How to respond to "you shouldn't interpret scripture"

[BobCatholic]

He has a tendency to argue from silence… if it doesn’t explicitly say it in scripture, then we shouldn’t believe in it.

OK, then it is time for him to show you bible verses for the canon of scripture He can answer my infamous 4 questions.

1. Where it says that the number of books in the New Testament is officially 27?
2. Where does it say what books belong in the NT?
3. Where does it say what versions of the books belong in the NT? For example: There was a version of Matthew’s Gospel that had 8 chapters worth of text. Another with 18. A third with 28. Which one is the correct one, using Scripture alone?
4. Where does it say which TRANSLATION of the books in the NT is the correct one?
   The answers to these infamous 4 questions were determined infallibly, and correctly.

And outside of scripture.

 

[Mintaka]

Folks, I think the most useful Scripture passage is this one:

Acts 8:26-39 –

Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise, go towards the south, to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is desert.) And rising up, he went.

And behold! A man of Ethiopia, a eunuch, of great authority under the Candace (the queen of the Ethiopians) who had charge over all her treasures, had come to Jerusalem to adore. And he was going back there, sitting in his chariot, and reading Isaiah the prophet.

And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near, and join up with this chariot.”

And Philip, running over there, heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. **And he said, “Do you think that you understand what you are reading?”

He said, “And how can I, unless some man show me?” **

And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. And the place of the Scripture which he was reading was this:

‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb without voice before his shearer, so he opens not his mouth. In humility, his judgment was taken away. His generation, who shall declare? for his life shall be taken from the earth.’

And the eunuch answering Philip, said, “I beseech you – Of whom does the prophet speak this? Of himself, or of some other man?”

Then Philip, opening his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him."

Similarly, we see at Emmaus that nobody can understand plain old Scripture, or obvious Bible happenings involving God, unless someone teaches us – Jesus.

Luke 24:13-36 –

"And behold, two of them went the same day to a town which was sixty furlongs from Jerusalem, named Emmaus. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that while they talked and reasoned with themselves, Jesus himself also drawing near, went with them. But their eyes were held, so that they should not know him.

And he said to them, “What are these discourses that you hold one with another as you walk, and are sad?”

And the one of them whose name was Cleopas, answering, said to him, “Are you only a stranger to Jerusalem? And have you not known the things that have been done there in these days?”

He said to them, “What things?”

And they said, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in work and word before God and all the people; And how our chief priests and princes delivered him to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we hoped that it was he that should have redeemed Israel.

“And now besides all this, today is the third day since these things were done. Yes, and certain women also of our company scared us, the one who before it was light were at the sepulchre. And not finding his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who say that he is alive. And some of our people went to the sepulchre, and found it as the women had said, but him they did not find.”

Then He said to them, “O foolish and slow of heart to believe in all things which the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Messiah to have suffered these things, and so enter into his glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them, in all the Scriptures, the things that were concerning Him.

And they drew near to the town where they were going, and he acted as though he would go farther. But they stopped him, saying, “Stay with us, because it is towards evening, and the day is now far spent.” And he went in with them.

And it came to pass that while he was at table with them, he took bread, and blessed and broke it, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

And they said one to the other, “Was not our heart burning within us, while He spoke on this road, and opened the Scriptures to us?”

And rising up the same hour, they went back to Jerusalem, and they found the Eleven gathered together, and those that were staying with them saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon.”

And they told what things were done on the road, and how they knew him in the breaking of the bread. And then, while they were saying these things, Jesus stood in the midst of them, and says to them, “Peace be to you; it is I, fear not.”

The Church has authority from Jesus to teach what Jesus taught. Teaching something different from what the Church teaches openly in all places is “private interpretation.”

 

[animalis]

Interpenetrating or interpreting is the same process as understanding. And the Gospel of Luke explicitly speaks of understanding:

“It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,” (Lk 1:3, King James Bible)

If he said. I do not have to interpret, Luke did so, and thus all I do is read - He would necessarily have to turn himself into a book and reveal his book like nature to the world to evangelize, and any grownup would honestly say that is absurd.

He is human and in order to pass understanding the knower first off has to understand as well to provide the necessary consequence. The result of understanding.

