Exegetical Fallacies

To help me learn, remember and become more familiar with the teaching of D.A. Carson I would like to summarize his book Exegetical Fallacies. (Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2006, copyright by D. A. Carson 1996, ISBN 10:0-8010-2086-7).

As I read through this book I was made keenly aware of errors that I have made in my own exegetical work and assumptions. The second thing I realized was that many of the scholars I trust and study from make some of the errors Carson identifies. I feel it is important not to just read his work, but to be able to understand it and avoid the errors that he identifies.

In the introduction Carson says:

A critical interpretation of Scripture is one that has adequate justification - lexical, grammatical, cultural, theological, historical, geographical, or other justification.

Chapter One, Word-Study Fallacies, Carson lists the following examples of exegetical errors or assumptions. Some of these I have made in the past:

1. Root Fallacy - the etymology or the root of the word does not always determine the meaning of a word. An English example is the Latin root for "nice" is "nescius" which means "ignorant. "Servant" translates the Greek "hyperetas" which comes from "eresso" which meant "to row" in Homer's 700's BC. How many of us have used that to explain the meaning of "servant"? I did on the top of page 228 in my "Framework" book. Carson is not saying this does not give us insight but does say:

   I am simply saying that the meaning of a word cannot be reliably determined by etymology or that a root, once discovered, always projects a certain semantic load onto any word that incorporates that root.

2. Semantic Anachronism - this occurs when a late use of a word is read back into earlier literature. The best example of this is the word "episkopos" or "bishop". The bishop of the New Testament is not the same as the bishop in 45o AD. Carson also uses the Greek word "dunamis" which means "power" and is the basis for our word "dynamite." But, the Greeks were not thinking of blowing things up when they said "dunamis."
3. Semantic Obsolescence - this is when the word in the text is assigned a meaning that was used in the past but had ceased to be used when the text was written. Carson refers to an English dictionary of his entitled: Dictionary of Obsolete English. Homers Greek is no longer the Greek of the Septuagint or of the New Testament. I have Kittle's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (10 vol.) and Colin Brown's Dictionary of New Testament Theology (4 vol.) which provide the classical meaning of the Greek word. This is interesting, and at times useful, but Carson warns that these meanings of classical Greek are 700 years old when Paul uses the same words in the New Testament. The example he uses is the word "martus" which means "to give evidence" but developed into a word which meant "to give evidence of personal convictions and die for it". Thus, our word "martyr".
4. Appeal to Unknown or Unlikely Meanings -
   
5. Careless Appeal to Background Material -
   
6. Verbal Parallelomania -
   
7. Linkage of Language and Mentality -
   
8. False Assumptions About Technical Meaning -
   
9. Problems Surrounding Synonyms and Componential Analysis -
   
10. Selective and Prejudicial Use of Evidence -
    
11. Unwarranted Semantic Disjunctions and Restrictions -
12. Unwarranted Restriction of the Semantic Field -
    
13. Unwarranted Adoption of an Expanded Semantic Field -
    
14. Problems Relating to the Semitic Background of the Greek New Testament -
    
15. Unwarranted Neglect of Distinguishing Peculiarities of a Corpus -
    
16. Unwarranted Linking of Sense and Reference -
    

I have to go teach class right now so I will fill in the details of my study of Carson's book later . .

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Global Education or Global Propaganda?

The percentage of Christians in Pakistan is 1.6% (some say 2%), yet Muslims burnt a Christian village on 6-30-09 in Pakistan. The percentage of Muslims in the USA is only 0.6% (according to Newsweek 4-13-09), yet we are afraid to simply teach history to our children. Who are we afraid of? or, are we just clueless? Why does "global education" only result in "global propaganda"? Read this blog and then check your local school's libraries for wonderful books about Islam (there should be several) and grab a textbook while you are there. Is it education or propaganda? Are we afraid or are we just stupid?

