Should we be tempted to believe that our system of interpretation is the only system that has ever existed, Ramm makes it very clear in his discussion of the “historical schools” that this is not so. The “Battle for the Bible” may have, in fact, been born as the second century Christian exegetes, who were influenced by Jewish Biblical scholarship, espoused a literal reading of Scripture which assumed its historical accuracy and included a healthy respect for questions of context. Around the same time these interpreters (referred to by Ramm as the School of Antioch) were not exclusively concerned with the Bible’s literal sense; they were equally concerned to interpret Scripture at a level that transcended its historical-literal dimension. This school of thought judged Scripture to be reliable and true on the basis of its conformity to orthodox Christian doctrine. In essence, Scripture judged the church, but it was the church who judged what was scriptural; and at this point the church was still involved in the process of assessing the value and authority of many Christian documents, only some of which made it into the canon.

Elsewhere, scholars trained as philosophers and rhetoricians, rejected as non-historical large portions of Scripture while simultaneously conferring total authority and reliability on all Scripture. The truth of Scripture, according to this school of thought, rested in its profound spiritual or symbolic significance. This allegorical method of exegesis is associated historically with those such as Origin, Augustine, Ambrose and Jerome.

Centuries later, the church was forced, more or less, to focus its attention of Scripture in a different way as the Reformers sought to alter its relationship to the church. Placing the church completely under the judgment of Scripture, they nevertheless developed their own system for evaluating the authority of Scripture in general and scriptures in particular. Martin Luther for example, considered those portions of Scripture which “preached Christ” superior to those that did not. In practice this meant that Luther granted more weight to Paul’s words than to James’. It seems Calvin postulated a more objective authority for Scripture.

Even a diminutive exposure to the history of the church’s involvement with Scripture gives us reason to pause and re-evaluate our too simple and long cherished assumptions about the nature of scriptural revelation. Before serious study, I was totally unaware of the extent to which disagreements about the nature of biblical inspiration and authority have permeated the church’s history. The discovery, however, that some of the difficulties I encounter and must wrestle with are not unique and that some of the greatest minds the Church has ever known had similar problems to contend with is, at the very least, consoling and reassuring. An understanding of and appreciation for the presuppositions of other methods does, indeed, provide a more balanced perspective and a capacity for more meaningful dialogue with those who believe differently.

Although our goal is always to understand the meaning of biblical texts we make egregious mistakes if we fail to interpret a passage before gaining a clear and objective sense of what a given passage actually “says” and whether or not it actually “means” what it says. Because the Bible text may not mean what it seems to say due to the ambiguity of language, it is important that we resist the impulse to conjecture about the text’s meaning until after careful study. The exegete must first discover the language conventions, syntactical meanings, and dennotative and connotative implications. This requires a study of word definitions and their relationship to one another which facilitates the possibility of accurately coming to the original meaning the author intended to convey.

And examination of the historical-cultural conditions is also important for it provides us with information about the text’s authorship, dating, place of origin, occasion and purpose for writing, and the milieu in which the author wrote. Clearly, this type of information would greatly enhance our understanding and respect of the text’s significance.

Any periscope chosen for study is also part of a larger collection of material, and the position it occupies in that collection provides us with a broader framework for comprehending what the passage may have meant originally both to its author and the community for which the writer wrote. Therefore, it is vital that we consider the relationship of the given text to the whole body of the writer’s work in general and study the material that immediately precedes and follows the passage in particular. The literary context of a passage helps to focus the text for us and may provide us with significant clues for its interpretation.

I’m certain that the problems we encounter in Scripture are directly related to our lack of understanding of the words, ideas and concepts presented in it. Even when the words themselves are clear, the ideas they are attempting to express may seem remote or confusing.

Through access to standard reference tools we are supplied valuable information which first-century Christians would have considered common knowledge. Once we have possession of this information, the original meaning of words, statements, the text in general takes on a new significance and regains its power to excite and amaze us and to those to whose we preach or teach as they did the people to whom they were first addressed.

An abundance of resources are available to us which facilitates good exegesis. They include: the Bible in a variety of translations; lexicons, commentaries in a variety of languages, Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias, study manuals and concordances to name a few. Of course, these tools range from the highly critical variety - which often assumes a knowledge of Greek and Hebrew - to the purely devotional and over simplified.

(continued in Part 3)

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. http://www.clergyservices4u.org. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, will be available soon.

