Monday, February 23, 2015

Whosoever is Very Tall May Play on My Basketball Team

That means that anyone can play on your basketball team, right? Because you said "whosoever". This is the logic of some very sincere Christians, ones that should know better.

You can tell who slept through English class, or at least the classes on modifiers. There is a type of "toggle switch" mind set that is either on or off. I will say that people who do not understand the basics of language are in danger of grossly distorting Bible doctrine of even the simplest sort.

For many years, ignorance, simplistic thinking, or just plain crudity, have been considered the highest virtues. The motto of these "simple folk" has been, "I'm not much on book learning, but all I know is..." If applied to table manners, then eating with your fingers would be superior table manners. Books have been written about the supposed virtues of ignorance applied to Bible study.

My mother in law, a very nice lady, once said, "If you just read the Bible like a little child, you will have no problem understanding it." This was said while she was trapped in a legalistic cult that she only escaped from a few days before she died.

A simple faith, like that of a child, can and does save. But to escape the pitfalls of false doctrine we need the help of an understanding of language. To look up a contested scripture in a good study Bible really helps. First impressions are just as dangerous in reading the Bible as they are in cooking a delicious meal, or learning to fly a plane.

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