CHRIST ON THE CROSS

Thanks for your insight on the Psalm.

I read that Psalm often, especially during Holy Week. Take care.

Thanks for the comment. I think it is the most eye-opening thing written in the Bible when you break it down. Take care, yourself and God bless.

I've just started trying to really read (study) the Bible. I'm not Protestant but I do dialogue with Protestants at another blog. We fought like cat & dogs in the beginning but we get along pretty well now, trying to find things we can agree on. I'm catholic and they have really been a big help to me with regards to the Sacred Scriptures.

Anyway, God Bless You, Jesse.

If you really want to study the Bible, word for word in God's original languages, buy yourself a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. It's the second most important book you could have, next to the Bible. It has every word written in the King James listed and gives a reference number to one of the dictionaries in the back which tells you what the original word actually was before the translation of the KJV. There is a Hebrew for the OT and a Greek dictionary for the NT in the back. A lot of mistranslations. The best way to read the Bible is to erase all of the influence of man's traditional teaching and let God explain Himself to you. No denomination gets it right. As Jesus says, of the seven churches of Christ he finds no fault in only two of them and they do not exist yet. Why I know that is because there were no new churches established in either Philadelphia or Smyrna. They were the same churches as the one established in Ephesus.

Keep a very open mind when reading. Even things that we all accept as common knowledge facts about what is written in the Bible are either wrong or there's more to the story. Since no denomination gets the word of God right, you must be willing to part with your denomination's interpretation on everything until you find your own answer. I'll be happy to help you out with any questions you may have.

Thank you for your posts, and thank you for the information about "Strongs". And I agree with you that some translations can be pretty bad.

I asked one of my Protestant friends how we can interpret Scripture so differently and she said it has to do with the presuppositions that we have. And so, I agree with you again in this area. But trying to get rid of those presuppositions! Very difficult! It's almost like giving-up on everything we've believed in.

I believe, and maybe you do too, that the interpretation problems with Scripture are not God made, but man-made. For years now I've thought that the whole argument of Faith vs Works is a man-made argument, an argument about words. Some say that Paul and James are in conflict, but wouldn't that mean that the Holy Spirit is in conflict with the Holy Spirit.

Jesse, I'm sorry about this long post. Thanks again for all your helpful information. Maybe I'll take you up on your offer to help. Take care. God Bless.

All of the problems with interpretations are definitely manmade. That's why if you know Hebrew and have a Hebrew OT, and know Greek and have a Greek NT that it's the best way to learn God's word, because those are God's words in its original form. As good as the KJV is, it is God's word with the influence of men one time over. The newer translations are God's word with the influence of men two times over. Because of that the new translations are horrible. You're also right about Paul and James not being in conflict. They just played to their own personal strengths. Their works, which are lead by the Holy Spirit were one.

Erasing all of those presuppositions is the only thing that is between you and really learning God's word. As you say, it's difficult to do. Even more difficult than you think. Look at it this way, the Bible is God's word. Let Him explain Himself to you. Nevermind man's interpretations. Many of my other posts are aimed at flaws at traditional teaching, and conclusively prove they're wrong. I don't just say it's wrong and not provide proof. Read "What Exactly Was The Sin Of Onan" for a good example of what I'm talking about.

http://electionofgrace.blogtownhall.com/2008/04/13/what_exa ctly_was_the_sin_of_onan.thtml

I read your link. It's funny how a verse, taken by itself, can seem to mean one thing but that same verse, read in the context of a paragraph or chapter can seem to mean something else.

I just don't trust myself with interpretating Scripture. I don't know enough about it. Some of it seems easy, or obvious, some leaves me totally clueless.

with God's word will help you in making sense of what is written. When you get into a rhythm of what God is saying in the Bible, you can find errors in traditional teaching or find a word or verse that doesn't seem quite right. Not even just because it's not congruent with something else you read, but because it just doesn't sound right. Then you can look up a word in the verse that doesn't sound right in the Strong's and you will see that there is either an error or a better, more clear meaning in its original language. Just like the word "a???" is actually "age" in the Greek, it can give you such a clearer picture of what is written. That word is just the tip of the iceberg you'll find in a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance...

The craft that Ezekiel saw that was the color of amber, as is written in the original Hebrew is "chashmal" which actually means polished spectrum metal with an amber hue. That should blow your mind :)

See, Jesse, this is where I'm just about totally clueless (trying to read the Major OT Prophets).

You'll get into a rhythm, and a Strong's will help you get into that rhythm with the proper definitions. Trust me, that book will help you in all aspects of your learning.