BroJoeK, great answers and very, very accurate. You’re spot on that it was the Arians who were fighting the less Biblical interpretation of Jesus Christ. Keep in mind that there is also a Satan in the picture. He’s not interested in clarity, but obscurity and division.
I’m always delighted to read the Greek or Hebrew as it is quite enlightening. One of Diabolos’ meanings is one who breaks relationships, not just between God and man, but between man and man - Christian v. ‘Christian’, husbands and wives, parents and children, races, etc.
The other major fault in Biblical analysis is forgetting context. Though the whole Bible is valuable for personal edification, not every verse is written to ‘you’. Many are contextual and written to those people for that purpose. There’s value there, but it makes interpreting by your own mind dangerous.
That’s the other part of the context issue. Every translation of any text, including the Bible, is a transmission. It is a transmission of the translators time, context, beliefs, and understandings, not to mention the powerful influence of the sponsor. Who pays the piper calls the tune is true in translation.
Toss in the eisegesis which naturally occurs in any human endeavor and you can see why there are so many doctrines and disputes. Everyone else is the Pharisee or Sadducee or the Jew. Everyone else says, “Lord, Lord” and doesn’t know Him.
Finally, we see history through our own lens. A bad emperor is one who kills Christians. Whereas a Roman might be delighted at the quality of imperial management.
My personal belief is that God is truth and His followers should pursue truth where it leads, even if it isn’t where they want to go. Christ’s example of growing from grace to grace ending in his experience in the Garden teaches us that it isn’t our will, but God’s we must do.
Very well done, BroJoeK. I don’t come here much because it’s boring and contentious. You’ve made it a delight. Keep me posted and thank you.
;-)