-
How do you approach passages that seem to contradict each other? Is it appropriate to fit every passage into an organized system? Explain your response.
-
God did not mean for us to use the Bible for self-will. He most certainly did not intend it to be used for ill-will either. The Bible is interpreted by many men over a vast period of time, and they used many genres to explain it, such as narratives, prophecy, poetry, history, gospel and letters to get God’s word out to the masses. To interpret is to explain, translate or understand so that you can relate the word to others. We seek through like-minded colleagues, studies in seminaries, and good old fashion family lore we explain to the congregation in a way that we general accept. The individual that is bringing the information can be accused of contradictions by others who may have a different perspective. Certain interpretive (Hermeneutic) principles will assist in making the individual accepted or rejected. The most important thing about this is God’s will and his involvement with his creation.
-
I do not try and solve with my reasoning. I generally follow much the same approach as our teacher suggests. I place the thing “on the back burner” and continue with other areas. In some cases, a trusted teacher or friend provides that answer. In others, God reveals His answer through my daily walk. In any event, I’ve learned from past mistakes that dashing to my answer is rationalizing my opinion. It doesn’t work on many levels.
-
When I read passages that seem to contradict each other, I refer to the main theme or central doctrine of the Book or of the whole Bible to find the best explanation. I believe that it is appropriate to fit every passage into an organized system. This prevents us to get meaning which is out of context or beyond the Bible.
-
In my years of Bible study, I haven’t noticed much how some passages may contradict each other. It is important to understand how every passage fits together. It may seem it contradicts when in reality it’s trying to show the difference between two different truths.
-
Pray first for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Without that I can mush things up so badly that nothing makes sense anymore. I study the context – in fact I am having an ongoing discussion with a fellow Christian regarding why Jesus wept, the shortest verse in the Bible but one that is very important to me to understand because I do weep. She keeps coming back to me to say that when Jesus makes a statement in scripture it means the same thing every time He makes that statement. I point her to context because it certainly doesn’t always mean the same, it depends on the context of the situation. If I am really confused as to the true meaning of a verse I pray and meditate on the scriptures involved until I get something of a “break-through” in my understanding that I’m comfortable enough with, at least for the time being.