Bible Study or "Why The Thoughtful Theologian"

Why thoughtful theologian as the blog title?  Well, growing up in a baptist family since conception with a baptist preacher for a father and a baptist preacher for a grandfather, I have come across a great number of individuals who adhere to a particular doctrine so dogmatically that they would accuse you of heresy or even blasphemy for suggesting the theology that they believed in their entire lives might be wrong.  Suggesting that "The Baptist Faith and Message" could be wrong was fighting words where I came from.

This highlights one of the biggest problems with modern Christianity, in my opinion.  People approach Bible study having a preconceived notion of what they want to believe (or have heard all their lives) and then try to find justification for that belief in the Bible.  Using some verse or a few verses they can then justify their beliefs without considering what the rest of the Bible says on the subject.  Using just a few passages one could justify just about any point of view on any given subject.

If the Bible is true, and I believe it is, then it cannot contradict itself.  One of the principles of Biblical Interpretation, or Hermeneutics, (see below) is "Interpret difficult passages in the light of clear ones."  That means you cannot build a theology based on only a few cherry picked passages, you must consider what the entire work says about the subject.  Where a particular passage can be interpreted in more than one way, it must be interpreted such that it agrees with other passages which are clear on the subject.

I have heard many people say "Science and Faith should be kept separate."  The suggestion is normally made by a person who is not a believer and is trying to remain politically correct and is essentially saying "Science and faith don't agree and science is truth.  You are free to believe whatever you want but science and faith are not compatible, so keep creationism out of the schools."  I reject this notion altogether.

My entire worldview was changed by the great work being done by the folks at Reasons To Believe.  Their basic premise says God is the author of two books, the book of General Revelation (Nature) and the book of Special Revelation (The Bible).  Since God is truth and God spoke both books into existence, then both must agree.  Therefore where Science and a particular interpretation of the Bible don't agree, either science is wrong or that interpretation of the Bible is wrong (the Bible itself is never wrong, only our interpretation of it).

A good example of an interpretation of the Bible being wrong is the idea, based on the Bible's description of "the four corners of the earth", that the earth is flat.  Observation from space clearly shows that the earth is spherical and thus we now understand that the "four corners" reference is metaphorical and the interpretation which results in the belief that the earth is flat is incorrect.

Science is ever changing and the more we discover about science the more we see harmony with the Bible.  Any scientific hypothesis or theory is only as good as its latest test, thus, our interpretation of nature (science) is also routinely proven wrong.

As a teenager, I once told my Sunday School teacher that I believe the Bible because it makes sense to me and if someone could show me something that made more sense I would have to consider it.  I thought she was going to swoon.  "Never question your faith", she told me, "that's the way the devil gets hold of you."  I couldn't disagree more.  If my faith can't stand up to scrutiny then there is something wrong with my faith!  If I hold so tightly to a particular doctrine that if that doctrine is proven incorrect my faith is shattered then what good has my faith been to me?

Having said that, there are a few basic tenets of Christianity which are beyond dispute.  These things cannot be disproven and thus are beyond question.

1. Jesus is God and as such has the authority to forgive sin (Revelation 1:8; John 10:30,34-38).
2. We are all sinners (Romans 3:23)
3. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)
4. Acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior is the only means of salvation (John 14:6)

In  a future post I will address these basic tenets in more detail, but these verses when applied to salvation mean quite simply that the way to salvation is to a) admit your are a sinner in need of salvation, b) believe in your heart that Jesus is God and is capable of saving you from your sins, and c) ask him to be Lord of your life and save you from your sins.  Everything else is just doctrine and is subject to interpretation.

So I say test your faith!  Analyze your doctrine examining it for flaws and reformulate your beliefs based on Biblical truths rather than dogma.

I like to approach Bible study in the same way a scientist approaches a problem, with the scientific method.  The scientific method was actually borne out of 1 Thessalonians 5:21, "but test all things. Hold on to what is good. (HCSB)."  I take a particular question and formulate an hypothesis.  For example, I take the question "Does Hell exist?"

I look for every passage about hell that I can find in the Bible to see what it says about hell.  I look in the Old Testament for references to Sheol.  In the New Testament I look for references to Hell and Gehenna.  I follow center line references and look at text notes.  I read what various commentators have to say on the subject (commentators on both sides of a subject, not just the ones who espouse what I want to believe), and then I formulate an hypothesis which is my opinion on the subject until I find a reason to change my opinion.  In this case my hypothesis might be "Yes, hell does exist."

