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A Brief Definition of
Twenty Reading Errors
Taken from Scripture Twisting, by
James W. Sire (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1980) pp 155-160
The following list
is designed to be a handy reference to the reading errors which have been defined and
illustrated in detail in the foregoing pages. The page references following each of the
definitions refer to the longer sections devoted to each reading error.
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.' " This text is found only in the psalms. (pp. 32-34)
2. Twisted Translation: The biblical text is retranslated, not in
accordance with sound Greek scholarship, to fit the preconceived teachings 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." (pp. 34-38)
3. The Biblical Hook: A text of Scripture is quoted primarily as
a device to grasp the attention of readers or listeners and then followed by 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 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. (pp. 41-50)
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' overemphasis 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" (vv. 39-40), which shows that Jesus was
upholding the value of the Old Testament as a testimony to himself. (pp. 52-58)
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 on 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. (pp.
58-62)
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 (Mt. 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 Christ. (pp. 62-64)
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." (pp. 64-66)
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 moral
thought; weariness of mortal mind; obscured views; peace and rest." Example of (2):
the Mormon theologian James Talmage interprets the prophecy 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.
(pp. -66-70)
9. Speculative Readings of Predictive Prophecy: A predictive
prophecy is too readily explained by the occurrence 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. (pp. 70-74)
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: someone says, "The Bible says, 'God helps those who
help themselves.'" Or Erich von Däniken says, "Without actually consulting
Exodus, I seem to remember that the Ark was often surrounded by flashing sparks."
(pp. 76-80)
11. Selective Citing: To substantiate a given argument, only a
limited number of texts 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 set
of texts which scholars use to substantiate the concept. (pp. 80-82)
12. Inadequate Evidence: A hasty generalization is drawn from too
little evidence. Example: the Jehovah's Witnesses teach that blood transfusion is
nonbiblical, but the biblical data which they cite fails either to speak directly to the
issue or to adequately substantiate their teaching. (pp. 82-88)
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. (pp. 90-96)
14. Ignoring Alternative Explanations: A specific interpretation
is given to a biblical text or set of texts which could well be, and often have been,
interpreted in quite a different fashion, but these alternatives are not considered. Example:
Erich von Däniken 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 hosts" or that the plural prefigures
the doctrine of the Trinity expressed more explicitly in the New Testament. (pp- 96-99)
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 Däniken says, "Undoubtedly the Ark [of the Covenant] was
electrically charged!" (pp. 99-100)
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 Bible writing such that it sounds like the Bible. Example of (1): Rick Chapman
lists twenty-one gurus, including Jesus, 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 interweaves phrases from the Gospel of John and maintains a superficial
similarity to the Gospel such that it seems to be like the Bible. (pp. 101-04)
17. Esoteric Interpretation:
Under the assumption that the Bible
contains a 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." (pp. 107-15)
18. Supplementing Biblical Authority: New revelation from
postbiblical 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. (pp. 115-18)
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 and other 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 in the Sermon
on the Mount. (pp. 118-24)
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. (pp. 23-30 and
127-44)
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