PHGentleman007
Forum Expert
This information is vital to letting the Scriptures interpret themselves. If you ignore the following counsel, you will be misled.
Read your Bible daily. (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.]) Do not neglect your Bible reading. Do not read with a preexisting bias. Get familiar with the accounts in the Bible. Read the accounts, read about the accounts. Study, research, meditate. Identify the subject under discussion and the point being made. Consider various viewpoints. This is not obsession, but is the means by which you can gain the knowledge to live the life God wants for us and the foundation upon which you can seek and find the one and only truth.
The apostle Paul instructed the Thessalonians to "make sure of all things, hold fast to what is fine." (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.]) He wrote that because they were not doing as much as they should in that regard. He said that the Boroeans "were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they accepted the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.]) The research required to do that is substantial, but well worth it. Unfortunately, despite the advent of the internet, research today is more difficult than it was for them back then. Back then, Hebrew was still a living language and the only Scriptures they needed to check were the Hebrew Scriptues with a translation into Greek by the very people who spoke both languages, and many Hebrew-speaking Jews living that gentiles could ask help from. So there really were no language issues for them to research and fewer false beliefs to combat.
That said, the following level of research is not for everyone and that is okay. Those with faith who rely upon Jehovah's holy spirit to guide them toward the truth are just as capable of finding it so long as the truth is truly what they are seeking. They rely upon the ring of truth which Jehovah reveals to them. But note that Paul referred to those who dig deeper as being "more noble-minded", thus being worthy of greater note, and to those who do not, he reminds to "make sure of all things."
For those who claim to need facts, deep research is necessary. You do not have to be an expert, it does not take an expert in Koiné Greek grammar to understand the words written by an expert in Koiné Greek grammar, but being aware of the controversies, the various viewpoints, and the basics of Koiné Greek grammar is essential to not being duped.
Good research also requires that you do more than compare translations. Comparing translations only highlights the differences resulting from the controversies; it does not tell you what the cause of those differences are. Thus you need to go deeper, finding out the history of the doctrine, what the rules of grammar are relating to the verse, review differing opinions and commentaries, analyze the context, compare scriptures with scriptures, and make clear sense of the information provided in the scripture. (See Part 4: Testing the "Proofs".) To be sure of something, we cannot simply rely upon the words of others, but we can rely upon the word of God. (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.]; You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.]; You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.])
In so doing, you must use every tool at your disposal to get at the truth along with preparing your heart to accept whatever the truth may be. (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.]; You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.]) To go this deep, you will need access to a variety of commentaries (Do not leave out the literature of Jehovah's Witnesses, as they provide reasons for their viewpoints and can point you to additional research material,) a Greek-English Interlinear translation of the New Testament based upon the NA-27 or NA-28 composite manuscript, an introductory Biblical Greek Grammar and a Biblical Greek-English Lexicon. Some variation of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance can also help, but know that it has biases according to the Methodist Church, but it is still a scholarly work. (The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon and the Greek-English Lexicon by Joseph H. Thayer are excellent sources to find the truth of word meanings.)
The Hebrew scriptures do not usually need as much attention as the Greek because there exist many Hebrew copies that come from before the Catholics purged the Christian scriptures for the reason that the Jews maintained them and not the Catholic church who had no problem tossing spurious texts into late manuscript copies of the Greek Scriptures and destroying untampered copies.
Consider every viewpoint you can find on each scripture, poking holes until only the truth is left. Because, to get at the truth, you must be determined to find and accept the truth and not simply look for confirmation of what you already believe. And if you come across new infomation, always be willing to reexamine and revise your understanding.
Do you think careful personal research is required to get at the truth of the scriptures? If not, state your disagreement in a comment below.
Read your Bible daily. (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.]) Do not neglect your Bible reading. Do not read with a preexisting bias. Get familiar with the accounts in the Bible. Read the accounts, read about the accounts. Study, research, meditate. Identify the subject under discussion and the point being made. Consider various viewpoints. This is not obsession, but is the means by which you can gain the knowledge to live the life God wants for us and the foundation upon which you can seek and find the one and only truth.
The apostle Paul instructed the Thessalonians to "make sure of all things, hold fast to what is fine." (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.]) He wrote that because they were not doing as much as they should in that regard. He said that the Boroeans "were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they accepted the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.]) The research required to do that is substantial, but well worth it. Unfortunately, despite the advent of the internet, research today is more difficult than it was for them back then. Back then, Hebrew was still a living language and the only Scriptures they needed to check were the Hebrew Scriptues with a translation into Greek by the very people who spoke both languages, and many Hebrew-speaking Jews living that gentiles could ask help from. So there really were no language issues for them to research and fewer false beliefs to combat.
That said, the following level of research is not for everyone and that is okay. Those with faith who rely upon Jehovah's holy spirit to guide them toward the truth are just as capable of finding it so long as the truth is truly what they are seeking. They rely upon the ring of truth which Jehovah reveals to them. But note that Paul referred to those who dig deeper as being "more noble-minded", thus being worthy of greater note, and to those who do not, he reminds to "make sure of all things."
For those who claim to need facts, deep research is necessary. You do not have to be an expert, it does not take an expert in Koiné Greek grammar to understand the words written by an expert in Koiné Greek grammar, but being aware of the controversies, the various viewpoints, and the basics of Koiné Greek grammar is essential to not being duped.
Good research also requires that you do more than compare translations. Comparing translations only highlights the differences resulting from the controversies; it does not tell you what the cause of those differences are. Thus you need to go deeper, finding out the history of the doctrine, what the rules of grammar are relating to the verse, review differing opinions and commentaries, analyze the context, compare scriptures with scriptures, and make clear sense of the information provided in the scripture. (See Part 4: Testing the "Proofs".) To be sure of something, we cannot simply rely upon the words of others, but we can rely upon the word of God. (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.]; You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.]; You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.])
In so doing, you must use every tool at your disposal to get at the truth along with preparing your heart to accept whatever the truth may be. (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.]; You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. [You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.|You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.]) To go this deep, you will need access to a variety of commentaries (Do not leave out the literature of Jehovah's Witnesses, as they provide reasons for their viewpoints and can point you to additional research material,) a Greek-English Interlinear translation of the New Testament based upon the NA-27 or NA-28 composite manuscript, an introductory Biblical Greek Grammar and a Biblical Greek-English Lexicon. Some variation of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance can also help, but know that it has biases according to the Methodist Church, but it is still a scholarly work. (The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon and the Greek-English Lexicon by Joseph H. Thayer are excellent sources to find the truth of word meanings.)
The Hebrew scriptures do not usually need as much attention as the Greek because there exist many Hebrew copies that come from before the Catholics purged the Christian scriptures for the reason that the Jews maintained them and not the Catholic church who had no problem tossing spurious texts into late manuscript copies of the Greek Scriptures and destroying untampered copies.
Consider every viewpoint you can find on each scripture, poking holes until only the truth is left. Because, to get at the truth, you must be determined to find and accept the truth and not simply look for confirmation of what you already believe. And if you come across new infomation, always be willing to reexamine and revise your understanding.
Do you think careful personal research is required to get at the truth of the scriptures? If not, state your disagreement in a comment below.