Reading the Bible backwards, Jeremiah, and how to discern interpretation
- How do you discern where interpretation of Scripture is allowed?
A host shares his Bible-reading project — nearly three-fourths through, reading the Old Testament backwards starting with Malachi, currently in the first 26 chapters of Jeremiah, whom he calls the weeping prophet whose experience mirrors today's truth-tellers being called bigots. A chat question asks whether God telling different people different things about the Trinity means someone is not listening to Jesus; the hosts answer no, God is as clear as he intended to be, and offer a discernment rule: interpretation is fine as long as it does not make God a liar, stays consistent with the full counsel of God, and does not degrade his love and grace. They commend the Berean example of checking everything against Scripture yourself rather than trusting snippets from sermons and lectures.
More on Discernment
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'When God is silent': what counts as hearing from the Lord?
- What does it mean to 'hear from the Lord,' and how often should we expect it?
Mike brings a question from his Bible study, whose paragraph heading was 'when God is silent': the author wrote that he experienced God's silence for a couple of weeks and freaked out, and Ben expected a relatable years-long drought story — 'Oh, two weeks.
From No. 603 · Found Out
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Mike frames the question: are more people hearing from God?
- Does it seem like more and more people are hearing from God — and is that real or a lie and a huge distraction?
Ben asks Mike for a two-sentence framing; Mike says listening to the book of Job while mowing made him furious when Bildad 'received a word from the Lord,' turning a bad human argument into an unarguable divine claim.
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
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Does God speak more now? Indwelling Spirit versus prophets
- Does God talk to people as much now as he did in the Old Testament or New Testament?
A host asks whether God talks to people as much now as in the Old and New Testaments. Ben's key distinction: the indwelling Holy Spirit means more people can have the experience…
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
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How to tell your voice from God's: the Bible test and leniency
- How can you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking?
Ella distills the question: how do you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking? Her first answer: we have a Bible — what God is telling you is probably already in it ('Ben's gonna have a proud papa moment').
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God