Sunday, February 05, 2006

Good question

Chris Gonzalez asks: "Why do evangelical preachers quote scripture at 50 times the rate that Jesus did?"

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Perhaps since Jesus was making new scripture as he spoke, he didn't need to quote the old scripture as much? Just an idea ...

9:05 PM, February 05, 2006  
Blogger Bill Gnade said...

That's not a bad idea, Anonymous.

Milton, what do you think? Do you think it is an attempt to impress others or to safeguard one's position as legitimately authoritative?

Gnade

11:10 PM, February 05, 2006  
Blogger Milton Stanley said...

I agree with Bill, Anon. That's certainly part of the answer: Jesus spoke "as one with authority."

6:36 AM, February 06, 2006  
Blogger Milton Stanley said...

Bill, I think it's both. In the kind of circles in which I run, it's a way of showing you're straying true to the truth. It's a also a way of building a reputation. In short: a combination of good intentions and ego.

The danger, of course, is pulling texts out of context on the pretext of saying what we want to say. That's one reason I like expository preaching: we submit ourselves to the text rather than using the text as a support for our arguments.

6:39 AM, February 06, 2006  
Blogger Milton Stanley said...

I think you're exactly right, Dan.

6:40 AM, February 06, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you can remove your ego and pride from the equation, someone in error will realize that their problem lies in their disagreement with God's word instead of you or me.

Quoting or showing scripture to people with an attitude of love can accomplish just that.

12:16 PM, February 06, 2006  
Blogger Milton Stanley said...

Thanks for the comments, Anon.

One thing about Jesus is that he was steeped in and shaped by the Scriptures. For preachers today, we are at our best not neccessarily when we quote lots of chapters and verses, but when the Word shapes everything we say, from the broadest structure down to the finest detail.

5:51 PM, February 06, 2006  

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