The Uniqueness of the Bible

We tend to read the Bible through the lens of modernity; that is to say, we read the Bible as a book. Often people read it as a book that came from the world of textbooks with various authors. But the Bible is not just a book. The Bible was written before there were books. First the Bible was written on papyrus. This method was used in Egypt from about the third millennium and by 1100 BC it had been exported to Phoenicia. The word byblos or biblos became the ancient Greek word for “book,” a term still used.[1]

The Greek word “biblos means the “pith of the papyrus stalk”; this gave origin to the word biblion, which was the common word for “papyrus scroll” or “papyrus roll,” whose plural was biblia, “papyrus rolls”; hence ta biblia, “the scrolls.”[2] Our word “bible” is derived from the Greek word “biblos.” During the early Christian era, “biblos” came to be used to represent the most important writings made on papyrus.”[3] Therefore, the word Bible means little book or little books. It is so called “because it is the Book of books, the greatest book in the World.”[4] The term Bible was later called “the books,” and by the fifth century, it was called “The Books.” However, by the thirteenth century, the plural name, “The Books” came to be regarded as a singular “The Book,” then, later “Bible.”

The Bible is unique in many different ways. For instance, it has a dual authorship: God is the primary author of the Bible and, in other terms, man is the author of the Bible too. Roughly forty men authored the Bible over a period of about 1,500 years. When the sixty-six books of the Bible with their 1,189 chapters made up of 31,173 verses are considered, we find perfect unity and harmony in the messages they convey. The Bible as a whole communicates one coherent message; one mind planted it all by the mind of God.

The Bible is not just an ordinary book, “an account of human efforts to find God, but rather an account of God’s effort to reveal Himself to humanity.”[5] The Bible is God’s own disclosure of His dealing with humanity in His marvelous revelation of Himself to the human race as a whole. The Bible is the revealed Word of God to man and “….is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16).

There can be no doubt that the books of the Bible were written by human hands. But we certainly believe that God Himself directed the human authors for the choice of the proper words and gave them free scope to express themselves

in their own style at their own level of literal ability. Their writing revealed their individual personality. The words they used were their own, for they drew from their own experiences. God inspired the thought rather than the words. In some instances, the prophets quoted the exact words of God. Ex. 20:1–17.[6]

The Bible is not an ordinary book; it is a revelation of God to man. Because it is a sacred book, it ought to be read differently. The following ten rules should function as a guide for every believer who reads the Bible.

First, read the Bible regularly, Lloyd G. Fennell said. It was John Scott who said: “Sporadic and haphazard dipping in the Scriptures is not enough.”[7]

Second, read the Bible analytically. In order for us to read and understand the Bible well, we must read it analytically by analyzing words, phrases, and various components of the Bible.

Third, read the Bible systematically. A well-devised plan is a great way to profit. One needs to dedicate a specific time and pattern to reading the Bible. In my opinion, it should not be read only when necessities arise (e.g. sickness, “Coronavirus,” even if the Bible says, “and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”—Ps 50:15; cf. Ps 46:1). The Bible should not be fitted into our schedules but must be at the pinnacle of our schedules. Other minor things can be postponed, but Bible reading and studying cannot be pushed aside. Bible reading is a way of life.

Fourth, read the Bible persistently. One should be persistent in reading the Bible, with extra time being set aside to study more challenging texts. The Christian should be persistent and must not allow discouragement to creep in. We need to press on.

Fifth, read the Bible completely. The Bible should be read from Genesis to Revelation. The whole Bible is important. Some books of the Bible are more appealing than others, and some can be more relevant to our spiritual needs compared to others. Yet, we ought not to neglect any of its chapters and verses.

Sixth, read the Bible reverently. Your posture when reading the Bible is important too. Respect for the sacred word is vital. Regularity of our Bible reading should not diminish its sacredness. Because the Bible is of a divine origin, I have made it my custom to read my Bible while kneeling down. Each time I have done that, I remember the Islamic proverb: “Slaughter your ego with the dagger of self-discipline.”[8] Consistent reading allows for reverent reading. The “manner in which the early Christians entertained the Scriptures, at once evinces both reverence and humility.”[9]

Seventh, read the Bible expectantly. From 2 Timothy 3:16–17, we learn that the Bible can do for us what it can do for any person. It is useful for teaching (what we need to know); for reproof (what we must reject and refute); for correction (what we must turn away from and avoid); and good for instruction in righteousness (what we must consider about our lives and duties with respect to God and man).

