SCRIPTURE TWISTING METHODS OF THE CULTS
In debating and discussions with non-Christians such as Mormons
or atheists, I have found many areas of twisting of the
Scriptures. In the book "Scripture Twisting," James Sire has a
chapter devoted to each of the methods, and I have seen them ALL
used from time to time.
1. INACCURATE QUOTATION: A biblical text is referred to but is
either not quoted in the way the text appears in any standard
translation or is wrongly attributed. Example: The Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi says, "Christ said, 'Be still and know that I am
God.'" Whereas this text is found ONLY in Psalms.
2. TWISTED TRANSLATION: The biblical text is retranslated, not in
accordance with sound Greek scholarship, to fit a preconceived
teaching of a cult. Example: the Jehovah's Witnesses translate
John 1:1 as "In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was
with God, and the word was A god."
3. BIBLICAL HOOK: A text of Scripture is quoted primarily as a
device to grasp the attention of readers or listeners and then
followed by a teaching which is so nonbiblical that it would
appear far more dubious to most people had it not been preceded
by a reference to Scripture. Example: Mormon missionaries quote
James 1:5 which promises God's wisdom to those who ask him, and
then follow this, by explaining that when Joseph Smith did this
he was given a revelation from which he concluded that God the
Father has a body.
4. IGNORING THE IMMEDIATE CONTEXT: A text of Scripture is quoted
but removed from the surrounding verses which form the immediate
framework for its meaning. Example: Alan Watts quotes the first
half of John 5:39 ("You search the Scriptures, because you think
that in them you have eternal life"), claiming that Jesus was
challenging His listeners' over emphasis of the Old Testament,
but the remainder of the immediate context reads, "and it is they
that bear witness to me; yet you refuse to come to me that you
may have life" (verses 39-40), which shows that Jesus was
upholding the value of the Old Testament as a testimony to
Himself.
5. COLLAPSING CONTEXTS: Two or more verses which have little or
nothing to do with each other are put together as if one were a
commentary of the other(s). Example: The Mormons associate
Jeremiah 1:5 with John 1:2,14 and thus imply that both verses
talk about the premortal existence of all human beings; Jeremiah
1:5, however, speaks of God's foreknowledge of Jeremiah (Not his
premortal existence) and John 1:2 refers to the pre-existence of
God the Son and not to human beings in general.
6. OVERSPECIFICATION: A more detailed or specific conclusion than
is legitimate is drawn from a biblical text. Example: The Mormon
missionary manual quotes the parable of the virgins from Matthew
25:1-13 to document the concept that "mortality is a probationary
period during which we prepare to meet God." But the parable of
the virgins could, and most probably does, mean something far
less specific, for example, that human beings should be prepared
at any time to meet God or to witness the Second Coming of Jesus
Christ.
7. WORD PLAY: A word or phrase from a biblical translation is
examined and interpreted as if the revelation had been given in
that language.Example:MARY Baker Eddy says the name Adam consists
of two syllables, A DAM, which means an obstruction, in which
case, Adam signifies "the obstacle which the serpent, sin, would
impose between man and his Creator."
8. THE FIGURATIVE FALLACY: Either (1) mistaking literal language
for figurative language or (2)mistaking figurative language for
literal language. Example of (1): Mary Baker Eddy interprets
EVENING as "mistiness of mortal thought; weariness of mortal
mind; obscured views; peace and rest." Example of (2): The Mormon
theologian James Talmage interprets the prophesy that "thou shalt
be brought down and speak out of the ground" to mean that God's
Word would come to people from the Book of Mormon which was taken
out of the ground at the hill of Cumorah.
9.SPECULATIVE READINGS OF PREDICTIVE PROPHESY: A predictive
prophesy is too readily explained by the occurance of specific
events, despite the fact that equally committed biblical scholars
consider the interpretation highly dubious. Example: The stick of
Judah and the Stick of Joseph in Ezekiel 37:15-23 are interpreted
by the Mormons to mean the Bible and the Book of Mormon.
10. SAYING BUT NOT CITING: A writer says that the Bible says such
and such but does not cite the specific text (which often
indicates that there may be no such text at all). Example: A
common phrase "God helps those who help themselves" is not found
in the Bible.
