Revelation Requires Interaction

Byhenry October 18, 2011

In my book When People Speak for God I used the story of the one-ended telephone cord. Edward Vick makes the same point in much more profound language than I used.

But even should someone intend to make known to me what I would otherwise never come to discover by myself, I shall not in fact know it unless I respond. The intention to reveal oneself, and the intention to know the other are not sufficient in themselves. Revelation takes place when there is giving and responding, an interaction between agents who are both free and purposive. Revelation is communication. Revelation takes place when what is ‘provided’ is grasped, what is ‘offered’ is ‘taken’, what is spoken’ is ‘heard’ (From Inspiration to Understanding, 174 [in advance copy]).

Bible Study Method

How to Change Your Mind – Again

Byhenry August 9, 2007

Joe Carter has reposted his entry from last November, titled How to Change Your Mind. I liked it then and I still like it now, so I’m going to link to it again. I use some similar methods from time to time. My mother taught me reading 12 times, which was often part of memorization….

Textual Criticism Summary from Parchment and Pen

Byhenry September 11, 2008

C. Michael Patton presents Textual Criticism in a Nutshell, though what he means more precisely is New Testament textual criticism in a nutshell. It’s quite a good introduction giving a feel for the types of variants and why they might occur, and also why we might prefer not to call them “errors” considering that some…

Bible Study Method

Talk about the Method

Byhenry October 13, 2009

When I teach Sunday School classes, as I often do, there is nothing more likely to lull people to sleep than a discussion of hermeneutics. I get a great deal of attention talking about history. People are very interested as I explore some different interpretations of a particular Biblical passage and where and when those…

Bible Books | Bible Study Method

Would This Be Bibliolatry?

Byhenry February 15, 2012

Red Letter Christians has a post titled “Is This Any Way to Treat a Bible?” which tells how a high school teacher, on seeing a student’s heavily marked Bible, held it up to the class and asked that question. The article that follows is excellent. I would think a more relevant question would be “Is…

Bible Study Method | Biblical Canon | Biblical Criticism | Exegesis | Religion

The Authority of the Longer Ending of Mark

Byhenry February 17, 2014

Here’s an interesting post on the longer ending of Mark and snake handling. (HT: Dave Black Online, Why Four Gospels?) There’s obviously a serious question about hermeneutics lurking in the discussion, but what I would like to see discussed is just what text of Mark is authoritative. We tend to assume that what we want…

Bible Study Method

Ephesians 5:21-33: A Short Lesson in Focus

Byhenry June 17, 2007

It often amazes me to notice the difference in what I get from the scriptures when I approach a book or a passage simply asking what message God has for me in that passage as opposed to when I search out various passages of scripture in order to answer a particular theological question. That second…