by Fr. John Whiteford When it comes to the interpretation of the Scriptures we speak of "exegesis" (which refers to bringing the correct meaning of the text out through proper interpretation) and "eisegesis" (which is reading an incorrect meaning into the text of Scripture that is not in fact there), but in the case of the recent article "Orthodox Pastoral Response in the Past to Same-Sex Behavior", written by an anonymous author we have to coin a new term to describe its peculiar approach to Scripture: "obscurantegesis" (which is the intentional obscuring of the meaning of a text or texts of Scripture). It is clear that the anonymous author is not interested in what the Church has actually … [Read more...]
How to Study Scripture from an Orthodox Perspective
by Fr. John Whiteford This video provides an excellent presentation by Archpriest John Whiteford, chief pastor of St. Jonah Orthodox Church (ROCOR) in Spring, Texas, on how Orthodox Christians should view Bible study. Fr. John is a Bible scholar, and author of the book, Sola Scriptura: An Orthodox Analysis of the Cornerstone of Reformation Theology. What follows is not a comprehensive guide to how to the study the Bible, but it is a collection of previous articles into one post, so that they can be easily accessed. First, a talk that covers why we should study the Scriptures, as well as some of the basics about how we should do so. The Importance of Reading the Bible in Christian … [Read more...]
