Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

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Is ‘Background Information’ Ever Necessary to Understand the Bible?

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I attempt to answer that question on TGC’s blog.

Outline:

  1. Dangers If You Answer Yes
  2. Dangers If You Answer No
  3. Illustration: Wayne Grudem Answers No
  4. Does that Mean that the Bible Isn’t Sufficiently Clear?

Update:

  1. Mike Bird reflects on the question.
  2. Don Carson and John Piper discuss the merits of studying hermeneutics and how much time teachers should spend investigating extrabiblical sources:

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Comments

  1. A helpful answer, Andy. Thanks. I, too, find Grudem’s disjunction between issues of lexicography and historical context problematic. I sometimes wonder whether the term “perspicuity” suggests (whether an an author wishes it or not) too high a degree of clarity of the biblical texts. Perhaps “sufficiently clear” is better?

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