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Originally Posted by Dr. Vaughn
To all of the wonderful friends and foes who post on this forum.... I want to say first of all how sorry I am if my words have offended either of you. I suppose out here you feel more at liberty to let your expressions lose since there is no personal interaction, there's no facial expressions to tell when you have hurt someone, there's no fear of having to interact with that person in the future and thus you're not as careful in the way you speak.....
I would like for this board to know... one minute with me in person and you and I would be friends for life. Anyone who has ever met me will tell you there is not a time when my smile is not from ear to ear, making everyone laugh and keeping peoples Spirits high... I love people, I love Gods church and most importantly I love God.
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You’ve never offended me bro. From what I read above I think you have a very good attitude and kind spirit.
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Here is my question..... If someone like myself is a Fundametalist.. and what I mean by that is, we take a very literal interpretation of Gods Word.. we don't do well with "We'll it really means this or that or in the original it doesn't mean that.. we find safety in taking as much of the Word at face value as possible... and if by chance we have it wrong.. we feel facing God without Greek or Hebrew knowledge would not be counted against us.....
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Well…we might have a difference in opinion here. A “literal” interpretation of God’s Word is not necessarily the proper way to interpret something so dynamic as the Bible. The Bible expresses multiple languages, linguistic metaphors, and cultural references relevant for the day in which it was written. For example, let’s say I that 2,000 years from now that I wanted to interpret a series of letters written by Americans today. One might have written,
“Today gasoline cost me an arm and a leg.”
Now…if I took that literally without seeking to understand the linguistic usage of phrases and words in the day they were written, would I not fail to properly interpret what was said? I might walk away believing they bartered with body parts. LOL
The Bible is similar. There are linguistic, geographic, and cultural things going on throughout the Scriptures that we are unfamiliar with. For example, Jesus writing on the sand. What did he write? Why did he write on the sand? If one doesn’t understand how things were done among the Jews of Christ’s day no one would realize the meaning of Christ’s actions or even why the Pharisees brought the woman caught in adultery to him. Another example, when the woman came and washed Christ’s feet with her “tears” and dried them with her hair….what is the significance of this? Did she literally use her “tears” or was this a term used for something common in Christ’s day? Lastly, only the original autographs are inerrant. What we have today are translations of copies…and sadly these are not always accurate. For example, consider
Genesis 49:6,
Genesis 49:6
O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they
digged down a wall.
Is the phrase, “digged down a wall”, an accurate translation of the Greek texts used to translate our highly revered King James Bible?
No. Look it up if you don’t believe me. This means that they, “hamstrung oxen”. So as you can see, taking the English translation literally completely betrays the literal wording of the Greek texts.
Interpreting and teaching the Bible isn’t for novices or amateurs. Much study and reflection much accompany biblical knowledge. A teacher must go deeper than the surface and find the truth of the matter in texts that look one way to us…but were indeed quite different in reality.
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Rather than try to find ways "Around" the Word... I am one who feels safe in reading the WORD and living it exactly as I read it... I am not condoning ignorance.. education is something I preach and believe in vehemntly.. but sometimes I do wonder if "much learning has not made us mad."
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But there’s the issue someone like me would worry about…you’re reading the Bible “as I read it”, meaning as you read it. It becomes of private interpretation. One’s interpretation has to be founded on sound hermeneutics…not personal opinion. That being said though, no interpretation of Scripture is fool proof. There will always be things debated and discussed until Christ returns.
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Now, my question for this board.... why is it that if someone like me who is very fundamental is so reviled? I realize my opinions are contrary to the mainstream but is was not so just years ago with my forefather.....
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I may not be as much of a “fundamentalist” as you…but you’d be surprised with how much we might agree upon.
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Had I made these statements just 30 years ago
A woman should not preach
Men should not remarry if they are divorced
Women should not cut their hair
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Amen. I agree that women should not preach. I also agree that men and women should not remarry unless the previous marriage was dissolved on the grounds of adultery or abandonment. In addition I don’t think women should cut their hair. Though I think we miss a detail about what Paul said. When Paul said that it was a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, it wasn’t in regards to hair cuts so to speak. It was in reference to the custom of taking an unfaithful woman by her hair and cutting it off at the nap of the neck to shame her publicly. The reference to shaven has a lot to do with the prostitution common in pagan temples. Also Paul was literally talking about head coverings. Not wearing one in worship was considered as shameful as if a woman’s hair was shorn or shaven like she was a prostitute.
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my statements would have been in accordance with the times... but of course now in this age those statements are considered mean and unmerciful
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Cultural norms will always change. The way people look at Scripture will always change. That’s why interpretation should be founded upon solid scholarship not what individuals think is a literal take on a passage at a given time.
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When it comes to the marriage issue,, it is not easy for me to make the stand I do... My father is on his 4th, my mother is on her 3rd, my grandmother is on her 2nd and I was ALMOST on my 2nd... before I heard a man of God preach on the issue of Marriage and Divorce.. before that time I TRULY did not have a strong biblical foundation on the issue....
I made my stand after much study and soul searching..... for me to tell you that I believe my own Father is in sin.. is NOT EASY...... but I feel compelled to face God with a clear conscience that I said it AS I SAW IT...
If God is going to judge us by obeying what we read or obeying what we should have known the Passage REALLY MEANT.. will we not all be in trouble?
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Not if we have a sound foundation for seeking it’s meaning.
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Again.,,, why is there no more room in the kingdom for men such as myself who believe in MERCY.. were it not for his mercy I would on my way to hell in a hurry... I LOVE MERCY I believe IN MERCY but I do not believe that MERCY is a LICENSE to deliberately disobey Gods Word.....
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One thing that we can be sure of…things change. One day many of these radical liberals will be looking at their kids wondering the same thing. LOL
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For the record.. if a man and woman has remarried,, I would always counsel them to remain as you are.... but with the knowledge you now have you must NEVER REMARRy.... Is that being cruel? Is that being hateful? or is that being faithful to Gods Word....
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I’d have to study it out with you. If it’s a valid interpretation (yes sometimes there’s more than one way to look at something) I’d say brother, hold, hold, hold, to your convictions.
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I bless all of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
Your Brother in Christ
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God bless you bro. See ya around. We’ll all understand it better by and by.