To What Extent Should We Approach Scripture With Completely Open Minds?

Should we come to the text with completely open minds, or should we hold some ideas and convictions with certainty? This may be a poor example to help illustrate my question, but in Ephesians 2, Paul speaks about Christ abolishing the law. Christ himself says he came to fulfill the law and the prophets. Is it cowardly, faulty, and/or problematic in some way to be committed to analyzing and studying from the perspective that Paul cannot be contradicting Christ who cannot be contradicting the Old Testament writings? Or should we be willing to explore openly and to accept whatever conclusions our analysis leads to, which in this scenario could be something like Paul is actually saying something Christ would not.

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What Is Meant By Calling Marriage A Natural Institution?

If marriage is a pre-political institution then none of the measures laid down by the state (e.g. registration, marriage certificates etc.) make a marriage legitimate in God’s eyes. In which case, what does constitute a legitimate marriage in God’s eyes? One answer I’ve been given, based on Genesis 1-2, is something along the lines of: a man and a woman who make promises to each other before God and some witnesses. What are you thoughts on this, and which passage(s) would you use to make your case?

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Tips For Reading Your Bible Better

How do you go about noticing intertextual links? Is is mostly intuitive based on large exposure to the Bible? Do you do particular searches? Is it just checking cross-references (is there a similar apparatus for the BHS like there is for the NA28, for instance)? Any insight is appreciated.

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Do you have any set notetaking when it comes to Scripture in order to remember insights, intertextual links, important points on tricky passages, etc.? If yes, how do you go about it and organize it?

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Why is Lot Called ‘Righteous’ Even Though He Offered His Daughters to the Men of Sodom?

How are we to interpret Lot’s offering of his two virgin daughters to the men of Sodom when they surround his house and demand that he brings out his guests so that they may have sex with them in Genesis 19? Was it such an unthinkable breach of hospitaility to let his guests be molested in this way that he desperately resorted to a lesser of two evils? Or was the offer simply a stalling tactic as he knew that the men of Sodom would not accept it anyway? How does 2 Peter 2:7 control our interpretation of the passage and of Lot’s life in general?

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