“For the heart of this people has become gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.” (Isa 6:10, Lxx)

 

[Moneyball]

Does your father-in-law believe that the sky is a solid dome holding back the waters of heaven, with windows to allow rain to come through? If not, why not? That is what Genesis says.

He has already acknowledged that some parts of the Bible should be understood symbolically, how he determines which verse should or should not be understood that way is not entirely clear to me. He has mentioned in the past that he trusts his own understanding of the texts because he says that the Holy Spirit would not decieve him. In other words, it sounds to me like he views his understanding of the text as authoritative and if anyone disagrees with it disagrees with the Holy Spirit. It’s a challenge I tell ya .

 

[Aaron_I]

He has already acknowledged that some parts of the Bible should be understood symbolically, how he determines which verse should or should not be understood that way is not entirely clear to me. He has mentioned in the past that he trusts his own understanding of the texts because he says that the Holy Spirit would not decieve him. In other words, it sounds to me like he views his understanding of the text as authoritative and if anyone disagrees with it disagrees with the Holy Spirit. It’s a challenge I tell ya .

Gotcha.

Holy Spirit tells him 6-day creation is true, so it’s true.

Holy Spirit tells you Big-Bang and old universe is true, but it’s (apparently) not true.

Clearly he must think the HS likes him better than you

 

[Moneyball]

Gotcha.

Holy Spirit tells him 6-day creation is true, so it’s true.

Holy Spirit tells you Big-Bang and old universe is true, but it’s (apparently) not true.

Clearly he must think the HS likes him better than you

I don’t know what he thinks to be honest with you, but he doesn’t seem to see the dilemma. I suspect that he thinks that Catholics have been mislead by the devil (through the Church and Pope) and therefore their/our understanding of the Bible is distorted. I have no idea how’d he’d respond to a practicing protestant though .

 

[PJM]

Hi all, my baptist father in law has been trying very hard to convert my wife and I and he raised an objection that I’ve never heard before. He insists that if we don’t believe the book of Genesis is describing a literal six 24hr day creation that we are essentially rejecting God’s divine revelation… my wife’s response was to say that we don’t understand the entire book of Genesis to be literal and that an old universe is compatible with the Bible.

Here’s where things get interesting. My father in law insists that we don’t have the authority to interpret scripture, and that to do so is wrongheaded. The response to that of course is to say that everyone (including my father in law) who derives some sort of meaning or understanding out of the text is in one way or another “interpreting” scripture. Despite pointing this out to him, he refuses to acknowledge that he himself interprets scripture… he usually says something like “I don’t interpret scripture, I just read it as it is written.”

Anyway, I’m not sure what can be said at this point to resolve this road block, I was wondering if any of you have any advice or if you can explain to me where this view comes from. Thanks!

Thank you

You raise sever interesting points.

1 We ARE NOT to self interpret the bible {which BTW ids precisely what Protestants do, or they would be Catholics:thumbsup: Mt 16:18-19, Jn 17:17-20, Mt 28:18-20 and all of John Chpt 6, as well as Jn 20:19-23 are proof of this.

So READ along with him {even from the King James} the above passages and ask HIM why he does not believe them

2Peter 1: 19-21
And we have the more firm prophetical word: whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: [20**] Understanding this first, that no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation. [21] For prophecy came not by the will of man at any time: but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost.

[Douay explanation]
[20] No prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation: This shews plainly that the scriptures are not to be expounded by any one’s private judgment or private spirit, because every part of the holy scriptures were written by men inspired by the Holy Ghost, and declared as such by the Church; therefore they are not to be interpreted but by the Spirit of God, which he hath left, and promised to remain with his Church to guide her in all truth to the end of the world. Some may tell us, that many of our divines interpret the scriptures: they may do so, but they do it always with a submission to the judgment of the Church, and not otherwise. End Quotes

As for numbers in the bible; please ck this out: GOOGLE numbers in the bible
agapebiblestudy.com

ASK him this question?

HOW DID GOD CREATE THE UNIVERSE? Did he somehow “build” and it MANY BILLIONS of components; or as is in FACT Did God “WILL the Universe into existence?”