11. SELECTIVE CITING: To substantiate a given argument, only a
limited number of text is quoted: the total teaching of Scripture
on that subject would lead to a conclusion different from that of
the writer. Example: The Jehovah's Witnesses critique the
traditional Christian notion of the Trinity without considering
the full text which scholars use to substantiate the concept.
12. INADEQUATE EVIDENCE: A hasty generalization is drawn from too
little evidence. Example: The Jehovah's Witnesses teach that
blood ˙transfusions are nonbiblical, ˙but the biblical data ˙that
they ˙cite ˙fails ˙either to speak directly to the ˙issue ˙or ˙to
adequately substantiate their teaching.
13. CONFUSED DEFINITION: A biblical term is misunderstood in such
a way that an essential biblical doctrine is distorted or
rejected. Example: one of Edgar Cayce's followers confuses the
eastern doctrine of reincarnation with the biblical doctrine of
being born again.
14. IGNORING ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS: A specific interpretation
given to a biblical text or set of text which could well be, and
often have been, interpreted in quite a different fashion, but
these alternatives are not considered. Example: Erich von Daniken
asks why in Genesis 1:26 God speaks in the plural ("us"),
suggesting that this is an oblique reference to God's being one
of many astronauts and failing to consider alternative
explanations that either God was speaking as "Heaven's king
accompanied by His heavenly host" or that the plural prefigures
the doctrine of the Trinity expressed more explicitly in the New
Testament.
15. THE OBVIOUS FALLACY: Words like OBVIOUSLY, UNDOUBTEDLY,
CERTAINLY, ALL REASONABLE PEOPLE HOLD THAT and so forth are
substituted for logical reasons. Example: Erich von daniken says,
"Undoubtedly the Ark [of the Covenent] was electrically charged!"
16. VIRTUE BY ASSOCIATION: Either (1) a cult writer associates
his or her teaching with those of figures accepted as
authoritative by traditional Christians; (2) cult writings are
likened to the Bible; or (3) cult literature imitates the form of
the Bible writing such that it sounds like the Bible. Example of
(1): Rick Chapman lists 21 gurus, including Jesus Christ, St.
Francis and St. Theresa, that "you can't go wrong with." Example
of (2): Juan Mascaro in his introduction to the Upanishads cites
the New Testament, the Gospels, Ecclesiastes and the Psalms, from
which he quotes passages supposedly paralleling the Upanishads.
Example of (3): The Mormon DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS 93 interweave
phrases from the Gospel of John and maintains a superficial
similarity to the Gospel such that it seems to be like the Bible.
17. ESOTERIC INTERPRETATION: Under the assumption that the Bible
contains hidden, esoteric, meaning which is open only to those
who are initiated into its secrets, the interpreter declares the
significance of biblical passages without giving much, if any,
explanation for his or her interpretation. Example: Mary Baker
Eddy ˙gives ˙the ˙meaning ˙of the first ˙phrase ˙in ˙the ˙Lord's
Prayer, ˙"Our Father which art in heaven," ˙as "Our Father-Mother
God, all harmonious."
18. SUPPLEMENTING BIBLICAL AUTHORITY: New revelation from post
biblical prophets either replaces or is added to the Bible as
authority. Example: The Mormons supplement the Bible with the
Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great
Price.
19. REJECTING BIBLICAL AUTHORITY: Either the Bible as a whole or
texts from the Bible are examined and rejected because they do
not square with other authorities - such as reason or revelation
= do not appear to agree with them. Example:Archie Matson holds
that the Bible contains contradictions and that Jesus himself
rejected the authority of the Old Testament when he contrasted
His own views with it on the Sermon on the Mount.
20. WORLD-VIEW CONFUSION: Scriptural statements, stories,
commands or symbols which have a particular meaning or set of
meanings when taken within the intellectual and broadly cultural
framework of the Bible itself are lifted out of that context,
placed within the frame of reference of another system and thus
given a meaning that markedly differs from their intended
meaning. Example: The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi interprets "Be still,
and know that I am God" as meaning that each person should
meditate and come to the realization that he is essentially
Godhood itself.
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