I Thes 5:22

[Guest shiloh357]

7 hours ago, Running Gator said:

But this is not how the verse is used by many today.  If this word relates to lawlessness, unrighteous, wickedness then having a meal with a woman other than your spouse or family member would and could never fall into that meaning. 

Riding in car with a woman other than your spouse or family member would and could never fall into that meaning. 

In the church today this verse is used to control any and all behavior that the leaders of the church find wrong, irrregardless of if it lawless, unrighteous, or wicked

That's an issue of application, not interpretation.

And it is a legitimate application.    If someone says, "I want to avoid the appearance of adultery, so I will not be alone  publicly or privately with a man or woman who is not my spouse,"  that  is a perfectly valid application of that verse. 

Billy Graham, Grady Wilson, Cliff Barrow and George Beverly Shea, who at one time made up the Billy Graham Evangelistic Team, made a pact that they would not be alone publicly or privately with a woman who was not their spouse for any reason.   And they honored that pact for the duration of their lives and ministry.   Billy Graham would not even ride alone in the same elevator with a woman without someone else there.  People mock that commitment, but the BGEA, to this day, is just about the ONLY public, para-church ministry that has been around as long as they have, that has not come under either financial or sexual scandal.  

No one is using that verse to control how people live or behave.   That is just your cynical nonsense in operation.   You don't have to like how someone people choose to apply that verse. You don't have to agree with it, either.  But it is a valid application, nonetheless.

 

[Running Gator]

3 hours ago, shiloh357 said:

That's an issue of application, not interpretation.

And it is a legitimate application.    If someone says, "I want to avoid the appearance of adultery, so I will not be alone  publicly or privately with a man or woman who is not my spouse,"  that  is a perfectly valid application of that verse. 

It is a legitimate application if "appearance" is the correct translation.  I do not believe that it is.  And it also begs the question, who is it that sees a man and woman riding in a car and thinks to themselves "those people are having an affair" and what is wrong in their life that they would think such a thing.

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 No one is using that verse to control how people live or behave.   That is just your cynical nonsense in operation.   You don't have to like how someone people choose to apply that verse. You don't have to agree with it, either.  But it is a valid application, nonetheless.

Actually it is done frequently by the church leadership, I have seen it happen for the last 30 years.  I have no real issue with how anyone applies this verse to their own life, it is when they try to use it to tell others how to live that I have issues with. 

[LadyKay]

On 11/2/2017 at 7:50 AM, Running Gator said:

Based upon the context of the rest of the chapter, it is my view that the KJV folks got it wrong.

The 2nd part of the chapter in which this verse falls in is all about actions, not appearances.  

I tend to agree. I mean what is the appearance of evil after all. How does something appear evil?  (takes me back to my goth days) Language and how we speak changes over time. The meanings and such. So it maybe that the KJV was right at the time it was written for. But not so much now.  

[LadyKay]

13 hours ago, coheir said:

Seeing a few beers in ones fridge should not appear to a reasonable person as evil.

Clearly you never met my grandma. She beat you over the head with the Bible if she sees beer in your fridge. 

[Guest shiloh357]

1 hour ago, Running Gator said:

It is a legitimate application if "appearance" is the correct translation.  I do not believe that it is.  And it also begs the question, who is it that sees a man and woman riding in a car and thinks to themselves "those people are having an affair" and what is wrong in their life that they would think such a thing.

And appearance is the correct translation and makes more sense.  

It's just being in a car, but anywhere.  It is about avoiding the potential.  I guess when your Christian witness means something to you, you think about those things, and potential for people falsely accuse you for something you didn't do.   Appearances matter for those who care about how their public witness appears to the world. 

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Actually it is done frequently by the church leadership, I have seen it happen for the last 30 years.  I have no real issue with how anyone applies this verse to their own life, it is when they try to use it to tell others how to live that I have issues with. 

No, it is not done frequently by Church leadership.  In fact, the worldliness of the church would witness against that claim.   It's actually quite the opposite.

[Guest shiloh357]

25 minutes ago, LadyKay said:

I tend to agree. I mean what is the appearance of evil after all. How does something appear evil?  (takes me back to my goth days) Language and how we speak changes over time. The meanings and such. So it maybe that the KJV was right at the time it was written for. But not so much now.  

That's not how it works.   The word in Greek is not some obscure word that can be translated 20 different ways   It is a word that is used to refer to corruption, immorality, wickedness, lawlessness, etc.   It is a word that pretty clear about what is evil.  And we are not to live in a manner that makes us appear to fit into that description.

[Running Gator]

3 minutes ago, shiloh357 said:

That's not how it works.   The word in Greek is not some obscure word that can be translated 20 different ways  

I am not so sure.  The word "eidos" that the KJV translates as appearance in 1 Thes 5 is used 5 times in the New Testament and the KJV folks translated it 4 different ways.   So, while it is not 20 ways....

[LadyKay]

12 minutes ago, shiloh357 said:

That's not how it works.   The word in Greek is not some obscure word that can be translated 20 different ways   It is a word that is used to refer to corruption, immorality, wickedness, lawlessness, etc.   It is a word that pretty clear about what is evil.  And we are not to live in a manner that makes us appear to fit into that description.

I'm not sure what I said that got you going here but I don't think that's what I meant. 

[LadyKay]

16 minutes ago, shiloh357 said:

And we are not to live in a manner that makes us appear to fit into that description.

Oh. That's interesting. I wonder what that would be? How would one be living in a manner that makes them appear evil? There are so many many things that can come to mind. So many many things that can make someone appear to be evil to someone else.  When they are not evil at all.  I am very open and accepting of anyone regardless of what they may look like, so I can't just look at someone and say "well they appear evil".  So I don't really get this "appearance of evil stuff".  So Anyway, If you could? I will welcome your input on what kind of things would make a person appear to be evil. I find it interesting to understand how other people think. 

[OldSchool2]

28 minutes ago, shiloh357 said:

And appearance is the correct translation and makes more sense....

1 Thessalonians 5:22 (Amplified Bible)

²² Abstain from every form of evil [withdraw and keep away from it]....