Answer: He WILLED it into existence with AMY HAVE??? only taken an instant

The number seven biblically means “complete, Full, even perfect”

God Bless you {and PRAY MUCH for him}

Patrick

 

[JanetF]

“Not interpreting” doesn’t mean we shouldn’t read it…

 

[PJM]

“Not interpreting” doesn’t mean we shouldn’t read it…

AMEN to THAT:thumbsup:

BUt in doing so, always invite the Holy Spirit to sit in with you

 

[PJM]

Folks, I think the most useful Scripture passage is this one:

Similarly, we see at Emmaus that nobody can understand plain old Scripture, or obvious Bible happenings involving God, unless someone teaches us – Jesus.

The Church has authority from Jesus to teach what Jesus taught. Teaching something different from what the Church teaches openly in all places is “private interpretation.”

Noy 'just someone"; BUT that someone being an informed,Preacticng RCC and using a good Catholic bible:thumbsup:

Mt 16:15-19, John 17:17-20; John 17-1720, and Mt 28:1820

 

[Jesus_123]

“Not interpreting” doesn’t mean we shouldn’t read it…

+*Amen to the above . . . *

Like any discipline of life found here on earth . . . medicine, physics, engineering, etc., . . . the Christian Faith of the Catholic Church has a distinct set of Christian beliefs and doctrines as its . . . foundation . . . and we . . . as Catholics . . . walk and grow within the clearly defined Holy Pathways of God defined both by Sacred Scripture and the Holy Roman Catholic Church’s Magesterium’s Dogmas and Doctrines . . .

When it comes to the . . . VAST . . . wealth of truth entrusted to us . . . subject to our . . . Counselor . . . the Sweet Spirit of our Holy God . . . within all of . . . Sacred Scripture . . . like a beautifully cut diamond . . . each truth from even the littlest portion . . . to the longer sections therein . . . can have a multitude of . . . harmonious facets/aspects . . . of truth and wisdom to be understood . . . with individuals receiving portions of understanding as needed . . . and as Catholics our Holy Mother Church’s sound doctrines and dogmas provide wonderful guidance as to the foundationional deep truths upon which understanding of all else rests . . .

But don’t sell the . . . Sweet Spirit of our Holy God . . . short in relation to your father-in-law . . . if he is truly seeking and loving . . . Jesus . . . **the Blessed Christ of God . . . as your family-member/brother in the Body of Christ . . . just keep his soul enfolded in prayer and entrust him to our Saviour. God will fully enlighten us all in due season . . . and by-the-way . . . there is spirited debate . . . and has been even among Catholics down through the centuries . . .as to whether to believe Genesis is literal or allegorical plus . . . or both . . . you can if you like . . . choose to just peacefully agree to disagree . . . and let the subject gently rest . . .

:bible1:
“For with
GOD
nothing
shall be impossible.”
-* Luke 1:37*

As for reading Sacred Scripture . . . we start even our tiniest babes memorizing little portions of **Scripture **. . . and should be teaching our children as they grow . . . more and more . . . **Bible **memory verses and stories to feed their souls upon the Truths of God . . . everyone needs to grow and thrive in the healthy, wholesome deep sweet counsel of the Thoughts of God revealed in the Holy Bible . . .

:coffeeread:
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

Article 2 - THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION

81
Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit.

Article 3 - SACRED SCRIPTURE

104
In Sacred Scripture, the Church constantly finds her nourishment and her strength, for she welcomes it not as human word, "but as what it really is, the Word of God."

**
In the
sacred books**

,
the Father who is in heaven
comes lovingly to meet his children,
and talks with them.

:bible1: “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand …” Psalms 139:17-18b​

:bible1: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” Isaiah 55:8​

:bible1: “So shall **my word **be that goeth forth out of **my **mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which **I **please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto **I **sent it.” Isaiah 55:11​

:bible1: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but **my words **shall not pass away.” Matthew 24:35​

. . . all for Jesus+
. . . thank You Blessed LORD+
. . . thank You Sweet Spirit of our Holy God+
. . . thank you Blessed Holy Mother Church+​

 

[sonofbarry]

Perhaps a response to father in law might be something like this:

“Hi, (insert name). You obviously have a great knowledge of God’s word and a deep love of God. So do I. On those measures, we agree fully.
I do, however, feel that you are trying to belittle my faith and even intimidate me. My faith is my own and I am a little worn down by feeling that I have to constantly justify myself to someone who is implacably opposed to my beliefs. We will never agree on these matters, so we had better leave religion out of our discussions.
If you want to talk about becoming Catholic, then I can help you. For now, let’s light the barbeque and have a drink.”

