July 20, 2015
Open for Interpretation
In 2007 county voters
approved a narrowly written Public Safety Sales Tax. However, that hasn’t
stopped people in the ensuing years to argue about the intent of the ballot
measure and how the money can be sent. The Constitution is another example of
lawyers trying to get in the heads of the founding fathers and coming up
with interpretations beyond what was written. It should come as no surprise
that Satan was the first one to use similar manipulation of God’s words and His
intent. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD
God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from
any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may
eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say,
‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and
you must not touch it, or you will die’” (Gen 3:1-3 NIV).
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----The concept and reality of interpretation is abused more than Muslim women. The first thing which should be said about it is that its purpose sorts into two distinct categories. People’s failure to realize and abide by this fact generates much of the word’s abuse. One category of its purpose is a search for what the author, speaker, artist, etc. meant to communicate. The other category is a search for some meaning the communication interjects into the recipient’s world of circumstances, ideas, and feelings. It is absurd to think that communications are presented to give everyone whatever meaning they desire to receive from it. I know some communications are meant for that. But most are not. Regarding those that are not, if the interpreter can not know or understand the author’s frame of mind, then there is little he can know about what the author meant. The interpreter can still arrive at what the communication means to himself, but that isn’t very useful for interacting with others. Any interaction with another is public property: all parties interacting have an investment and therefore an interest in the interaction. Such beckons everyone’s involvement in the interaction to be actual, factual, and unbiased. The fact that Jesus, Our Father, and His Holy Spirit are others and are involved in all of our thoughts and feelings as interactions leaves very little space for interpretation of the second category. If Christ is the way, the life, and the truth, then His followers are seeking the truth. The clearest point of truth about a communication’s meaning still resides in the author’s mind. To receive that interpretation, the interpreter must get to know the author. This is what makes the Bible so interesting. God is its author. The more we live in Him, the more we know Him. The more we know Him, the more interpretation of His Word opens to us. Those who approach His Word by the second category of interpretation miss this great blessing.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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