One of the churches in my area is doing an all-church study for the next four weeks in order to unite the church around its vision and mission. A noble cause. There are four sermons, four small group studies, and a DVD from the pastor to facilitate the discussions. A very professional and well-built piece of curriculum.
However, in the first of the group studies, one question lists some scripture verses and asks the participants to discover the benefits of having God in charge of our lives. This would not be so bad if the Scriptures were not taken out of context in the worst possible way. Now, I am not one to criticize what any church is doing for the most part. But I am (or have become) a real advocate of correctly using Scripture not just for proof-texting but to support doctrine within its historical and grammatical context. In other words, I really hate when some people or churches pull a scripture out of context, and/or use a different Bible translation in order to make a point that the Scripture obviously does not say. That is Biblical fraud and misrepresentation. So when I saw the group study, I really got upset. Here’s why, using a few examples. Read the rest of this entry »