In that way (not in these stodgy words, of course, but something similar), you demonstrate grace, understanding, humility and a genuine offer to spread the word.

 

[Moneyball]

Perhaps a response to father in law might be something like this:

“Hi, (insert name). You obviously have a great knowledge of God’s word and a deep love of God. So do I. On those measures, we agree fully.
I do, however, feel that you are trying to belittle my faith and even intimidate me. My faith is my own and I am a little worn down by feeling that I have to constantly justify myself to someone who is implacably opposed to my beliefs. We will never agree on these matters, so we had better leave religion out of our discussions.
If you want to talk about becoming Catholic, then I can help you. For now, let’s light the barbeque and have a drink.”

In that way (not in these stodgy words, of course, but something similar), you demonstrate grace, understanding, humility and a genuine offer to spread the word.

Personally, I’m all for dialogue so long as it’s respectful. My side of the family never talks about religious topics and it feels like a completely secular environment… in my opinion that’s not better.

 

[Moneyball]

Thank you

You raise sever interesting points.

1 We ARE NOT to self interpret the bible {which BTW ids precisely what Protestants do, or they would be Catholics:thumbsup: Mt 16:18-19, Jn 17:17-20, Mt 28:18-20 and all of John Chpt 6, as well as Jn 20:19-23 are proof of this.

So READ along with him {even from the King James} the above passages and ask HIM why he does not believe them

2Peter 1: 19-21
And we have the more firm prophetical word: whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: [20**] Understanding this first, that no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation.

[21] For prophecy came not by the will of man at any time: but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost.

[Douay explanation]
[20] No prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation: This shews plainly that the scriptures are not to be expounded by any one’s private judgment or private spirit, because every part of the holy scriptures were written by men inspired by the Holy Ghost, and declared as such by the Church; therefore they are not to be interpreted but by the Spirit of God, which he hath left, and promised to remain with his Church to guide her in all truth to the end of the world. Some may tell us, that many of our divines interpret the scriptures: they may do so, but they do it always with a submission to the judgment of the Church, and not otherwise. End Quotes

As for numbers in the bible; please ck this out: GOOGLE numbers in the bible
agapebiblestudy.com

ASK him this question?

HOW DID GOD CREATE THE UNIVERSE? Did he somehow “build” and it MANY BILLIONS of components; or as is in FACT Did God “WILL the Universe into existence?”

Answer: He WILLED it into existence with AMY HAVE??? only taken an instant

The number seven biblically means “complete, Full, even perfect”

God Bless you {and PRAY MUCH for him}

Patrick
I suppose it depends on how the word interpretation is understood… now we’re stuck having to interpret the word interpretation. I agree the we are not to individually interpret scripture apart from Christ’s Church, but there are certain parts of the Bible that we do not definitively understand. The story of creation is one of them. In other words, when someone tells me that we shouldn’t interpret Genesis, I understand that to mean that we shouldn’t try to understand the message the author meant to convey when he wrote it… I certainly disagree with that.

 

[PJM]

I suppose it depends on how the word interpretation is understood… now we’re stuck having to interpret the word interpretation. I agree the we are not to individually interpret scripture apart from Christ’s Church, but there are certain parts of the Bible that we do not definitively understand. The story of creation is one of them. In other words, when someone tells me that we shouldn’t interpret Genesis, I understand that to mean that we shouldn’t try to understand the message the author meant to convey when he wrote it… I certainly disagree with that.

Thank you,

A very kind and thoughtful response

The “Key” {Mt 16:18-19 & 28:19-20} is to in humility obey what the RCC teaches.

While Genesis is no doubt TRUE, does not mean that it is in every case it is ALSO factual.

For example: If you were to be asked… “HOW did God Create {to make something out of nothing} the universe”, how would you, how should WE respond?

