Bible Study (Vanhoose)
Ian & Pam Dorion dorioni@ipa.net
Sat, 31 Jan 1998 11:18:36 -0600 (00886288716, 199801311720.LAA03349@siren.ipa.net)
> > PATRICK
> > I can think of at least one good reason, and that is because Jesus is
> > alleged to have said that the "myths" of Moses contained information
about
> > him, as did the prophets and the psalms (LK 24:44-45).
>
> PAT
> Patrick. That is the point I was trying to make. The foreshadowing
> of Christ is present in the Old Testament. God had a plan from the
> beginning. If one does not agree with the Bible, that is fine, but they
> should at least know what the Bible is purporting to do. I did spend
> last year in a Bible study group on the Book of Genesis, in which we
> learning how events then impacted future generations in the Bible. It
> is hard to know why certain things happened in the Old Testament unless
> you know where God was heading, and what his purpose was. If you don't
> know that, how are you going to interpret any of it? And I don't think
> that I suggested starting with the New Testament. I suggested discussin
> first what the intended purpose of the entire Bible is purported to be.
PATRICK
> >
> > Another good reason to start with Genesis rather than the NT is that
the
> > Jewish worldview established by the Torah is presupposed by all later
Jewish
> > writings, including the NT, so starting with the Torah would be
analogous to
> > starting a book at chapter 1. The book may be "really about" what
happens in
> > the last chapter, but that's no reason one should start reading at that
> > chapter. It is just common sense to start a story at the chronological
> > beginning, and no one has yet presented a good reason to start with the
NT.
>
> PAT
> See above. Is there any harm in determining ahead of time what the
> theme of the book is?
>
PATRICK
> > That would be like watching the end of a movie first, and then scanning
> > haphazardly back through the earlier parts trying to reconstruct the
course
> > of events and influences which led to that end.
> >
> > Starting with the OT, specifically with the Torah, is perfectly valid
> > because all of its basic ideas are presupposed in later Jewish
writings,
> > from the NT, to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Talmud, etc., etc. Whether
> > Christian claims are true or not, it will always be the case that the
NT
> > represents only one of several different traditions which are all
founded
> > upon the basic Jewish traditions established in the Torah.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > Patrick
IAN
We aren't going to agree with what the theme of the book is either so what
purpose is it? From what I have read in both the OT and the NT, the purpose
of the book is to control and enslave mankind. You may say it is all about
Jesus Christ. My answer is that God wasted all but what, three years out of
6,000 to get some contadictory gobbledegook across. If there's a theme to
this book we'll find it by reading and studying it not by making an
arbitrary decision ahead of time.