To earn a few extra dollars during college, I would house sit for the mom of some friends of mine. This sweet elderly lady’s name was Mrs. Myrtle. Often they would have me come over to just keep her company. She was a feisty hero of the Faith who loved our God.
It was fun for me to needle her just a bit over faith issues. We jousted. She taught me. And she allowed me to respectfully challenge her Biblical beliefs. I can remember discussing the concept of music and dancing with her. “But Mrs. Myrtle, what is wrong with singing and dancing before our Lord? King David did it! And he was called a man after God’s own heart!”
Being a staunch traditionalist, Mrs. Myrtle fired back – “That’s not in my Bible!!!!!!!!”
How is it that you and I can both look at the same Bible verse come away with such different applications? The ways we interpret the Bible and what enters into our process of applying the Bible are incredibly important to our growth as Christ Followers.
From Christianity Today:
“Leadership journal and BuildingChurchLeaders.com partnered with Scot McKnight on the new Hermeneutics Quiz, a free, online survey designed to reveal how we read (or fail to read!) and interpret Scripture. After you’ve completed all the questions, it plots your score on a scale between conservative, moderate, and progressive.”
Take the quiz here. You may be surprised at how you rank and how you interpret the text. Have fun!
My score of 58 placed me as a Moderate – hmmmmm. That may just disqualify me from my Southern Baptist roots!
God bless you Mrs. Myrtle. I pray you are dancing this morning with the King of Kings…
Posted by suz on March 5, 2008 at 10:37 AM
pppst.
don’t tell mom and dad but….
i gotta 52.
i believe your 58 makes me look like a southern baptist heathen.
show off!
xo, your lil sis
Posted by John on March 5, 2008 at 10:51 AM
How DO we see different meanings in the scripture?
For me I think it happens when all that I have been taught in the church causes me to interpret scripture the way it was taught; instead of how God might reveal it to me if I didn’t have the preconceived notions.
I heard this said before:
Don’t read what you believe; instead believe what you read.
Posted by Mark Lunsford on March 5, 2008 at 11:27 AM
I scored a 52. I guess I’m still a conservative, but not by much. 🙂
Posted by Tom Vander Well on March 6, 2008 at 7:54 AM
Stumbled up on your post and had a chuckle this morning. Reminds me of the time I was in a book store in Kentucky. The dear old saint of a woman needed a new Bible. “What version do you want?” the clerk asked.
“Why, the Authorized King James Version,” she said, adding, “If it was good enough for the Apostle Paul, then it’s good enough for me!”
Nice blog. Have a great day!
Posted by Grant on March 6, 2008 at 4:16 PM
39!….a Southern Baptist and Kentuckian..but I’m partial to the NIV.
Posted by Uncle Ben on March 8, 2008 at 9:54 PM
Interesting. As an ELCA Lutheran I scored a 56, which is probably pretty conservative for the denomination. Some of the answers were a little hard to pin down though.
Posted by gabrielle eden on March 27, 2008 at 2:42 PM
I scored 45. But what does this prove really? I think it is pretty meaningless. I think we need to be able to be sure of some things about God and what he says. I guess that’s “conservative.”
Posted by Andy on March 28, 2008 at 1:05 AM
Can’t believe I’m late to the game on this. I scored a 53…