Eighth, read the Bible fervently. We should read the Bible with focus and fervency. Choose the time and the place (in a day) when you need to read your Bible in a fervent way.

Ninth, read the Bible collectively. Families and married couples should read the Bible; dating couples should find time to read the Bible too. Collective reading of the Bible is needed.

Tenth, read the Bible to unlock your treasure box with the word of God—Faith. In other words, a study of the Bible is crucial to show oneself approved unto God (cf. 2 Tim 2:5). Faith needs to be the treasure to unlock God’s Word.[10]

Another significant factor in why the Bible is important is that Jesus Christ is the center of the Bible. Christ is the thin red line that can be traced from Genesis to Revelation. The entire Bible revolves around the birth, death, and resurrection of the Messiah.

* * *

Jesus is the Ram (Genesis), the Passover Lamb (Exodus), and the Priest (Leviticus). He is the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night—“He is our Guide” (Numbers) and our Refuge (Deuteronomy). He is our Judge (Judges) and the Captain of our Salvation (Joshua). He is the Kinsman Redeemer (Ruth). He is the Trusted Prophet (1 and 2 Samuel), the Reigning King, (Kings and Chronicles). He is the rebuilder of everything that has been broken (Nehemiah), our Advocate (Esther), and our Redeemer that ever lives (Job).

He is our Song and the reason to sing (Psalms). He is our Wisdom, (Proverbs), our hope of contentment (Ecclesiastes), and our altogether lovely (Song of Solomon).

He is the Mighty Counselor, the Prince of Peace, the Everlasting Father, and more. In short, He is everything you need (Isaiah). He is your balm of Gilead, the soothing salve for your sin-sick soul (Jeremiah), the Afflicted and Weeping Prophet, (Lamentations), the Four-Faced Man, and the wheel in the middle of a wheel (Ezekiel), the Ancient of Days (Daniel).

He is the Eternal Husband, forever married to the backslider (Hosea). He baptized us with the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Joel). He is the Burden Bearer, and the Restorer of His people (Amos). He is the Judge, the Savior of Israel, and the Possessor of the Kingdom (Obadiah). He is the Great Missionary that takes the word of God into the entire world (Jonah). He is the Righteous (Christ) who reigns over the whole world (Micah). He is the Avenger (Nahum).

He is the Evangelist pleading for revival, the Holy One, and the Savior (Habakkuk), the Lord mighty to save (Zephaniah), the signet ring that seals both branches together (Haggai), the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness (Zechariah), and the Son of Righteousness, rising with healing in His wings (Malachi).

He is the Christ the Son of the Living God (Matthew), the Miracle Worker (Mark), the Son of Man (Luke), the door by which every one of us must enter (John). He is the Savior of the world (Acts), the Justifier (Romans), and the Resurrection (1 Corinthians), and He redeemed us from the Law (Galatians). He is the Christ of unsearchable riches, and the head of the Church (Ephesians) and He supplies our every daily need (Philippians). He is the Soon-Coming King (1 Thessalonians), the Mediator between God and man (1 & 2 Timothy), the Blessed Hope (Titus), the friend of the oppressed (Philemon), and our everlasting covenant (Hebrews). He is the Lord that heals the sick (James) and the Chief Shepherd (1 & 2 Peter). He is the Life (1 John), the Pattern (2 John), and the Motivation (3 John). He is the Lord coming like ten thousand saints (Jude 14) and He is the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation).

* * *

Another reason why the Bible is important is that it records the death and resurrection of Christ. The question is often asked: “Which is more important, the death of Christ or His resurrection?” The question is unanswerable! His resurrection is equally important as His death on the cross. Both: His death and resurrection are intertwined; one could not exist without the other.

The Bible foretold His coming as the Messiah and His Second Advent: His birth (Mic 5:2); His death (Gen 49:10; Ps 22:12–18; Isa 53:3–7); and His resurrection (Matt 12:38–42; Mark 8:12). Because Christ rose from the dead, He defeated the powers of death. His resurrection ensures our future resurrection (1 Cor 15:17). Death is no longer something to be feared because Christ has risen. “I am the resurrection and the life,” Christ said (John 11:25). For, without His resurrection, man could not be saved (1 Cor 15:1, 14). He is the first-fruit of the resurrection—the first person to be raised from the dead permanently.

