Taking the bible as a whole.

[Riverwalker]

It has always been so easy for me to take a scripture and run with it and try and create a doctrine from it.  But that always leads us into trouble. Our focus gets too dialed in sometimes to see the big picture

 

 

Like the above if we let our view narrow too far, we not only will miss the big picture, but we will miss how what we are focusing on fits into the big picture

The bible is a living breathing thing, made up of many parts that are fitted neatly together, and if you start dissecting  things from the whole, they soon become dead and rotten.

Edited June 28, 2021 by Riverwalker

[Riverwalker]

3 minutes ago, Josheb said:

Yep. 

I would add the "dialing in" usually occurs beforehand, not actually as a consequence of reading the one verse removed from its surroundings. Many of us have been taught to do this by the commonly practice of radio preachers and televangelists that blow through single verses selectively cut and pasted together in justification of a point being made that may well have little or nothing to do with the whole of scripture. Many other bad practices have begun with this bad practice. How many times have we heard/read 2 Timothy 3:16 cited in complete neglect of the "All..." that starts the verse in order to justify single-verse usage? Or how often is that verse cited in neglect of the whole sentence of which that one verse is only a part? That's just one of countless examples we hear and read every day. 

How can a person who's never read the whole Bible even understand what "whole scripture" means in practice?

 

Spot on exactly

[Raven]

Focus on the Truth of the matter.

[Guest]

Too many people build their version of the "truth" by taking scriptures out of context.  As an example, I've always wondered about the meaning of

(Genesis 14:18)  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)  [ESV]

and all other verses about Melchizedek in both the old and new testaments.  There so much in the Bible that's not covered in your Sunday service.  Lately I've read Ancient Order of Melchizedek by Ken Johnson Th.D, and The Unseen Realm by Dr. Michael S. Heiser which both delve into scriptures missed or overlooked when reading the Bible.

[Riverwalker]

14 hours ago, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

Too many people build their version of the "truth" by taking scriptures out of context.  As an example, I've always wondered about the meaning of

(Genesis 14:18)  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)  [ESV]

and all other verses about Melchizedek in both the old and new testaments.  There so much in the Bible that's not covered in your Sunday service.  Lately I've read Ancient Order of Melchizedek by Ken Johnson Th.D, and The Unseen Realm by Dr. Michael S. Heiser which both delve into scriptures missed or overlooked when reading the Bible.

So true.  Sometimes the hardest thing for a Christian to say is "I don't know". But if the bible is not explicit on a subject, we cannot be

[Arrabon]

For me @Riverwalker, understanding the small individual parts helps me to understand the "big picture", and how all those small parts fit together in unity and harmony, makes God's word complete and without any contradictions.

I love that, don't you?

Arrabon

[Riverwalker]

8 minutes ago, Arrabon said:

For me @Riverwalker, understanding the small individual parts helps me to understand the "big picture", and how all those small parts fit together in unity and harmony, makes God's word complete and without any contradictions.

I love that, don't you?

Arrabon

I have often thought of it as an impressionist painting, when looking  closely, we see the colors and brush strokes of the master but stepping back we see the image they create. Look closely at the detail of the Monet, it appears almost undiscernable. But take a step back and we get the "impression"

[Sower]

1 hour ago, Josheb said:

Yes, some of the most amazing aspects of the Bible is its diversity of style, literary methodology, and use of actual history to evidence a single story or truth. Not only should every Christian read the Bible at least once from beginning to end but they should do so a second time chronologically! When the Bible was compiled the common practice was to place the larger books of each genre first. This is why Matthew is the first gospel and Romans the first epistle (despite the fact it was one of the last written chronologically). When we read through the scriptures chronologically a greater awareness of the evolution of challenges experienced among the Hebrews first and later the Church and how they were addressed. It brings an additional continuity. 

Thanks, I hadn't known/considered that.
Is a chronological Aramaic bible, or other, available out there that you recommend?