Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Interpretation: The Product of Understanding Biblical Language




Often, what seems to be a reflection of the ignorance of the Bible writer is easily resolved once we see that we have interpreted the verses wrongly. A theistic evolutionist challenged me with these verses

• Psalm 93:1 "The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved."

• 1 Chronicles 16:30 tremble before him, all earth; yea, the world stands firm, never to be moved.

These seem to suggest that the writers were ignorant men, locked into the errant worldview of their day, thinking that the earth is immobile. However, the same language is also used to refer to the righteous man:

• Psalm 16:8 I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

Clearly, David isn’t saying that he has now become immobile because the Lord is with him. Instead, he is saying that he will not be broken or destroyed. Likewise, the first two verses are not suggesting that the earth and world are immobile, but rather that they will not be destroyed.

Instead, it’s clear that the Bible isn’t teaching that the world is immobile:

• Isaiah 40:22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

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