His Second Coming (John 14:1–4) is predicted and its fulfillment ensures its reliability. Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with promises of the Second Coming of Christ. There are 1,845 references to it in the Old Testament, and a total of seventeen Old Testament books give it prominence.

Of the 260 chapters in the New Testament, there are 318 references to the Second Coming, or one out of every thirty verses. Twenty-three of the twenty-seven New Testament books refer to this great event. The four missing books include three which are single-chapter letters written to individual persons on a particular subject, and the fourth is Galatians, which does imply Christ’s coming again.

For every prophecy on the First Coming of Christ, there are eight on Christ’s Second Coming. His coming is the blessed hope (Titus 2:13).

Another aspect of the Bible’s importance is that it can transform people’s lives. When King Josiah (640–609 BC) reigned after the wicked rule of his father, Amon, and grandfather, Manasseh. Josiah began to repair the Temple of the Lord. According to Jewish tradition, when the name Josiah comes to mind, “the remembrance of Josias [Josiah] is like the composition of the perfume, that is made by the art of the apothecary; it is sweet as honey in all mouths; and as music in a banquet of wine.”[11]

What made Josiah a reformer is the fact that he came in contact with, סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה, “the book of the Law.” The phrase, “the book of the Law,” has been the subject of discussion. From Second Chronicles 34:14, we can conclude that it “cannot mean anything else, either grammatically or historically, than the Mosaic book of the Law (the Pentateuch).”[12] When Josiah was confronted with the Word of God, it changed and transformed him. To king Josiah, it was not “a book of a law,” but rather, “the book of the Law.” The book contained the liturgies of the worship of Jehovah; the prophets’ teachings; and “the traditional teaching of religious families; so that the pious ear recognized its phrases as familiar.”[13]

The religious reforms of Josiah, in many different ways, was because of the Word of God. The Bible has the power to change and transform people’s lives. No wonder Paul wrote, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb 4:12). The Word of God was active at creation and still active at the re-creation of man into the image of God. The Word of God can penetrate every facet of human life. There is nothing too difficult that cannot be reached when the Word of God is in us.

Ellen G White says the following about the Bible:

The word of God includes the scriptures of the Old Testament as well as of the New. One is not complete without the other. Christ declared that the truths of the Old Testament are as valuable as those of the New.[14]

Every part of the Bible is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. The Old Testament no less than the New should receive attention.[15]

The Old and the New Testament are linked together by the golden clasp of God.[16]

The Old and the New Testament Scriptures need to be studied daily.[17]

[1] Brad Thor, Blowback: A Thriller (London: Simon and Schuster, 2008), 134; Jim Whitefield, The Mormon Delusion: The Secret Truth Withheld from 13 Million Mormons (Raleigh, NC: Lulu, 2009), 2:184.

[2] Elizabeth Hill Boone and Walter Mignolo, Writing Without Words: Alternative Literacies in Mesoamerica and the Andes (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1996), 230.

[3] Steven L. Feinberg, Crane’s Blue Book of Stationery: The Styles and Etiquette of Letters, Notes, and Invitations (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2011), 5.

[4] Marguerite Murat Cook, Hand-book of Bible Study: Outlines of Bible Structure and Bible History (Washington, DC: David C. Cook, 1895), 13.

[5] Henry H. Halley, Halley’s Bible Handbook: with the New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000), 11.

[6] T. H. Jemison, Christian Beliefs: Fundamental Biblical Teachings for Seventh-day Adventist College Classes (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1959), 59.

[7] John Stott, Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017), 138.

[8] Jolyon Mitchell, Martyrdom: A Very Short Introduction (London: Oxford University Press, 2012), 62.

[9] Francis Higgins Cuming, The Companion to the Bible: Intended for Bible Classes, Families, Sunday Schools, and Seminaries of the Learning in General (New York: Trinity, 1834), 24.

[10] Lloyd G. Fennell, I Must Tell Jesus: This Is My Story (Bloomington, IN: Xlibris, 2011), 191–193.

[11] Reuben Percy, The Percy Anecdotes: Original and Select (London: Boys Ludgate Hill, 1823), 5.