Read this article concerning Islam in American textbooks. Remember, the Muslim world is known to be removing facts such as the Holocaust's occurrence and the Jewish Temple's existence from their student's textbooks. To the victor go the spoils which includes the privilege of recording history. We are clearly playing the part of the loser in this battle.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0422/p09s01-coop.html

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Also note, the Pakistan government has already began paying for damages to the Christians caused by the Muslims on last week on June 30, 2009. Read it here:
http://www.ucanews.com/2009/07/08/government-compensates-attacked-christians/

An Email from Pakistan

I have three times put comments on Facebook and then deleted them concerning an email I received from Pakistan. I tried to comment after I opened an email from a man from Pakistan who has received Generation Word material and is familiar with our website. I will now try to express myself in this blog and hopefully will let it set here in cyberspace. (Our website, and a previous blogsite, has been under attack from the Middle East, Turkey, for about three years now. I don't need their virus or their hackers.) This email from Pakistan contains the details of what this man witnessed:

The attack took place on Tuesday (June 30, 2009) in the village of ______ near ______. Radical Muslims allegedly went on the rampage after a local Muslim cleric accused Christians of blaspheming against Islam’s holy prophet Muhammad and encouraged local Muslims to kill them. Around 100 homes were petrol bombed or demolished, while others were looted and vandalized. The mob assaulted many of the women and young girls in the village, throwing acid at some of them. Christians continue to face persecution in Pakistan . . . other women and girls who have been traumatised by this acid attack and the destruction of their homes. Muslim People cut the electricity and they don’t giving water and food material Christian people of that village they are crying for help. Burnt Houses Can not Be Record Because Of Muslim People Occupied The Area. And They Did Not Allow Anyone To Go There, Even Big News Channels Are Silent. And government too silent. Please tell this news to all people of your country and if it possible convey this message to your government we have video of this incident. This incident was preplan. Muslim want to threat the Christian people here in Pakistan. This Is Real Islam. Please its our request to your people needy try to help them and pray for them they are waiting the miracle. Local people try to help them but this time they need lots of help because they have no home no shelter no food no water no electricity. Must try to help them. Because we have no hope on others here in Pakistan.

My heart is torn with compassion and fierce anger. What can I do? Send them another copy of the "Framework" book? Maybe a CD about "Questions and Answers" from Bible class? Reply with an email of support? Tell them I will pray? All of this has its place and time, in fact, I will continue with these very practices. But, what can I do about a girl who has been splashed with acid? or, the community has been burnt with fire? Even the Muslim hospitals turned these people away and let them suffer.

These are the violent acts of a people who worship an impotent god (allah) and a false prophet (mohammad). They have no power and they have no truth. This is why the followers of this wicked religion must provide their own acid and their own fire and bring judgment with their own sword. Just like in the days of the Judges and in the days of Elijah the false god's and false prophets had no power themselves.

Remember Gideon? He tore down the altar of Baal and all of the Baal worshippers wanted to kill him but the leading priest of Baal said, "If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar." That day the community changed Gideon's name to "Jerub-Baal" which means "let Baal contend". Gideon began using the name Jerub-Baal himself and was proudly called by a name that reminded everyone, including Baal, that Gideon was still alive and waiting for Baal to avenge himself. Baal never did. Gideon grew old and died an old man never having met with Baal's wrath. Why? Because Baal is a false God. He has no power unless his deceived followers act for him. Baal has no hell to send the unfaithful to because he has no fire of his own. (Judges 6) So, Jerub-Baal lived long and died old of natural causes.

Remember Elijah on Mt. Carmel? (1 Kings 18) Four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal assembled to pray for fire to come from their god. They prayed, they sang, they danced, they offered sacrifices which included cutting themselves but nothing happened. Elijah taunted them saying, "Shout louder! Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or on a trip or in the bathroom ('busy' in the NIV is the translation of the Hebrew which means 'relieving himself' which refers to a bathroom experience.)" Then Elijah offered a simple prayer to YHWH and fire fell from the sky and burnt up the sacrifice, the altar and the dirt around it. The Christian God has his own fire!

"Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink . . . Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Paul writing in Romans 12:19-21) We serve a God who is Real, He is Powerful, He does See, He will Judge, and He has his own Fire in Hell. Jesus said, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

In the fifth century AD the barbarians invaded the Roman Empire, but the ultimate result of these events was that the barbarians came in contact with the Christian faith. The barbarians were converted and Europe was saved from itself when it accepted Christianity. Even Rome persecuted the Christians from 70-312 AD and without lifting a sword, setting a fire, or pouring acid on the Roman children, the Christian faith overcame the Roman persecution. Rome itself became Christian.

islam must spread its empty, dead religion by force. You submit or you die. Christianity has Truth and with Truth comes power and authority. We do not convert the unbelievers by force; that would be oppression not conversion. We convert the heart by confronting it with Truth. This Truth does not violate the human will, but speaks to it. Jesus said, "The Truth will set you free." It is not our job to bring the sword, the fire (or, the acid!?), but to speak and live the Truth. Many, many of the muslims are and will continue to flee islamic oppression, impotent allah and lying mohammad as they hear and see the Truth of the Living God and of the Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is pursuing the muslim world with Truth, Love and Grace. And, we speak and live for Jesus. There is revival among the muslim. They can only respond with fire, sword and acid since they have no truth to reply with.

