The end of the world is nigh? (Page 2 of 2)

Isn't that always the way? You get busy, there's chores to do and you try to squeeze in some practice time and maybe a lesson for your kids and pretty soon, BANG, it's the end of the world and you completely forgot. 

- Zurf

Thanks MKM.  I am a believer and I've studied Scripture quite a lot, both from an eschatologic perspective and also from a historic perspective.  Never really scholarly research with a university, but I tend not to read the contemporary Christian culture books (thinking instead that they are a danger to effective actions by believers) and do think it's very important for people who read the Bible to not just read the words from one translation but to read several translations, learn how the different versions were prepared, by whom, and for what purpose to ensure that the interpretation is historically accurate and based on a sound scholarly approach, and also to know a bit about the greater culture in which the events took place, who the author was thought to be, and what the author may have been trying to do (convince someone, record history, record prophecy, interpret events, give advice, etc.).  It's a difficult way to go about reading Scripture, but I think that doing anything less can lead to misinterpretation.  Sometimes the misinterpretation is purposeful.  People read into Scripture what isn't there rather than taking out from Scripture what it says.  There's no guarantee that interpretation will be accurate even doing those things I mentioned, but I think it's at least more likely to lead to a good understanding.  Mix that with respect for others and some humility and you've got a good recipe for a rich life.

A simple example.  People read the passage about it being easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  They use this to suggest that wealth is in and of itself is an impediment to faith and salvation, despite many of the heros of the Bible being extremely wealthy people.  But that's not what the passage means at all.  The eye of the needle was a gate through the walls of Jeruselam through Jeruselam's walls through which shepherds (who were treated as disgusting but necessary) would herd their sheep if the walled city were under attack.  To enter through the eye of the needle, one had to crawl on hands and knees through the thick walls.  Because it was for flocks of sheep, it would be littered with mud, sheep urine and defecation.  Shepherds were humbled by circumstance and would not hesitate to crawl through.  Rich men wore fancy garments and rode camels.  A camel would not fit through a gate designed for sheep.  A rich man riding on the camel would not enter through the eye of the needle but the front gates.  However, a rich man who humbled himself enough to leave the wealth of his camel behind (much like abandoning your new Range Rover today) to crawl through the sheep waste, soiling his pure garments, could enter to the safety of the city as easily as the shepherd.  It is a passage that deals with humility moreso than wealth.  Without the context of what else is happening in the books, without paying attention to what the author is trying to convey, and without a cultural and historical knowledge of the region at the time it was written, there is no way one could or would have guessed the meaning of the passage. 

There's a lot of that sort of "Scriptural illiteracy" in contemporary Christian culture.  Memorize minute passages out of context and applying them with whatever personal meaning one feels (note: not thinks).  Modern western eyes are reading ancient eastern texts.  Many evangelicals believe that the Holy Spirit will guide them in their belief (I believe that too), but I don't forget that the Lord helps those who help themselves.  Sure, the Holy Spirit can and does guide believers, but that does not relieve the believer from the responsibility of engaging his brain and doing his homework.  Further, while I believe that the Bible contains truth and only truth, I do not think that any and every understanding of what has been written is accurate.  The failure isn't with the book, but the readers. 

Sorry for the rant.  This is a topic that is near and dear to me, and for which my perspective has gotten me kicked off several Christian-themed forums. 

- Zurf