The Bible says that all Scripture is "inspired" by God (2 Tim 3:16-17). That word "inspired" isn't as if the writers had an "aha" moment. "I feel inspired!" The most literal translation is "God-breathed." It's not that they "breathed in" some cool ideas, but that God "exhaled" it. God directed it. Since I regard God as Sovereign, the Master of All, the Ruler of the Universe, it follows that I would regard His Word as of equal authority. God said it; that settles it. Doesn't really matter what I think. So my task is to read it and take it as truth. Of course, the world (even the world disguised as self-professed Christians) isn't on board with that. "No, no," they tell me, "that's just your opinion. That text doesn't mean what you think it means." And they pat themselves on the back thinking they've "remained true to Scripture" while they eliminated any possible meaning or even confidence that it can be understood.
A quick illustration. Recently I wrote that "you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind" (Eph 2:1-3). Note, first, that this is just the text from Scripture. No opinion; just text. Now comes the "opinion." That says that someone somewhere was dead in sins and trespasses. I know, I know, that's a stretch, but that's just what I see there. "That doesn't mean that," they tell me. And whatever they offer in opposition, they end up erasing ... the text. Mind you, clearly it doesn't mean that "you were dead" refers to physically dead people or it would be pointless. In what sense, then, were "you dead"? Not physically, obviously. Not spiritually, they tell me. What ... emotionally? Financially? Socially? What "dead" makes sense in there? None. None at all, if they're to be believed. And anyone who claims that it means spiritually dead is offering opinion, not fact. Mind you, the warning was "the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Gen 2:17). They tell me, "You will not surely die!" God says sin causes death. Jesus, on the other hand, told Nicodemus that the only way to see the kingdom of God was to be "born again" (John 3:3). Paul writes, "And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses" (Col 2:13). There is clearly physically alive people being "made alive." "No there isn't. That's just your opinion."
The notion is that, by assigning the tag "opinion" to a statement, it negates the truth of the statement. No text, no clear reasoning, no careful analysis can budge that "opinion" tag. If it violates their opinion, yours is wrong, even if it's simply the text itself you're using. In this world, "I" becomes the final and ultimate authority ... and God is not. Not God. Not His Word. Not His Holy Spirit. Not even Jesus. "I decide what is true" and nothing else matters. Tag it and bag it. I would hope that all genuine believers would start first with the Word of God and reason from there rather than the rule of the world -- "me first."
3 comments:
The only "opinion" you expressed was that God's Word is true. It's your opinion that we should take God at His Word. What's ignored in that claim is that your opinion is backed up by logic, reason, history, and the constant validation of the truth of Scripture in what it claims about the world. An opinion based on how one feels holds a lot less weight than an opinion based on continuously validated facts.
I'm having this discussion with Dan right now, and his POV is fascinating. He seems to be saying that the only thing we know for sure is that someone wrote the words/sentences/paragraphs that are in the Bible, and that anything beyond that is subjective opinion.
The easy example is "Jesus wept.". It's perfectly clear that the writer is relating an incident where Jesus did, in fact, cry/weep. To say that coming to that conclusion is subjective is ridiculous. To come to another conclusion is equally ridiculous.
But more than that, if everything Dan says about scripture is just his subjective opinion, then it literally means nothing outside of his brain, biases, experiences, prejudices, and political bent. The problem is when he tries to express these subjective hunches as if they were objectively True.
Stan, you wrote: “God said it; that settles it. Doesn't really matter what I think. So my task is to read it and take it as truth.” I am glad to see you correct that erroneous old bumper sticker slogan: “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.” Yes, the middle phrase in that saying is irrelevant--and here is a perfect example for me of the distinction between “receive” (as in “I will believe this statement because it is straight from God’s Word”) and “accept” (as in “I will believe this statement because it aligns with my personal views”). Our “opinions” about Scripture only carry weight to the degree that they align with God’s--and that agreement should be our objective if we desire truth. For those who refuse to accept God’s Word at face value, the Bible--and the entire Christian faith--must be completely confounding and nonsensible, as constant “re-writing” and re-interpretation of Scripture would be required--essentially nullifying all of it as those people write their own (unholy) “bible.” What exhausting mental gymnastics! However, as you encourage us to do, if you take God’s Word at face value--rightly dividing it and interpreting Scripture with Scripture--one’s endeavors to reason through its doctrines, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is an effort leading to growth and enlightenment, rather than a constant battle of the mind.
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