Personal Interpretation Of The Bible

I examined Jeremiah 13:1-11in these three translations: New International Version (NIV), English Standard Version (ESV), and The Message (MSG); most of the perspectives will be coming from the NIV. The NIV calls this narrative ‘A Linen Belt’, the ESV called it ‘The Ruined Loincloth’, and the MSG called it ‘People Who Do Only What They Want to Do’. The story starts out with God telling Jeremiah to buy a linen belt and not to let it touch water. Jeremiah bought the linen belt and tied it around his waist just as God told him to do. Then God said to him that he should take the belt to Perath (possibly the Euphrates) and hide it in a crevice amongst the rocks. Jeremiah obeyed God, went to Perath and hid the linen belt in a crevice between the rocks. Many days later God told him that he should go get the belt that he hid amongst the rocks and Jeremiah listened to God so he went back to Perath to retrieve the linen belt. Jeremiah retrieved the belt, but now has a belt that is ruined and useless. Then God said, “In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless!  For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me, to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they

Because of aspects like how someone was raised and what type of culture they lived in, individuals interpret the Bible differently. This means that even if an individual believes the Bible is the inherent word of God, they may not have the same beliefs as someone who declares the same claim.

A worldview is the overall structure that a human being can use to interpret the world and how it applies to their life individually. It is what people believe about the big questions in their lives; who are we, how did we get here, is God real and why are we here? In today’s modern world, there are many different views regarding the natural world, human identity, human relationships, and culture. This paper will focus on the worldview and implications of these topics based on the Bible, in particular, Romans 1-8, and how it still applies in today’s world.

As Scott Duvall and Daniel Hays state in Grasping God’s Word, every copy of the Bible today is a translation, “unless everyone wants to learn Hebrew and Greek (the Bible’s original languages)… (Duvall and Hays 23). This being the case, people may debate which translation is more accurate; however, the best way to understand the Bible is by reading several different translations and comparing them to one another. The main reason several translations helps people grasp the full meaning of Scripture is because some translations are word for word, which is the formal approach in translation and gives a reader the closest possible words from when the text was written. On the other hand, the more functional approach in translation is thought for

How does being familiar with a biblical worldview help us understand the big picture of God’s design, and how can you apply that understanding to your calling?

181). Religion was integrated into their life. As the Industrial Age progressed, the strong religious values weakened through generations. “Female education should be preeminently religious” (p.182). The woman was the primary teacher of her child and was expected to teach themselves religion and be able to teach their children as well. “One reason religion was valued was that it did not take a woman away from her “proper sphere, her home.” (p. 181) Women only completed grade school and had many opportunities to read the bible so they were also able to preach family values, help the poor and contribute to stopping slavery. Devotion to religion was expected. Welter explains that a woman’s brain is capable of comprehending religion even though it is not visible. As the Industrial Age progressed, the strong religious values weakened through generations. Submission, another principle, kept women from voicing her opinion when having a discussion with their husbands or telling their husbands to terminate an annoying idiosyncrasy. “Wives were advised to do their best to reform men, but if they couldn’t, to give up gracefully. If any habit of his annoyed me, I spoke of it once or twice calmly, then bore it quietly.”(p. 186) She would reinforce her submissiveness by wearing tight corsets which would limit her breathing and physical mobility and remain uncomfortable. They were expected to be subservient to men as well as homemakers. “In Women of

The Bible can be interpreted in a literal form ( i.e. direct instruction) or figurative form (i.e. poetical language). How one interprets the bible either by direct instruction or poetic language depends on how they were taught (Graham, 2009). There are two different categories professed and controlling beliefs in which a person operates within. A professed belief is generated by a formal verbal instruction which usually results in one’s behaviors not fully match with their beliefs. A controlling belief is generated by experiences that most often lead to one’s behaviors closely matching their beliefs because of what they perceive as truth (Graham,