Isaiah 55:8-9 comes to my mind

“[8] For my thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways my ways, saith the Lord. [9] For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts”

It seems quite logical that God did NOT “make” the Universe; rather that He “Created it.” So we can understand that God “Willed” the Universe into existence, which may have taken but an instant, or a BILLION Years… we simply do not know, nor is it really significant or even necessary for us to comprehend the “HOW”, except though FAITH to accept & believe that it exist because God wanted it too.

Then in chapter 3 with the “talking serpent”; obviously that is metaphorical, teaching a reality in a storybook manner… Adam and Eve may have been called Sam and Judy; again we don’t really know. What we can {must} know and believe is the our FIRST parents were CREATED by God, that they DID choose to sin grievously, and that we inherit through them, as consequence of there actions both Original sin and concupiscence {a tendency to sin}.

It is precisely by knowing what our RCC teaches that we are able to read the bible with understanding.

A good Catholic Commentary is also VERY useful.

Here is the one I use most often, a FREE download that can be added to one’s screen-top.

http://haydock1859.tripod.com/

God Bless you

Patrick

 

[goout]

Hi all, my baptist father in law has been trying very hard to convert my wife and I and he raised an objection that I’ve never heard before. He insists that if we don’t believe the book of Genesis is describing a literal six 24hr day creation that we are essentially rejecting God’s divine revelation… my wife’s response was to say that we don’t understand the entire book of Genesis to be literal and that an old universe is compatible with the Bible.

Here’s where things get interesting. My father in law insists that we don’t have the authority to interpret scripture, and that to do so is wrongheaded. The response to that of course is to say that everyone (including my father in law) who derives some sort of meaning or understanding out of the text is in one way or another “interpreting” scripture. Despite pointing this out to him, he refuses to acknowledge that he himself interprets scripture… he usually says something like “I don’t interpret scripture, I just read it as it is written.”

Anyway, I’m not sure what can be said at this point to resolve this road block, I was wondering if any of you have any advice or if you can explain to me where this view comes from. Thanks!

All of revelation is interpreted.
We cannot know God unless he reveals himself to us. In revelation God communicates himself to us.
Communication has to be received, filtered, and understood to the best of our abilities.

Scripture is revelation. You can’t just read it as written because it was written in the distant past and none of us are part of the culture it was written in, obviously.

 

[LiamQ]

… he usually says something like “I don’t interpret scripture, I just read it as it is written.”

To be fair, you and I both know that that’s very simplistic and even self-contradictory. But if that’s how he understands things, then that’s how he understands them.

I think a lot of folks refuse to look at the Bible in a nuanced manner, because, in their minds, it offends God or treats the Bible as less than inspired.

I have to be honest: I admire that perspective. God bless folks for standing up to the world because they want to stand up for God. Would that more Catholics had the guts to be “fools” for Christ.

While it’s true that I think the first 11 chapters of Genesis are not intended to be a history in the modern sense of the word—and while there’s lots of figurative language used therein—I don’t know that this is really a hill to die on. I think you would impress your father-in-law far more if you conceded that his understanding is actually a possibility, and that, from a Catholic perspective, his view is certainly permissible. Indeed, something like his view is actually a very, very old teaching.

Having said this, I think taking him to various Scripture passages that support Catholic doctrine might be useful to test his non-interpretation-but-straight-reading theory. Matthew 16 and the Papacy, and John 6 and the Eucharist, would be interesting places to discuss with him, I think. If done right, and with grace, he might begin to see that he does an awful lot of interpreting of Scripture, and that this interpretation is based on the theology he has been taught, rather than being direct exegesis of the text.

 

[LiamQ]

In other words, when someone tells me that we shouldn’t interpret Genesis, I understand that to mean that we shouldn’t try to understand the message the author meant to convey when he wrote it… I certainly disagree with that.

This is a sophisticated and nuanced view. Some people are afraid of views like that, because they basically consider them to be prideful sophistry.

I was raised as a fundamentalist of sorts, and if you had told me that I need to understand Genesis in accordance with its genre and the cultures of the time period and the theologies that circulated in the Middle East, I would think you were simply being deceived by fancy scholars and were treating the Bible as if it wasn’t the inerrant, inspired Word of God.

