J.I. Packer:
We approach Scripture with minds already formed by the mass of accepted opinions and viewpoints with which we have come into contact, in both the Church and the world…It is easy to be unaware that it has happened; it is hard even to begin to realize how profoundly tradition in this sense has molded us.
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Filed under: Bible, Bible Study, Christianity, Worldview | Tagged: Interpretation of Scripture, J. I. Packer |
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
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Reblogged this on My Delight and My Counsellors.
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What a terrific quote!
This is more true today than when Packer penned the words. Unfortunately, it is also true about most every subject we explore. Our minds are made up ahead of time, and their is no room to even consider an alternate point of view.
If you don’t believe that you, the reader of this comment and blog post, do this very thing in regards ot the Bible and Christianity, pick up the writings of the early church Fathers (a good readable source is “The Apostolic Fathers” by Michael W. Holmes http://www.amazon.com/Apostolic-Fathers-English-Michael-Holmes/dp/0801031087 ) and read it.
You will see that the early church, those closest to Christ, had a different version of Christianity than we do today. Our “prejudice” can be seen in how we deal with that dilemma: They got it wrong, and we got it right! The reason we got it right? How could we have possibly gotten it wrong?
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