Hermeneutics Observation

I am doing Hermeneutics as a directed study, which means since there are no lectures I have to read about 5000 pages. I don't care who you are that's a lot of reading. Currently I am reading "Let The Reader Understand" by Dan McCartney and Charles Clayton. I must say, being about two-thirds through the book, it is an excellent introduction to the discipline.

I used to swear by the NASB because it was the most literal of all the translations. I am not so wooden, get it, that's a pun, in my stance any longer. Having spent the last two years studying Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, not to mention English has opened my eyes to the fact that a wooden translation is not always the best. A couple of sentences in the book I am reading sumarize my paradigm shift beautifully. "A 'literal' translation is not 'more accurate' than an idomatic one. Quite the reverse; an idiomatic translation, if it is a good one, is much more likely to convey the exact meaning than a literal one."

Don't get me wrong, I still love the NASB and The Message still sucks but the NIV and the ESV often give a better sense of the original language than does the NASB. This is due to the fluidity of language and wood can not be fluid. Just an observation, go Wolverines!

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Now This Is Exegesis!

I mentioned exegesis and eisegesis in a previous post. Let me explain, exegesis is pulling the meaning out of the text, it is getting to the proper meaning. Eisegesis is putting onto the text a preconceived notion, making the text say what you want it to say. I have had much experience with the latter, we all have to some degree, we like to practice it, it is something we do without even realizing it. Now I had help from my church and the school I was attending but I have to say both institutions drove me to the scriptures until I got the hang of exegesis and then my world changed. This video is an example of precision exegesis, I hope you will watch and learn.

Grammar Again?

It has been my experience in general that Arminians do not spend the time to learn the original languages, and many of those who do abandon their Armininan views. It is true at my Arminian undergrad school we had a Greek professor who was Arminian, but he also was a higher criticism adherant and whenever we would dialog about the Greek text he would time after time appeal to his knowledge instead of appealing to the text. Frustrating to say the least, he actually claimed at one point that the translators of Romans for the NIV were Calvinists, that is why it appears the doctrines of grace are in the book. I gently reminded him that Romans was written by a Calvinist. In the following CrossTV video JR is James White from Alpha and Omega ministries and Dave is Dave Hunt an Arminian who attacks Calvinism whenever he can. By the way, Dave has no understanding of Greek. Watch and learn a bit more about Greek grammar.

What Does It Mean To Be Born Again?

There is a great deal of misunderstanding surrounding Jesus' words in John 3. In verse 3 Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus, and unfortunately what most people hear is "You must get yourself born again." I previously posted on the topic of whether or not we need to know Greek. Again, an English translation is sufficient for salvation, but if we are to get our doctrine correct, sometimes there is no way around it—knowing Greek will definitely help in this case.

Most of evangelical error comes as a result of people confusing indicatives with imperatives. Indicatives are statements of fact; imperatives are commands. There are two issues we must deal with in this verse if we are to interpret it correctly. First, I would like to point out that this verb, born, is in the third person. Second, it is not an imperative, so Jesus is not telling Nicodemus what he must do, He is stating facts about other, the elect, people and their condition. Jesus is saying all those who are saved are born again. He is not saying to be saved you must get born again.

Do We Need To Know Greek?

I have been having a very charitable conversation with a dear friend of mine on whether or not regeneration precedes faith. In one of my responses I appealed to the Greek mood of a verb. My friend asked if he needed to know Greek to understand a passage. I have not answered him but this is exactly why I have undertaken the task of learning the original languages. One does not NEED to know Greek, but it sure would be helpful.



One of the biggest problems in modern evangelicalism is they read the indicative verbs as imperative. This causes great misunderstanding and heresy. Indicative verbs make a statement of how things are, they do not tell us to do things. Imperative verbs are commands we are to follow. This would be avoided if the interpreters of scripture understood the Greek grammar.