Our God will provide his own fire and his own Hell. I do not fear the fire of islam or the hell of allah since they do not exist. This fact has been proven by the muslims themselves since they have to provide their own fire (and, acid?!) to convert or punish the Christians. Pouring acid on woman and children!??! What is that prove? They are the deceived cowards.

(Now that I have posted this blog, I anticipate some form of cyber-fire or internet-acid. My boys who are in the US Marines and a computer engineer in the US Air Force have explained clearly to me that nothing on the internet is "protected" and everything is accessible to those who want it. I assume that the cowards of allah can see this if they want, so why hide it. Why fear those who can only burn the body but can't touch the soul, when I know the God who can throw both body and soul into Hell.) My God brings his own fire. I speak his truth.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

If You Want to Learn, Start Teaching

Many times people have asked me where I received my Bible training. Then they wait to hear the name of some familiar, prestigious seminary and hope they are doctrinally aligned with it. I have seen the hope in their eyes as they ask the question because if I say I was educated at "(fill in name of great school here)" they will be relieved to know someone, somewhere told me everything I know and that I am simply parroting information. The basic assumption is that if you go to a great school with great teachers then you will attain their great knowledge. That is how, it is assumed, people learn. Well, this is not the best way to learn, in fact, it is very, very slow and ineffective, thus, the pathetic condition of Bible knowledge and Christian understanding today (we could throw the public schools into that same pile, but they already have standardized testing to humiliate them.)

Teaching and learning go together.

• The best way to learn is to teach.
  
• The best way to understand is to explain.
  
• The best way to know is to help somebody else know.
• The best way to study for a test is to write the test.
• The best way to know the truth is to debate against someone who disagrees with "truth"

This has been proven over and over in studies and in experience. When people ask me where I received my Bible education I tell them it began in the fifth grade Sunday school classroom as a teacher. I learned so much there I began to teach whenever and wherever I could. Obviously, I have read a lot of great authors/books (including God's best seller, the Bible), listened to a couple (there are not many) great pastors, and sat up late into the night arguing with friends and foes about "truth" and doctrine. But, the greatest place of learning for me was in front of people while I was teaching. Why is this true? Well here is some information from another writer (Armen, 5/25/2009):

Memory Retention Percentages Are Based On Pressure
You learn 90% of what you teach to others because big pressure is on you at that time to not seem clueless while explaining the content. There is pressure on you here, since you would appear foolish if you offered to teach something and didn't have the concept understood. You learn 80% of what you experience because you do it on the spot, and have to correct errors during the process or it won't work out. The pressure is on you there to continue through until you complete the procedure. You remember 70% of what you discuss with others because you have solid comprehension to be able to respond to others and their possible arguments or comments. This goes on for the other points. The more pressure there is on you to know the material, the higher the probability that it will be encoded into your cognition.

So, create pressure when you want to learn. I have always referred to this pressure as a concentration level. My students are concentrating on the information, but not nearly as diligently as I the teacher am. I discovered this back in 1986. While the students were learning 10-30% of what they heard me say (I use a lot of animation, scribbling on the board, etc. to push into the 30%), I was learning and remembering 90% (on a good night, of course.)

A popular quote by William Glasser says “We learn… 10 percent of what we read, 20 percent of what we hear, 30 percent of what we see, 50 percent of what we see and hear, 70 percent of what we discuss with others, 80 percent of what we experience, and 95 percent of what we teach to someone.” The percentages might be somewhat off, but they are close enough to actual values to internalize this information for future learning.

If you seriously want to learn the Scriptures, church history, theology, apologetics, or whatever, then start a class, find a class, start an arguement or find someone who disagrees with you and start talking. It may be painful at first. My wife remembers me coming home from class in 1986 and crying as I sat in our living room because I could not effectively teach a 20 minute Bible class. It was very, very painful in many ways, but after a few weeks I learned some things and found a groove. Since then I have easily taught well over 4,000 hours of Bible classes. (That would be the same amount of time as verbally instructing a group non-stop, 24 hours a day from January until July.) Of course, I didn't teach non-stop because for every hour of teaching I probably spent three hours in study and research because I was under pressure to perform intelligently and communicate efficently.

If you want to learn start teaching.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com