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Universal textbook

Universal textbook

Postby Theophilus » June 3rd, 2009, 5:32 pm

To give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth--
Let the wise hear and increase in learning.
Proverbs 1:4,5

Schools have to use different textbooks for students who are at different levels in their education. First graders who are just learning to add and subtract can't use the same books used by high school and college students studying subjects such as algebra and calculus. But the Bible is different from books written by men. As the above quote shows, it can be used by people at any stage of their spiritual growth, whether they are classed among the simple or the wise. My own experience confirms that this is true. I have been a Christian for almost 52 years. When I became a Christian I began reading the Bible regularly and found it essential to my spiritual growth. (I had read the Bible even before I was a Christian, but I didn't understand it very well because I was lacking the relationship with God which is the center of its message.) But altho I have been studying the Bible for so long I find that I have never outgrown it as I have the textbooks I used when I was in grade school, but I am still learning more things from it.
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Re: Universal textbook

Postby postodave » June 4th, 2009, 9:41 pm

I always liked the saying 'The Bible is not a textbook for any science including theology'
I always think that is a problem with the fundamentalist approach that it treats the Bible, perhaps not primarily but certainly to a significant extent, as a book containing something like scientific information rather than a book telling us how to relate to God. Even more common is to treat the Bible as a theology textbook and to use it to answer the kinds of questions its authors almost certainly never asked. So like you I love those approaches to the Bible that see it primarily as a book about how to be with God - the Ignatian approach for example.
So I drew my sword and got ready
But the lamb ran away with the crown
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Re: Universal textbook Extension

Postby timoconnor » June 25th, 2009, 4:22 pm

Scripture is a witness to help free men's minds.
It also guides us to use a pattern of healthy words in our lives...

God's Holy Spirit is continuously guiding the believers into ALL truth so scripture continually grows with time's progression and keeps on developing new parts - old parts may lose their relative importance as they become relegated in their relevance towards past temporary periods of time (Like Israel's old name Jacob). New scriptures may find more importance as they become more relevant to the present period of time in the newer areas of understanding-revelation-knowledge (1Cor 13:8-10, 2Pt 1:19). Any scribe made a disciple in the Kingdom can write new scripture as well as old. Scripture 'cannot be broken'/'is not annulled' and yet it should be 'uprightly-cut' to avoid controversy (Jn 10:35, 2Tim 2:14-15) and it is being continually extended.

All truth - may mean selecting true words from amongst error such as when Jude quotes from Hebrew writings not accepted as entirely reliable, regarding Enoch's prophecy of Christ's second coming and the end of millenium judgement. All truth - includes knowing when a book is finished and should not be altered. All truth - includes discerning a canonical from a corrupt translation. Much philosophy, mathematics and science is just as canonical as the book of Revelation to John and contains greater revelatory power than the book of Ecclesiastes to someone who can identify/apprehend it...

The book of the Revelation to John has a quality similar to a mathematical proof - It entirely fulfils a completely unique specific purpose. Nothing can be added to it to improve it. No part is unnecessary. Once a mathematical proof has been completed in its shortest form any additions may confuse it or distract from it and any subtraction destroys it. This original is ready to be communicated and translated meaning for meaning according to how the orginal was written and generally it must convey the same developmental order as the original.
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