[12] H. D. M. Spence, “2 Kings,” The Pulpit Commentary, ed. H. D. M. Spence (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, 2004), 437.

[14] Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald, 1941), 126.

[15] Ellen G. White, Education (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1952), 191.

[16] “(Heb. 4:12) No Soft Tread,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (SDABC), rev. ed., ed. Francis D. Nichol (Washington, DC: Review & Herald, 1976–1980), 5: 1147.

[17] White, Education, 414.

Youssry Guirguis currently serves as a full-time Lecturer at Asia-Pacific International University (AIU), Muak Lek, Thailand and also as an adjunct professor at the Adventist Institute for Islamic & Arabic Studies at Middle East University (MEU), Beirut, Lebanon.

Photo by Taylor Wilcox on Unsplash

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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at http://spectrummagazine.org/node/10318

Having read the Sabbath School Lessons for the second quarter 2020 and this nice review of Lesson Number 1, I notice that one important question is ignored: What is the Bible?

Seventh-day Adventist readers, most of whom are woefully ignorant of hermeneutics and phenomenology, can be persuaded that the essence of the Bible is not the leather covering or I-phone or other material that holds the Bible together or conveys the divine revelation. In our eidetic reduction of the Bible, we can agree that the materiality of whatever Bible we are holding in our hands is not in essence the Bible. Whatever material we use, the essence of the Bible remains the same.

Let’s continue this eidetic reduction of the Bible. What about the words? The words are like the material described above. Linguistics, a subsidiary discipline of hermeneutics, falsifies the notion that words can be divinely inspired. Not even the words written or spoken by God are divinely inspired. Language is a human construct. Words do not have fixed meanings; the meaning of a word is derived from the word’s paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations with other words, which themselves do not have fixed meanings. Words do not have a divine origin but are conventional. Words do not have a natural relation to what they signify, except in the rare case of onomatopoeia, but are arbitrary. Ellen White prayed to the Lord when stumped about what words to use. She could have walked to the local tavern and asked the patrons, “What words should I use here to communicate what I am trying to say?” The words provided by the patrons would not be in any respect inferior to the words provided by the Lord, because again, language is a human construct. And if Ellen White were to use synonyms of whatever words the Lord were to provide her, that would not alter the meaning of what she wrote, because the meaning of what she wrote is determined not by the words she used but by her authorial intent. The meaning of a text is not what the words say but what the author intends to say. We could switch out all of the words of the Bible and substitute different words and not change in any respect the meaning of the biblical text. Accordingly, the words of the Bible are like the material of the Bible in that neither is what the Bible in essence is.

(Alberto Timm wrote an essay that chronicles 150 years of Seventh-day Adventist struggle with Ellen White’s famous quotation about word/thought inspiration. Having read this quarter’s Sabbath School Lessons, I see that this struggle continues. Why is it so hard to learn linguistics? Why is it so hard for the Lessons’ authors or any other theology teacher to walk across campus and ask the teacher of linguistics, “Please allow me to sit at your feet. What do I need to know about language and words in order to fully understand and appreciate Ellen White’s famous quotation about word/thought inspiration?”).

Our eidetic reduction of the Bible continues. What about the biblical message? What about the teachings and doctrines set forth in the Bible? The Bible is historically conditioned. We do not worship a Platonist deity but a personal God who has inserted Himself in our time and space. The essence of the Bible is not what God communicated to the ancient Israelites and NT Christians but what He is communicating to us today. There is a lot of overlap, but the two are not the same. Our historical context has many commonalities with the historical contexts of the ancient Israelites and the NT Christians, respectively. But our historical context is different. Accordingly, God’s revelation for us is different than His revelation to the ancient Israelites and the NT Christians. And it is His revelation to us today that constitutes the essence of the Bible, at least for Christians who believe that the Bible is divinely inspired and purposed for our salvation. This concludes our eidetic reduction of the Bible.

There is one more reduction to undertake, the phenomenological reduction of the Bible. Our interpretation of the Bible is affected by our presuppositions. In order to “go back to the things themselves” and clearly discern the essence of the Bible, we must free our mind of presuppositions. But this is dangerous. The phenomenological reduction is a rigorous meditative practice. It is mysticism, in which one empties the mind. Eradicating our mind of presuppositions might be throwing out a lot of good with the bad. We are warned not to engage in mysticism. How a Christian approach to phenomenological reduction should be undertaken is an issue we can discuss at another time.