Generally, I find the theology behind the numerous aspects of the Bible not only, helpful, but also fascinating. Learning about the four different views about God’s role in the inspiration of the Bible makes me more aware of the theology behind certain doctrines and principles I may not have been aware of. This unit has forced me to tear down my assumptions about the Bible and go into the Bible with a new perspective of innocence. Through having an open-mind I am able to have important conversations with people, about the Bible, from all Christian backgrounds. Additionally, learning about the multitudes of translations of the Bible, and how they fall into three distinct categories, has helped me understand there are different purposes and intended audiences for each translation of the Bible. Before, I struggled with the fact that there were so many English translations of the Bible, but now I understand each one

Scripture opens with a witness to the act of God in creation. This fact points to us that understanding the world as the creation of the infinite-personal God is a fundamental starting point in constructing any kind of adequate theology. What is also clear is that it is important to get this understanding right, to the extent that we can do so. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1 HCSB) (Akin, Theology of the church). But with the revelation of the speaking God who has told us what he has done should make us want to please him each and every day and to show him we love him to.

Jesus Christ, God incarnate came to earth to save everyone from eternal damnation in hell. As humans, with Adam and Eve as our representatives in the Garden of Eden, they broke God’s one commandment, therefore allowing sin to come into the world. Because of this fall, we all deserve damnation, and because of the sin nature inside of us, everyone deserves to die and be eternally punished. However, because of the loving and gracious nature of God, He sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross to be our representative for sin. When he took the cross, not only did he bear the physical pain of the lashes, the dehydration, and the cross itself, but he also drank God’s cup of wrath for us. Everyone on earth deserves to be on that cross, but Jesus, through his great love for us, paid the ultimate price of his own life to save us.

The word fornication comes from the Greek word porneia. In the Bible, porneia is roughly translated to sexual immortality which was later interpreted to include adultery, anal sex, oral sex, homosexual sex, sexual possessions, etcetera, by the Christians. Today in the Catholic church, sex is strictly seen as a necessary act needed to procreate the catholic church. They equate the rising interest in sex as a rise of devil’s activity in the world. This is the result of an archaic interpretation of the bible and especially Paul’s work in the new testament. The church condemns sex because it demotes us to animals, and as chosen people of Christ, they adhere to archaic laws to be pure, instead of following a natural way of life.

Women reflect the glory of man and must cover their heads during public worship according to St. Paul.

The best place to start is Ephesians 5:22-24, “22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” This verse is all you need to see that God commands a woman to submit to her husband and follow his authority. As any Christian would know, God’s word is the final word and we should not need any other reason to follow his commands. In the 20th century women’s rights is an extremely large and controversial topic. People now a days are so caught up in the fight for personal rights. Women see that they can be independent in the workplace and earn just as much as men. This makes it hard for women to accept that they must be submissive to men and allow the man to make all the final decisions in the home and in their

The bible was written as an account of what many viewed that God had accomplished so his actions and words could be passed on for generations. Some believe it is a literary account and some believe it is a historical account. The word of God in the bible comes in many forms and is left up to interpretation by the reader. Some believe that the word of God should be the only word and should be strictly followed. Some believe that the words are meant as a guideline to help us through life. Whatever your belief is you can always seem to find the meaning behind your belief through the word of God in the Bible.

Biblical Interpretation is important and necessary so that we can understand what the text is saying, what the intended theological message is, and how to personally apply and teach these Scriptural truths to carry forward the Gospel in rescuing others from despair and death to hope and life, thus displaying His glory and growing His Kingdom. It is about finding what God is revealing about Himself and His Son Jesus Christ. Moreover, it is for us to know that God desires to have a relationship with us and for us to be set apart in a covenant relationship with Him to display holy lives that bring Him glory. Interpretation, using hermeneutical principles, help guide us in proper boundaries for interpreting Scripture so that we can reveal the intended meaning of the text. Without this, we run the risk of imposing our own ideas on the text, therefore misinterpreting. Misinterpreting can cause us to miss theological truths, administer the wrong application, and neglect or overlook the meaning of the text which weakens the impact of God’s truth in our personal lives as well as others we are teaching.