own bodies.

There, I find myself being PC, too! There is no word “autonomous” in the Greek to soften the force of Paul’s assertion.

The ESV, interestingly, shows it agrees with my understanding of how verses 3 and 4 are related by adding a “for” at the start of verse 4, even though none is present in the Greek.

So is there any linguistic basis for the NIV’s choice here? There probably is, for the NIV is usually very intentional. I’m speculating here, because I don’t know what discussion the translation committee had on this verse. But I suspect the textual basis for their choice is found in the verb “have authority over.” They may understand this as “keep authority over,” concluding, therefore, that the opposite idea is to yield. But it seems odd to me, if this is really what Paul was thinking, that he would end his sentence with “but the husband/wife.” Rather, it would be more natural, if he understood the verb this way, to end, “but yields it.” This, of course, is how the NIV translates the end of the sentence. So the NIV provides what Paul should have said if their understanding of the verb is correct, not what Paul actually said!

At least, that’s my best guess at what’s happening linguistically here with the NIV.

Let me contrast the NIV and ESV translations another way. In the ESV, Paul is contrasting persons: Who has authority over the husband’s body? Not the husband but the wife. In the NIV, Paul is contrasting actions: What does the husband do with his body? Not rule it himself but yield it to his wife. I think the ESV reflects the Greek more accurately.

I quickly surveyed all 50 translations on Bible Gateway. If I counted correctly, only the Phillips, the Message, the NLT, and VOICE translations agree with the NIV here. That’s not proof that the NIV is wrong, but neither is it a ringing endorsement.

A few translations find other ways of “softening the blow,” such as EXB’s “The wife does not have full rights over her own body; her husband shares them…” This translation softens the blow at two points: by adding the word “full” before “rights” (but they add a note after “full rights” that provides a literal translation: “authority”) and by providing the word “shares” in the final clause, where the Greek gives no suggestion of anything being mutual.

Probably little real damage is done by NIV’s choice, and it may prevent some dangerous misapplication. But it’s yet another reminder of (a) how pastoral concerns can shape translation choices, and (b) the importance of comparing translations when we can.

And Pastoral Concerns

The pastoral concern that probably motivated the NIV translators is legitimate: We do not want to encourage abusive spouses to demand sexual rights from their spouses. Just as slave owners have pointed to texts commanding slaves to obey their masters, so abusive husbands have pointed to texts like this to convince their spouses that they must submit to abuse.

The pastoral problem is very real. So is there another way to address the problem besides rewriting Paul’s thoughts (as I think the NIV is doing)?

I think there is. I think the answer is to preach and teach “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). We need to constantly discourage people from building theologies and practices on isolated proof-texts. I believe proof-texting can be legitimate and even important; the NT authors do it regularly as they quote the OT. But we must not use isolated proof-texts. Our proof-texts must reflect the whole counsel of God. We can do this by choosing proof-texts that are balanced within themselves. We can also do this by providing multiple proof-texts. And we can avoid proof-text problems by remembering that, according to Scripture, Scripture often requires explanation, not mere quotation (see Neh. 8:7-8).

Here is an example that parallels the problem in our text: The question of relating to civil authorities. Paul says some very hard-to-swallow things about this question, too:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (Rom. 13:1-2)

Taken in isolation, this can be a dangerous proof text. But we don’t solve this problem by rewriting Paul. We don’t translate Paul like this: “Let every person be subject to those governing authorities which have been instituted by God.” (At least, I hope we don’t.) Rather, we recognize that Paul is stating a foundational principle. We quote this principle and feel its full force. Then we pull in other Scriptural data and recognized that there are exceptions. For example, the apostles said “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29) and Jesus even commanded his disciples to flee authorities who tried to persecute them (Matt. 10:23).

If we apply these parallels to the question of conjugal rights and sexual submission in marriage, then several conclusions are suggested: (1) There are times when one spouse will need to tell the other, “I must obey God rather than you.” (2) There are times when a spouse will need to flee abuse.

Other passages could enrich our observations here. My point is that I think this kind of theological and expositional legwork is a good way to address the pastoral concerns of a text like 1 Corinthians 7:4. I appreciate when translations try to avoid leaving misimpressions. But I don’t appreciate when they do this by changing what the text actually says. So, in this case, I prefer the ESV over the NIV.

What do you think? Leave a comment and share your perspective.