Taking the Bible Literally ...
... is more than you think!
We hear, from many good people that one should take the Bible literally. That
it is an unchanging document and it should be greatly respected. I agree with
all of that. I really do. The problem is that I also believe that I should be
open-minded about what I think the Bible says, because it is possible for me
(and others) to be wrong! Here's an analogy, from a true story, about taking something
'word-for-word'.
When I was growing up in New Jersey, back in the early 60's, one of the top
shows on television was the Red Skeleton Show. He was a great comedian, and
often had great guests. On this particular day, his main guest was the comedian
Milton Berle. Milton shared with Red the following introduction that Milton
wanted Red to use to introduce him. It read like this:
Ladies and Gentlemen! I want to introduce to you a man among men! Who belongs
nowhere but in show business! Who cares for nothing but a laugh! I give you
Milton Berle!
Well, before we take the easy step and show you how Red totally changed the
meaning of this introduction without changing a single word, let's make this
more like scripture. Let's write that phrase above the way that Hebrew was once
written: Without vowels. So we would have:
Lds nd Gntlmn! wnt t ntrdc t y mn mng mn! Wh blngs nwhr bt n shw bsnss! Wh
crs fr nthng bt lgh! gv y Mltn Brl!
Wow. That's very different. But we are not yet done. Not only did ancient
Hebrew not have vowels, it did not have punctuation marks, nor any spaces
between the words! I am also told that there was no capitalization of letters!
So, let's go there as well:
ldsndgntlmnwnttntrdctymnmngmnwhblngs
nwhrbtnshwbsnsswhcrsfrnthngbtlghgvymltnbrl
Wow again! Now that makes no sense at all, does it? Seeing some of the words
is possible, but very difficult. Let's go back one step, and reconstruct the
spaces and capitalization, without the vowels. But, I will make some minor
changes that don't affect the words. If you don't spot them, don't worry. The
next step will give you Red Skeleton's 'revised' introduction that brought the
crowd to its feet in delight.
Lds nd gntlmn wnt t ntrdc t y mn. mng mn wh blngs nwhr. Bt n shw bsnss, wh crs?
Fr nthng bt lgh gv y Mltn Brl!
When you're done trying to figure that out, just go on to the next part, and
be ready to laugh at Milton's expense and at the routine they created.
Ladies and gentleman I want to introduce to you a man. Among men who belongs
nowhere. But in show business, who cares? For nothing but a laugh I give you Milton Berle!
Here's Milton's original again, compare it to Red's revision.
Ladies and Gentlemen! I want to introduce to you a man among men! Who belongs
nowhere but in show business! Who cares for nothing but a laugh! I give you
Milton Berle!
Quite the difference isn't it? Here's another way to make a huge difference
in meaning, this time by translation. Now, we all know that a "little
kitten" and a "little cat" is the same thing, right? Well in many cases that's
true, and in many languages they are the same. But if we are translating from
another language the phrase that the man called his wife while they were in
the living room, the phrases (at least, in American culture today) would have
virtually opposite meanings! When a man calls his wife a "little kitten", there
is purring going on! Yet, when a man calls his wife a "little cat" it
sounds like the fur
is flying!
So the only way to know which translation is correct, or more precisely, the
only way to have a better understanding of what was said, and what was meant, is
to go beyond the "literal" to an understanding of what was happening!
That takes prayer, listening and most importantly, God's help!
Now, here are two examples of this type of error
happening in scripture. There first is from the Old Testament, the second from
the New Testament. Even though the second is from the Greek, not the Hebrew, the
principle, and the challenge remain the same.
I have sat in on a sermon, where the preacher condemned all desires, based on
the first verse of the 23rd Psalm, which he read out of the King James Version
as: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."
Here the preacher was unaware that in 1611, when
the King James Version was written, that the phrase "not want" meant "have
everything I need". This verse refers to God's provision of our needs, not the
denial of all desires. Well meant, but not complete.
In our other example, we'll look at the time that Jesus told the disciples about
false prophets that are to come. Here is the scripture I refer to, Matthew
24:4-5 in several versions:
King James Version: "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that
no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and
shall deceive many."
New King James Version: "And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed
that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the
Christ,' and will deceive many."
New International Version: "Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one
deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and
will deceive many."
Good News: "Jesus answered, "Watch out, and do not let anyone fool you.
Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come and say, 'I am the Messiah!' and
they will fool many people."
New American Bible: "Jesus said to them in reply, "See that no one
deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Messiah,' and
they will deceive many."
Four of the five versions above make it very clear that what this passage is
saying is that people will claim to be the Messiah and will fool many. The
King James Version alone leaves another possibility, which is that many
people will come telling us that Jesus is the Messiah, and will deceive many
about the question's answer.
The Greek is best translated by the King James Version (so it appears to me,
anyway) which appears to read that many church-going people will be deceived by
the church. No, not on who Christ is, but on the question that the apostles
asked which He was answering! So, it appears that, many leaders who claim
that Jesus is the Messiah will deceive people as to His return and the signs of
the end of the age!
My point is this, look at that group of consonants above, and be humble about
how well you understand what God is telling you. Remember also that the Hebrew
law would not allow a fact to be established by only one witness. Use that when
studying the Bible: If God is telling us something, He'll tell us in more than
one way, in more than one set of scripture. He doesn't contradict Himself, we
only misunderstand when we jump to an answer too quickly!
- The Apostle's Doctrine (March, 2003)
- The Battle Between Good and Evil (January, 2003)
- Heaven's Boot Camp (January, 2003)
- Cancer Cells of the Body (January, 2003)
- Born Again/Saved? (January, 2003)
- Harmony in the Orchestra (October, 2002)
- Carpenter's Tools (October 2002)
- Serve the Bride or Love the Groom (June 2002)
- David Seceded Saul (May 2002)
- Personal Relationship With Jesus? Hah! (April 2002)
- Literal reading of the Bible? (March, 2002)
- The Parable of the Sower (December, 2001)
- But Coach, you don't understand!
- A Light in Darkness is supposed to be surrounded!
- How are piles of manure and ships in harbor related?
- Should we educate using mass production techniques?
- Lenses stained by blood are red!
- Who is responsible for my salvation?
- What does the 3rd commandment really mean?
- If Satan is present in your life, what does that mean?
- Are you focusing on your spiritual growth? Oops!
- Daddy, why does an iron get out wrinkles?
- Why did John baptize people?
- True, but not helpful!
| 
Site
Map
