Purpose
I find it appropriate to start this blog off by stating its purpose. I’ve been seeking a milieu lately for my own random thoughts, particularly with regards to theology. I have a xanga blog, but that is more of a ‘hey this is what’s going on with me’ type of blog. It’s sometimes performed this function, but I desired to have something I could devote solely to this purpose. I have found myself in minor disagreement lately with some of the people around me on the ‘finer points’ of theology, and I’ve only had one recourse when it comes to discussing these: my wife. But while she agrees with me on many things, and humors my ramblings, she has trouble understanding that when I ramble about such, I’m not trying to complain about the people I disagree with, I’m just trying to speak the Truth. Besides which, it is a lot to dump on her, and it stresses her out. So I have this as an alternative outlet. You may wonder why I don’t just speak the truth to the people with whom I disagree… Well that’s a good question and gets at the heart of what really frustrates me: many of them are so closed minded to the point where they don’t consider opposing view points. So if I disagree, I’m either ignored or ridiculed. Besides, I consider it rude to voice opinions before you’ve gained the respect of your audience - unless they ask for your opinion. Maybe as I earn their respect I’ll be able to share my opinions more, but that will come with time.
My passion is for Truth, and while I am not so arrogant to think that I know all the Truth, or that any of the Truth I do know I know fully, or understand the full implications of, I do have a passion to communicate the Truth that I know. The trouble I run into, however, is that I don’t necessarily know how to say what I want to (or think I need to) in a tactful way, so as not to attack the individual apart from the supposition. Thus, this is my ‘practicing ground’ so to speak, where I can hone my ability to speak Truth. I don’t know yet where this is going to lead. As of this moment, God has not called me to be a pastor - yet. If He does at some point, though, I want to be ready. Could He be using this desire of mine to prepare me? Possibly.
It should be obviously noted here that I do believe there is such a thing as Truth. I believe God to be the definition of Truth. Can we know truth? Yes we can. However we cannot know all Truth and we cannot have 100% certainty about what we know. We can have enough certainty to act as though we have 100% certainty, but there is always a measure of faith in anything we know. Whether we claim to know the origin of the universe, or whether the knee bone is connected to the leg bone, we have to accept at least part of it on faith.
Your Job
Here’s what I want from you, the reader. I want you to critique me. Not necessarily my beliefs (although if I say something that is definitively wrong, please by all means correct me), but critique my delivery. If I could state something more tactfully - please correct me. If I have made a sweeping generalization - correct me. If I have made an ad hominem, post hoc, or any other logical fallacy - correct me. If I make a supposition that I could support better - ask me to. If I use a big word that you would like me to define, please ask me to. If you feel you must challenge a Truth claim I have made, feel free to do so, but please support your challenge. I do not want anyone to dislike what I have said and submit an unsupported rebuttal.
My style
I like exposition. I prefer to take passages and extract Theology from them. I feel that anything other than an exegetical approach to Scripture leads to us placing our own presuppositions above the authority of Scripture. If we eisegete the Scripture, we use our suppositions and beliefs to determine our interpretation of Scripture. If we exegete the Scripture, we use the Bible to decide what our beliefs ought to be. This is not to say I will never be topical, or eisegete, but I will make it a priority to never take a passage outside of its immediate context, and wherever necessary will explain such.
To clear up confusion:
ex·e·ge·sis - [ek-si-jee-sis]
noun: critical explanation or interpretation of a text or portion of a text, esp. of the Bible.1
eis·e·ge·sis - [ahy-si-jee-sis]
noun: an interpretation, esp. of Scripture, that expresses the interpreter’s own ideas, bias, or the like, rather than the meaning of the text.2
Essentially. The prefix exe- in Exegesis means ‘out of’, whereas the prefix ‘eise’ in Eisegesis means ‘into’. The Greek words from which these are derived literally mean ‘to lead out’3 and ‘to lead in’4. So the layman definition of exegesis is ‘to extract the interpretation of Scripture from Scripture.’ And the corresponding layman definition of eisegesis is ‘to read the interpretation into the Scripture.’
Here’s what exegesis and eisegesis looks like. Exegesis takes a passage, like John 3:16 and does the following:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
- John 3:16This passage tells us that God loves the World, that He gave us His Son, and that anyone who believes in Christ will not perish.
Whereas Eisegesis does this:
We know God loves us. John 3:16, John 11:3, John 13:34, John 14:21-23, John 15:9… and so on
(This is also an excellent example of proof-texting). While both lead to an accurate understanding that God loves us, the first take the Scripture and extracts the Truth, whereas the second takes the Truth and extracts the Scripture. The problem with the second approach is that it can lead to inaccuracies. If one starts with at false supposition, it is possible to remove Scripture passages from their respective contexts to prove something that is false. Recall Christ’s temptation in the desert when Satan tempted Christ by quoting Scripture to Him - out of context Scripture that is.
That is why, I believe, any Truth that we treasure ought to be found through careful exegesis of Scripture. As such, I may give cross references for my suppositions, but I will usually give you a whole chapter, or long section to contemplate, rather than a single out of context verse. I challenge you that any cross reference I give you ought to be taken and exegeted. I don’t put the cross references there so that you can be impressed by my depth of research (because if I was trying to do that I would be living a lie), but so you can research further to inform your understanding of the Truth.
I’m hoping that this blog will spark some insightful discussion. That you the reader and I the writer can sharpen each others understanding of the Truth. And that through it all, Christ would be glorified, and we could find some sort of fellowship through this - though fellowship is best accomplished in person.
- Definition from Dictionary.com
- Definition from Dictionary.com
- Exegesis according to Reference.com
- Eisegesis according to Reference.com