Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.
The principle rule of interpreting Scripture is that Scripture interprets Scripture.
All of Scripture is for us but not all of Scripture is to us.
Conservative New Testament studies could also provide an intellectually satisfying alternative to German biblical criticism and to the liberal theology that accompanied it.
The Biblical text does not have punctuation marks like periods and question marks. Where we end sentences is a matter of interpretation.
I deal with more practical issues of the Bible.
What Jerry has done, in a masterful way, is go through and select portions of the Scripture and put words in Jesus' mouth that are legitimate because they already appear in the Bible.
Pastors need to know what's going on in the world and what has been going on for 4,000 years. We need a way to read Scripture which is imaginative, interpretive.
Reading and understanding the Bible involves lots and lots of interpretation. Not just in light of the world and culture around us, but in reference to other parts of the Bible.
My aim is that every sermon series I preach is prepared as though I were teaching a college-level course.
Of course, afterward, I studied [commentary on the Bible by a Rabbi Moshe Dessauer] more closely. But, in truth, it doesn't touch me. It doesn't change my attitude toward the text.