My plane is landing. Thank you for this essay.

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Well, something the author ignores is that The Bible wasn’t “the Bible” at certain point of time of any of the progression of these writings.

The authors were not writing “the Bible”. Each of them had more immediate concerns that had very little to do with 20th century Adventist theology.

Likewise, from the broader POV of linguistics, language is arguably an expression more than it is a construct when it comes to what those external symbols end up linking to internally. Language is a process which we tend to abstract into isolated scope of external symbolism, and we ignore the broader continuum of that process that doesn’t begin with us, and it doesn’t end there.

Similarly, the Bible should be a process… much like the process that it always was… until it got appropriated and Canonized.

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Any one who writes, “Roughly forty men authored the Bible over a period of 1,500 years. When the sixty-six books of the Bible . . . . are considered, we find perfect unity and harmony in the message they convey. The Bible as a whole communicates one coherent message; on mind planted it all by the mind of God,” has not read the Bible.

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This gets my vote for comment of the year!

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“Seventh-day Adventist readers, most of whom are woefully ignorant of hermeneutics and phenomenology”…

That’s a rather harsh description of a large group pf people.
I thank the authors for their contributions.
To paraphrase one of my favorite authors, may I humbly say:
Some of us read the bible and conclude that God meets us where He is…
Others believe that we meet God where we are…
I pray that by reading the bible, I will realize that God meets people where they are. He runs the risk of being misunderstood.

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Why is it “harsh?” In my opinion, it’s an accurate verbal representation of reality. The statement is not a criticism of people, it’s rather a true description of the majority of church members. I think Phill’s @phil statement is correct and accurate.

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I don’t mean to be harsh, but how many Seventh-day Adventists in the world have read the standard literature on hermeneutics and phenomenology? How many Seventh-day Adventists are familiar with the writings and ideas of the following: Luke, Augustine, Flacius, Dannhauer, Ast, Schleiermacher, Georg Friedrich Meier, Herder, Dilthey, Droysen, Hayden White, Heidegger, Husserl, Gadamer, Ricoeur, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Antonin Scalia, de Saussure, the Russian Formalists, Roland Barthes, ED Hirsch, Jr., the New Criticism writers, Jauss and Iser? (This is just a partial list). I would be surprised if there are as many as ten (10) Seventh-day Adventists in the world who know anything about hermeneutics and phenomenology. The Lessons reflect that hermeneutics and phenomenology are very much a mystery to those who wrote the Lessons.

Most Seventh-day Adventists, of course, have read what Luke has written, but they are oblivious to his grappling with the science of interpretation and art of understanding. Maybe one of these days Seventh-day Adventists will embrace a deeper study of his writings.

What does it say about Seventh-day Adventists that we think so little of the Word of God that we have never bothered to learn how to interpret it?

Is it easier to learn the material or to declare in polemical fashion that the material is irrelevant? Is it easier to be a hermeneutist or an anti-intellectual know-nothing?

I think we know the answers to these questions.

I think the Lessons can be declared a success if readers experience a dawning of hermeneutical consciousness and begin fervent study of this standard literature.

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Seventh-day Adventist readers, … can be persuaded that the essence of the Bible is not the leather covering or I-phone or other material that holds the Bible together or conveys the divine revelation.

Perhaps, but many Seventh-day Adventists I know treat the physical bound printed Bible as an object of veneration. When I was growing up, my mother forbade us to place any other object on a physical Bible.

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Phenomenology , a philosophical movement originating in the 20th century, the primary objective of which is the direct investigation and description of phenomena as consciously experienced, without theories about their causal explanation and as free as possible from unexamined preconceptions and presuppositions.

How does that help me understand what the Bible say?
Do we approach the Bible as sola scriptura or prima scriptura?
Most adventists and other christians are not religious scholars. I would hope that we view the Bible not as a holy relic but a book that provides all truth essential for salvation. In that vein, the bible should be the only source for understanding how to interpret the Bible.
I would hope that the Bible is a living, transforming presence in our lives.
I sincerely believe that we should learn how to read the Bible in such a way as to leave open the possibility we might learn something…That’s exegesis and I love it.