While not necessarily New Age in nature, Samantha has noticed a lot of clients asking questions about their potential beaus lately and she thought this refreshing change might be just what was needed to help our female Realm members keep things in perspective regarding their male paramours. Enjoy!
-David -

Believe it or not, if you go into forums on web sites that are devoted to the subject of how to pick up girls, you will find people posting messages about something that is called the mating rating system. Reading one of these forums is kind of a rude wake up call if you ever thought that men “rated” us on such qualities as humor, intelligence or charm. Instead this rating system, which in a state of constant debate seems to be based on leg length, the size of your lips, how high your cheek bones are and whether or not you have big breasts.

The Male Rating system finds its origins in the movie”10″ starring Dudley Moore and Bo Derek. This was a romantic comedy that was made in the seventies that featured the adventures of a neurotic alcoholic who was looking for a woman who he considered to be a perfect Ten on his personal rating scale. He finally finds her in the person of Bo Derek, who is six feet tall, has long blonde hair, full lips, icy blue eyes, legs that go on forever, a tiny waist and a very vacuous smile.

My opinion is that if men are going to rate us, there is no reason why we can’t develop our own system to rate men. However because men are more sex oriented and women are more relationship oriented our rating system is going to be a little more sophisticated. It also won’t be as racially BIASED as the male rating system, which seems to prefer the Aryan ideal of the Nordic Queen.

To find out how your male rates on our rating system answer the following questions by choosing an option below. Choose only one option. You can add up points as you go along. Be forewarned you will never find another rating system anywhere that is as honest and forthright as this one. It is based on very realistic criteria that could bring your head down out of the clouds and could really make you think twice about who it is you are going out with.

What level of education has he completed?

Elementary school 1 point
Grade Six 2 points
Grade Nine 3 points
Grade Ten 4 points
Graduated High School 5 points
One Year of University or College 6 points
Two Years of University or College 7 points
Completed College but no degree 8 points
Completed College With Degree 9 points
Post Graduate Degree 10 points

How much money does he make a year?

$ 0 to $5,000 1 point
$5,000 to $15,000 2 points
$ 15,000 to $25,000 3 points
$25,000 to $32,000 4 points
$32,000 to $36,000 5 points
$36000, to $42,000 6 points
$42,000 to $50,000 7 points
$50,000 to $70,000 8 points
$70,000 to $90.000 9 points
$ Over $90,000 a year 10 points

Has he had?

One Heart Attack or More 1 point
Full dentures 2 points
More then five dental crowns 3 points
Smoke a pack of cigarettes a day 4 points
Back Problems 5 points
Migraines 6 points
Allergies 7 points
Occasional Muscle Strains 8 points
No cavities 9 points
No Health Problems whatsoever 10 points

Has he ever been diagnosed with any of the following?

Schizophrenia 1 point
Manic Depression 2 points
Paranoia 3 points
Personality Disorder 4 points
Anger Management 5 points
Attention Deficit Disorder 6 points
Obsessive Compulsive 7 points
Depression 8 points
Anxiety 9 points
No disorders 10 points

In the past he has:

Been jailed for a felony 1 point
Charged with drunk driving 2 points
Charged with assault 3 points
Been a member of a cult 4 points
Been jailed for a misdemeanor 5 points
A member of AA or (blank) Anon 6 points
Declared Bankruptcy 7 points
Attended church once a week 8 points
Participated actively in a charity 9 points
Donated more than $5000 to charity 10 points

Which of the following terms or phrases is he most likely to use to describe his ex?

Slut 1 point
Bitch 2 points
Pathetic 3 points
Selfish 4 points
Too Needy or Smothering 5 points
Codependent 6 points
Troubled 7 points
Sad 8 points
A tragedy 9 points
A great person "but it didn't work out" 10 points

Which of the following statements describes best how he spends the majority of his free time:

Spending time with his wife or ex 1 point
Drinking with his buddies at the bar 2 points
Sleeping 3 points
Watching sports 4 points
He spends his free time at work 5 points
Spending time with his mother 6 points>
Reading 7 points
Participating in sports 8 points
Working on a favorite hobby 9 points
Participating in community events 10 points

Which of the following statements describes him the best? Only pick one:

He hates his mother 1 point
He is sullen and moody 2 points
He is a bit lazy 3 points
He is a bit of a dreamer 4 points
He worships women 5 points
He is very hard working 6 points
He treats his mother like a Queen 7 points
He loves children and animals 8 points
He loves to dance 9 points
He has a great sense of humor 10 points

Which of the following actors in a movie does he remind you of the most?

