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I would mention to the teacher in private that you would greatly appreciate them not using fallable man to suffort infallable Scripture.

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When writing a paper, on any given Biblical topic (say for instance, Paul's Conversion), I am increasingly pressured to find references outside the Bible to include in my paper.

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ORIGINAL: swtonscrappn

In another thread RC said, "I would mention to the teacher in private that you would greatly appreciate them not using fallable man to suffort infallable Scripture."This is somewhat of a fluff post

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...When writing a paper, on any given Biblical topic (say for instance, Paul's Conversion), I am increasingly pressured to find references outside the Bible to include in my paper. I understand that is good practice on researching when you write any paper, and I do so. However, it always hits me wrong, when I am writing on something Biblical, and I can completely back it up with numerous Biblical references. My college does believe in the inerrant sufficiency of the Bible....so why isnt suffiecent for my paper references? (Since we ARE supposed to take our queue from the WORD, and not from the world.

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they spend more time studying man's interpretation of God's Word then they do Studying God's Word.

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ORIGINAL: swtonscrappn

In another thread RC said, "

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I would mention to the teacher in private that you would greatly appreciate them not using fallable man to suffort infallable Scripture.

"

This is somewhat of a fluff post. The above quote brought up a topic I (mildly) struggle with in my Biblical Studies Classes. (Quick background, I am currently a student of a Bible College, getting a degree in Biblical Counseling). Because Im a distant student, most of my assignments are based on reading Christian Literature, the Bible, and writing papers on any given subject.

When writing a paper, on any given Biblical topic (say for instance, Paul's Conversion), I am increasingly pressured to find references outside the Bible to include in my paper. I understand that is good practice on researching when you write any paper, and I do so. However, it always hits me wrong, when I am writing on something Biblical, and I can completely back it up with numerous Biblical references. My college does believe in the inerrant sufficiency of the Bible....so why isn’t sufficient for my paper references? (Since we ARE supposed to take our queue from the WORD, and not from the world.)

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When writing a paper, on any given Biblical topic (say for instance, Paul's Conversion), I am increasingly pressured to find references outside the Bible to include in my paper.

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When writing a paper, on any given Biblical topic (say for instance, Paul's Conversion), I am increasingly pressured to find references outside the Bible to include in my paper. I understand that is good practice on researching when you write any paper, and I do so.

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ORIGINAL: gcsmithjr
We did use outside reference materials to check our interpretation so that we could understand how, when the scriptures are distorted, you can end up with heresies like gnosticism and docetism, but they were never used to validate the teaching of scripture.

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ORIGINAL: gcsmithjr

It's easy to pick a single verse to try and make your case, but the scriptures also advise us to listen to the counsel of others.

Proverbs 12:15: The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

The scriptures also warn us that "there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies" (2 Peter 2:1) and warn us "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but put the spirits to the test to see whether they are from God; for many false teachers have gone out into the world." (I John 4:1).

James 3 is pretty clear that all teachers are held to a higher standard, and that all teachers can make mistakes:

"Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check....But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."

There are many false teachers who passionately believe that their interpretation of scripture is correct, and there are sincere disagreements among godly men about the meaning of different passages of scripture. There is absolutely nothing wrong with humbly seeking the counsel of others to help us more clearly understand the scriptures, whether we do it one-on-one or through the writings of other teachers and scholars.

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ORIGINAL: pbaribeault

Absolutely Scripture is true and does not need "man" to validate it...

But a community of "men" discussing together tends to understand and apply Scripture far better than one person alone with the Spirit, but also with only his own mind to be used, and his own perspective and presuppositions cutting him off from a potentially more full experience of that Scripture (which is completely valid in and of itself, whether or not someone seeks to understand it alone or through "group work" with scholars, authors and teachers).

If the Holy Spirit is teaching us, then when we consult other's opinions, I'm sure that same Spirit will tell us either, "Yes, RC, I was trying to make that point to you too, but I can see that the other person has helped with your clarity of understanding." or "No, RC, see how and where that person departed from My teaching? I want you to be sure that when you teach/write that you choose your words carefully so that more people avoid that trap." or "See, RC, there's a heresy. Denounce it for Me, will you?"

If the Holy Spirit can be shut up by simply reading and thinking about someone else's musings and conclusions... I'm not sure that's so much "worth it's salt" as you say... For me, I know He can (and does) teach us in a community-of-learning context as well as in a one-on-one context.

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So your question is why do we have to use outside references for biblical study or ?

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Can you give us an example of what you found?

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I maintain that the Scriptures do not need man's approval to be valid, as Scripture says;

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This is a very different thing than validating God's word. His word needs no validation. But OUR understanding can and does.

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ORIGINAL: swtonscrappn

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Can you give us an example of what you found?

99% of the time, I write my papers entirely biblically, then find some random blurbs from other authors to fulfill my reference quota. It makes me feel like I’m cheating or something :)

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My college does believe in the inerrant sufficiency of the Bible....so why isn’t IT sufficient for my paper references? (Since we ARE supposed to take our queue from the WORD, and not from the world.)

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believe that anything outside of the Bible, or books written from it, are empty,

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Hello swtonscrappn

It sounds to me like your Bible College belongs to a crown called liberal Christianity. Being of a funadmental bent and believe that anything outside of the Bible, or books written from it, are empty, I would question whether or not you may want to go through with this degree.

You say your degree is in counseling? I imagine it is pshycological procedures with a few Bible verses thrown in. It's called Pastoral Counseling but there's nothing much pastoral about it.

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ORIGINAL: gcsmithjr

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believe that anything outside of the Bible, or books written from it, are empty,

If that's what you believe, what resources do you use to help you better understand the meaning of difficult passages of scripture? Specifically, do you use any outside references to understand what certain verses meant in the context of the time or, since it was originally written in Hebrew and Greek, what words were used in the original language (like the different nuances between the meaning of agape, phileo when they are both translated as love).

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Every English language bible is the result of the translation efforts of sinful men and even the most conservative doctrine of Biblical inerrancy states that "in its original form, the Bible is totally without error, and free from all contradiction" - that doesn't mean the our English translations meet that standard.

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One of the aspects of religion that is uniquely Judeo-Christian is the fact that we can look to outside sources (and should never fear doing so) to aid in our understanding of the Scriptures.