Stupid Bible Tricks
We preachers have a tendency to make the Bible say what we want it to say. That is, when it comes to sermon time we've got to say something about the Bible even if the text only tangentially fits our purpose. I'll admit that last Sunday I preached a sermon on the Restoration Principle. I used at passage from Acts 3 that spoke of restoration, but I didn't make much use of the text. Of course, this was more of a topical sermon than a textual/expository one -- and I had to have a text. But some preachers go to extraordinary lengths to make the Bible say what they want it to say.
Well, Dr. Susan Pigott, an OT professor at the Baptist seminary at Hardin-Simmons University, tells the story in an Ethics Daily post about one really "stupid Bible trick." She tells of a Baptist pastor who fit Jesus into Genesis 1 by using the Hebrew word "et," a word that is not translated into English because the word simply serves as the sign of a direct object -- and it is found throughout the Bible. But, because the letters "aleph" and "tav" are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, this preacher found "alpha and omega" and thus Jesus. My, why hadn't I thought of that.
So, the moral of the story -- watch out for those preachers who tell you they're preaching the Bible! Make sure they're not doing any "stupid Bible tricks."
This looks to be the first in a series, so check it out at her blog -- OT Prophetess.
Well, Dr. Susan Pigott, an OT professor at the Baptist seminary at Hardin-Simmons University, tells the story in an Ethics Daily post about one really "stupid Bible trick." She tells of a Baptist pastor who fit Jesus into Genesis 1 by using the Hebrew word "et," a word that is not translated into English because the word simply serves as the sign of a direct object -- and it is found throughout the Bible. But, because the letters "aleph" and "tav" are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, this preacher found "alpha and omega" and thus Jesus. My, why hadn't I thought of that.
So, the moral of the story -- watch out for those preachers who tell you they're preaching the Bible! Make sure they're not doing any "stupid Bible tricks."
This looks to be the first in a series, so check it out at her blog -- OT Prophetess.
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