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My parents did, too. I hadn’t thought of it for years until recently when disguarding Bibles while clearing out the house of an elderly disceased relative. It would be tricky to apply that custom to one’s Bible-containing Kindle Reader.

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What evidence is there of that? If it were true, Christianity would comprise one denomination. However, a typical estimate that I found is

“…world Christianity consists of 6 major ecclesiastico-cultural blocs, divided into 300 major ecclesiastical traditions, composed of over 33,000 distinct denominations.”

Yikes!

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Phil,
You seem to have an intimate knowledge of the level (or lack thereof) of understanding that SDA members have of the Bible. Curious as to you have come to your expert conclusions (not opinions hopefully) and how you would compare it with similar understanding by RCC members, Mormons (of their book) or Muslims of the Koran. Are we at a critical or even significant disadvantage? and how would training in phenomenology better equip us to discern God and His will for us?

At one time ONLY the King James Version was considered the only
Bible for SDAs to use as their Authorized Version.
I have begun using other ways of saying the Bible since the days of
the Phillips translation. I NOW have 7 different versions of all or parts
of the Scriptures and that has increased my understanding since the
days of just reading the KJV Only.
NOW, SDAs have their own Bible TWO [2] ways. 1. is the Clear Word
otherwise known as the “SDA BIBLE”. 2. are the Bibles published by
SDA sources that have on every page a commentary by Ellen White
so we will READ and UNDERSTAND the words on the page correctly
with little room for other readings.

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i think youssry’s ten rules are excellent, especially this seventh one…there probably isn’t any point in reading the bible without an expectation that something is going to dawn, be gained and strengthened, or be intensely felt…

i find it’s also valuable to read the bible when one is alert, fresh and rested, and when there isn’t the sense that something else is impending…sometimes my best bible readings have happened first thing in the morning…but other times, late night readings facilitate the most valuable sense that god and heavenly beings are all around me, enabling my senses to recognize and comprehend the experiences and wisdom of people who lived, thought and felt so many centuries ago…

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George –
In answer to your “grape juice” comment.
Manachevitz [spelling] kosher wine [purple] does have the best
flavor. White wine is UGH!
Welch’s purple grape juice is stronger than the white grape juice.
For some reason Purple has a much more BOLD flavor.
White is a light delicate sweet flavor.
DID YOU KNOW – Mr. Welch began his business for persons
who wanted to get off Alcohol as a Non-Alcoholic Purple Wine?
I only learned this a short time ago.
Also, if one was at some type of dinner party with friends where
wine was served, the grape juice could be put in a wine glass and
that person could give toasts with all the others.

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"how you would compare it with similar understanding by RCC members, Mormons (of their book) or Muslims of the Koran."

Personally I have found that most Catholics don’t generally have an in-depth knowledge of the Bible but do know stories and concepts (and this is acceptable to them). Mormons generally have as good or better knowledge of the Bible and their “special” books than most SDAs have about theirs. Most Muslims I have known have a very good knowledge of what the Koran says and incorporate their beliefs into their daily lives through prayer, etc.

"Are we at a critical or even significant disadvantage?"

In the sense that most SDAs probably haven’t read even 3 entire EGW entirely through…I would say, yes. I recently saw a graph in the SW Recorder that reported that only 65 percent of the respondents prayed daily. So, I don’t know that SDA’s have any specific “advantage” either.

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Thank you for this article. At first I was a little confused by the many "should"s, anyway, the section about Jesus as the center of the Bible is just awesome. Here’s a continuation of this idea:

As much as I love the Word of God (in all its variety, unity, honesty, sadness, hope), Jesus as The Word is the pure embodiment of all of God’s revelation in scripture and the pure embodiment of God’s character and covenant faithfulness. Therefore, His covenant faithfulness secures our salvation, not our attempts. SS lesson # 1, though not this fine article, forgets this at times.
[For all the cheap grace shouters: Gratitude and a changed heart will follow when one begins to comprehend that.]

Yes, the Bible is unique (though different than people might wish), and yes, God is still talking through its pages. Hallelujah! However, Jesus Christ is greater than the Bible. If there would be degrees of uniqueness, Jesus would be “more unique.”

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It is interesting that among your ten points, you don’t include reading the Bible critically.

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That is not with the clutch pedal down so that the mind is not engaged. His whole piece shows that he uses the Bible to support an ideology. He does not read the Bible with an open mind.

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