Once I have formulated an hypothesis (my opinion at this point), then as I'm doing further study on this or any other subject, I look for flaws in my opinion.  If I find any passage which challenges my current belief then I reevaluate my belief in light of this new information.  In this way, I do not hold so tightly to any particular doctrine that my faith can be shattered if something I've believed my entire life turns out not to be true.

So, based on my new outlook on doctrine and dogma, I am ever searching for the truth and ever re-evaluating my beliefs (other than the basic tenets of the faith as outlined above) based on what I find.

So the thoughts you will find discussed in this blog will be on subjects on which I have done a great deal of study and have formulated an opinion.  My opinion is always subject to change and comments are welcome.  Some of my greatest discussions have been with atheists who have challenged my faith forcing me to dig ever deeper into the Bible searching for answers to hard problems.  These are the discussions which strengthen my faith more than any other.  The more hard questions I can answer with confidence the stronger my faith becomes.

Having said that, there are some questions which defy easy answers.  These are typically philosophical questions on which the Bible is largely silent.  On these issues, I hold to the wise council of my good friend Pat Marsh: "I don't know the answer, but I have a good and just God and I trust Him to do the right thing."


My intent is to understand the Bible as clearly as possible based on direct study and not on doctrinal dogma.  Studying one subject often leads to questions about other subjects which I try to jot down and study later.  I look for any holes I can find in my opinions and try to resolve them through direct Bible study, logic, and/or reason.  Thus the title "The Thoughtful Theologian."

I hope you find it interesting.

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Principles for interpreting scripture (hermeneutics):

1. The Unexplained Is Not Necessarily Unexplainable.  It is a mistake to assume that because it cannot be explained by you and now that it is unexplainable.
2. Fallible Interpretations Do Not Mean Fallible Revelation.  The Bible is infallible in its original language and in its original version.  A misinterpretation is not indicative of fallibility of the original document in its original language.
3. Understand the Context of the Passage.  “A text out of context is a pretext.”  The Bible says “there is no God”, actually what it says is “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God” (Ps. 14:1).
4. Interpret Difficult Passages in the Light of Clear Ones.  If a scripture can be interpreted in more than one way it should be interpreted in a way that is harmonious with other scripture on the same topic i.e. Thou shalt not kill.
5. Don’t base teaching on obscure passages.  The perspicuity (clearness) of Scripture: “the main things are the plain things, and the plain things are the main things”.  If it is important it will be clearly taught.  When in doubt, refer to #4.
6. The Bible is a Human Book with Human Characteristics.  Biblical authors use expressions of speech (i.e. hyperbole) and should not always be taken literally (1 Co 13:1-3).
7. Just Because a Report is Incomplete Does Not Mean It Is False.  One gospel account refers to one angel at the tomb and another refers to two.  The first is not incongruous with the second unless it states one and only one angel was present (which is not the case.  See the differences of the tomb incident in all four gospels).
8. New Testament Citations of the Old Testament Need Not Always Be Exact.  On many instances the New Testament author will paraphrase the Old Testament author.
9. The Bible Does Not Necessarily Approve of All It Records.  The Bible records lies and deception but that does not mean it approves of those actions.
10. The Bible Uses Non-Technical Everyday Language.  If the Bible states the sun rose on a certain day it is not inaccurate even though we know the sun does not “rise” per se.
11. The Bible May Use Both Round Numbers and Exact Numbers.  If the Bible states an army contained 10,000 men it might have had 9,927.  Rounding is not inaccurate, it is just rounded.
12. Note When the Bible Uses Different Literary Devices.  The context will usually determine whether a statement should be taken literally or figuratively.
13. An Error in a Copy Does Not Equate to an Error in the Original.  Inerrancy only applies to the original documents (autographs).
14. General Statements Don’t Necessarily Mean Universal Promises.  Proverbs is a collection of generalized truths and not literal promises.
15. Later Revelation Supersedes Previous Revelation.  God shows us in Jonah that he can and will change his mind.  He also has different rules for living in the Old Testament period than in the New Testament period.[1]

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[1] Entire list (with my comments added) taken from The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999, pp 46-51.