Although I am a seminarian in a graduate program, the terms biblical hermeneutics and exegesis are new to me. As a child who grew up under the umbrella of a preacher’s kid, I was taught that remembering scriptures from the King James Version played an important role in the formation of my relationship with Christ because the King James Version was the anointed version. So, naturally, because this was embedded in me from childhood, I continued to study and remember scriptures from the King James Version. However, since beginning this course, I realized that I was limiting myself to surface knowledge but did not possess any real depth or understanding of the scripture. Authors Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart of How to Read the Bible for All …show more content…
Contrary to what I have been told by many radicals who try to discredit all Bibles written in English, I know biblical hermeneutics or exegesis is not translating the Bible from English to Hebrew or Greek. Reading The Hermeneutical Spiral, has taught me how to view the scriptures as a historical writing with principals that works for modern everyday life. For example, the intercessory prayer ministry has always been dear to me mainly because God is someone I can talk to regardless of my mental state or physical state. I also know that He hears me; but, for a long time I felt stagnant during intercessory prayer. Although I have read Mark 2 at least a dozen times, it was not until I was required to make observations about it that I noticed a pattern in Jesus’ prayer life and how it made a difference in his ministry. I realized before He ministered or prayed for others, Jesus spent time alone with the Father before …show more content…
As the times are change, I also notice that people are shifting from learning about a religion to understanding theology. Similar to the days of Jesus’ ministry, I believe people followed and listen to Jesus’ teaching because he portrayed a practical and near-by God not the mystical and untouchable being many religions would have us to believe that He is. In other words, Jesus share the theology of His father, our God. The stepping stones I have gathered throughout this course is helping me to build a solid theological foundation. This course has caused me to reevaluate myself in terms of how I minister to others as well as whether or not these terms are biblically sound, biblically accurate and if they are able be applied to the present day situation. For example, nowadays, many people I encounter no longer believe in God but they look to a higher being or the universe for help. These people no longer look to prayer for answers but they seek positive energy flow. These same people are not worried about going to heaven or hell but they focus their attention on being reincarnated. Knowing this, the basic principles outlined in this course has instructed me oh how to layout and present the plan of salvation to the upcoming generations without taking away from God’s original plan or removing the “ancient boundaries (proverbs