That’s a mentality that’s incredibly hard to shake, because it’s in the very core of many Protestants. It’s a massive step for many to begin to treat reason as if it should be utilized, because their faith is basically fideistic: I believe this, and there isn’t a reasonable explanation that I need to offer, it’s the truth and that’s that.

In my opinion, the best thing to do with such folks is to consistently talk about loving Jesus with them, and to focus on Him and how to more closely follow Him. If you get closer to Christ together, your time is never wasted. If you try to get too intellectual, you might lose folks.

In fact, one thing I would try with your father-in-law is to ask him to talk about Jesus from the Bible. What are some of his favorite Scripture passages? What are some of his favorite prophecies? Which teachings of Jesus are his favorite? If you open yourself up a bit to be taught by him, you’ll not only be honoring him, but you’ll be sharing Christ together. And I’ll tell you what: I’ll bet you he loves Jesus and is absolutely aching to share Him with others. Be merciful to him.

 

[TheCuriousCat]

Hi all, my baptist father in law has been trying very hard to convert my wife and I and he raised an objection that I’ve never heard before. He insists that if we don’t believe the book of Genesis is describing a literal six 24hr day creation that we are essentially rejecting God’s divine revelation… my wife’s response was to say that we don’t understand the entire book of Genesis to be literal and that an old universe is compatible with the Bible.

Here’s where things get interesting. My father in law insists that we don’t have the authority to interpret scripture, and that to do so is wrongheaded. The response to that of course is to say that everyone (including my father in law) who derives some sort of meaning or understanding out of the text is in one way or another “interpreting” scripture. Despite pointing this out to him, he refuses to acknowledge that he himself interprets scripture… he usually says something like “I don’t interpret scripture, I just read it as it is written.”

Anyway, I’m not sure what can be said at this point to resolve this road block, I was wondering if any of you have any advice or if you can explain to me where this view comes from. Thanks!

I think the short answer is that there is no way that you can convince that person they aren’t right.

However, it’s a funny view to take because the Bible is filled with contradictions and nonsensical statements that make no sense if you take it exactly as written.

How many animals were on the ark? Two of each kind, or seven pairs of the clean animals and two of the unclean. If you are open to interpretation, you can explain that fairly easily. If you need to take it exactly as written, then what do you do? Two is seven? You could say God changed his mind (interpretation) or that God was giving a more detailed breakdown of what he wanted (interpretation), or any number of other explanations but they all require you to interpret the text.

If you aren’t willing to interpret it, you are stuck believing something impossible.

Also, where does the Bible define the length of a day? It doesn’t. We get 24 because it is a close approximation of how long it takes for the Earth to rotate on its axis, but there are multiple definitions of day, none of which he gets from the Bible. To assume a 24 day is an interpretation based on observations made outside of the Bible.

I could go on for days.

 

[Moneyball]

This is a sophisticated and nuanced view. Some people are afraid of views like that, because they basically consider them to be prideful sophistry.

I was raised as a fundamentalist of sorts, and if you had told me that I need to understand Genesis in accordance with its genre and the cultures of the time period and the theologies that circulated in the Middle East, I would think you were simply being deceived by fancy scholars and were treating the Bible as if it wasn’t the inerrant, inspired Word of God.

That’s a mentality that’s incredibly hard to shake, because it’s in the very core of many Protestants. It’s a massive step for many to begin to treat reason as if it should be utilized, because their faith is basically fideistic: I believe this, and there isn’t a reasonable explanation that I need to offer, it’s the truth and that’s that.

In my opinion, the best thing to do with such folks is to consistently talk about loving Jesus with them, and to focus on Him and how to more closely follow Him. If you get closer to Christ together, your time is never wasted. If you try to get too intellectual, you might lose folks.

In fact, one thing I would try with your father-in-law is to ask him to talk about Jesus from the Bible. What are some of his favorite Scripture passages? What are some of his favorite prophecies? Which teachings of Jesus are his favorite? If you open yourself up a bit to be taught by him, you’ll not only be honoring him, but you’ll be sharing Christ together. And I’ll tell you what: I’ll bet you he loves Jesus and is absolutely aching to share Him with others. Be merciful to him.

Thanks for the advice, it’s very helpful. I very much enjoy when he chooses to share his faith, unfortunately every time my wife mentions anything that doesn’t align with his views we have to get ready for battle so to speak.