Can we trust Scripture when there are so many interpretations? (Guest interview with Ian Paul)
Ian Paul - Psephizo Andy Judd Ian Paul - Psephizo Andy Judd

Can we trust Scripture when there are so many interpretations? (Guest interview with Ian Paul)

I’ve been fascinated for a long time by the question of what it means to read the Bible as Scripture. There’s lots of ways people can read the Bible – maybe for historical curiosity, or to appreciate the literary dimension, or even an oppressive text to be resisted. But it seems to me that to read the Bible as Scripture means you’re holding two things in tension. Here I have an authoritative text, but at the same time it is a text whose meaning is continually relevant to me in new ways. What’s more, we seem to have a great deal of difficulty agreeing on what the Bible actually says. My subject matter, hermeneutics, is about taking a step back and asking ‘What is going on here?’

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Why Do Different Bibles Include Different Books in the Old Testament?

Why Do Different Bibles Include Different Books in the Old Testament?

How many books are there in the Old Testament? This might seem like a fairly straightforward church trivia night question. But actually the answer can vary depending on which Bible you are reading. The Hebrew Bible has 22 or 24 books. Your English Old Testament probably has 39. Roman Catholic Bibles have 46 Old Testament books. Eastern and Russian Orthodox Bibles have even more. I find this discrepancy often comes up in dialogue with atheists and Muslims about the reliability of the Old Testament. Why the difference? …

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