I Was Reading Last Night....

I was reading, last night, a book about the importance of knowing Scripture. Here are some quotes from the book to think about:

"There is a prevalent conviction that the faith the church has confessed in the past is not adequate for a post-Enlightenment culture; the idea that faith must be accommodated to culture has undermined the teaching of the church's faith. Popular evangelical faith has developed a bias against theology (not to mention the intellect) and has elevated the bias to the level of a virtue, defending it as vigorously as democracy. This is reflected more and more in the pulpits of professing evangelical churches. Doctrine...is purposefully avoided...

They focus on practical matters, such as family concerns and personal growth, not doctrine, sometimes mixing psychotherepeutic concepts with biblical teaching. They often emphasize religious experience. They seek to feel God's love, not understand church theology, a theme that plays well with the decreasing importance of denominational doctrine among baby boomers."

And another:


"Most importantly, God chose to communicate the Truth about Himself and His world by words contained in the Scriptures and the language of the Heavens (Psalm 19). God's words do not depend upon a reader's interpretation. Instead, the reader is to interpret the Bible according to God's intention. The Apostle Peter is clear when he writes, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had it's origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1: 19-21).

To correctly understand the meaning of any text of Scripture, we should heed Paul's advice to Timothy: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). By acknowledging that God has communicated in language Truth about the real world, and by diligently studying the Bible, you can know the truth that sets you free (John 8:32)".