Al Pacino in Scarface 1 point
Matt Damon in "The Talented Mr. Ripley." 2 points
Mickey Rourke in "Nine and a Half Weeks" 3 points
Micheal Douglas in "Fatal Attraction" 4 points
Jack Nicholson in "As Good As It Gets." 5 points
Owen Wilson in "Zoolander" 6 ponts
Adam Sandler in the "Wedding Singer" 7 points
Tom Hanks in "Castaway" 8 points
Kevin Costner in "Field of Dreams" 9 points
Will Smith in "Independence Day" 10 points

Pick the one action that he has done MOST OFTEN to you:

Slapped or hurt you even accidentally 1 point
Humiliated you in public 2 points
Called you a name in private 3 points
Made fun of your career 4 points
Prevented you from going out on your own 5 points
Displayed jealousy over your ex 6 points
Lent you money 7 points
Bought you a box of candy 8 points
Brought you flowers 9 points
Made a meal for you 10 points

Now add up your points. You should get a double-digit figure. Move the decimal point one digit over to the right so that you have a rating out of ten. For instance if your man’s rating is 79 then he is not a Perfect 10 he is a 7.9.

My theory that is that if the mans rating is 6.9 or lower than the relationship is not likely to last very long. If it is 5.0 or below, you should drop him a look for your own “Perfect Ten”.

Samantha Steven’s articles have been published in many high-standing newspapers and she has published several books. If you wish to buy Samantha’s books about metaphysics click here
http://www.insomniacpress.com/author.php?id=110
You can meet Samantha Stevens at http://www.psychicrealm.com where she works as a professional psychic. You can also read more of her articles at http://www.newagenotebook.com

There is little doubt that planning a wedding can be one of the most expensive times in your life, and the various costs can seem particularly draining as you struggle to find the funds to allow you set up home and begin your new life together. So for many couples, jewelry is not a priority at this time, but as even frugal lovers want to celebrate their love by purchasing an engagement ring, many couples are wondering whether there are any good alternatives to diamond rings available. Thankfully, the answer is yes, and you won’t have to compromise on quality to find a beautiful alternative to a diamond ring.

There is no law that says that an engagement ring must include a diamond, this is simply a tradition, and throughout the ages traditions have been constantly enhanced or modified to render familiar things more personal. These days, many brides-to-be are selecting other stones as alternatives to diamond rings, choosing perhaps their birthstone, or a gem that is available in a color they love. There are many alternatives to diamond rings available, and many of these at prices a fraction of the cost of a diamond.

But to many women, an engagement ring is not the same without that many faceted, brilliant white stone nestled at its centre. But for those who want the fire of diamonds without the price tag, there are real alternatives to diamond rings, the latest and most impressive of which is moissanite. This gem can be grown artificially, which reduces the cost to the consumer, while retaining - and some experts would even argue that it improves upon - the brilliance of the diamond.

But if you are proposing to your sweetheart, be sure to let her know the gem that you have chosen for her. While moissanite is undoubtedly a beautiful stone, the ring your offer your bride-to-be is symbolic of your future together, and honestly is an enormously important part of this. So let her know that you have chosen for her an alternative to a diamond ring, so that she can appreciate her moissanite stone it all its beauty.

Alternatives to diamond rings can be found, at a much reduced cost and looking just as good.

For a website totally devoted to Moissanite rings visit Peter’s Website The Magic of Moissanite, and find out about Moissanite Rings as well as Loose Moissanite Stones and more, including Mens Moissanite Rings, Moissanite Earrings, Moissanite Bridal Rings and Moissanite Engagement Rings

Most of the I-10 Freeway corridor in Louisiana was a disaster in itself before Hurricane Katrina. The road is scalloped and very difficult to drive on, especially for trucks, which use I-10 as a major distribution channel to deliver America the goods. As we repair and replace sections of I-10, bridges, levees, streets, etc we should take a look at some of these new flexible concrete materials which a 500 times more resistant to cracking, 40% lighter and could help in the bumpy road issues, which destroy equipment and cause dangerous safety issues for traffic. There have been lots of roadway tests and the new flexible concrete has withstood the challenge.

I propose some departure from previous thinking and use some of these space age type materials in the rebuilding of our new New Orleans. By using some of these new materials on a large project we may get an incredible economies of scale to assist us with costs. Now for many things this flexible concrete may not be desired, yet for other projects it will be considered to be from heaven? Another technology is inflatable concrete, which might be worthy as a back up against future levee breaks? Using flexible concrete with inflatable concrete back up we will have a system which can act more like a portable swimming pool in your back yard, able to give a little. This way when Big Overweight Katrina does a belly flop into the pool it will flex a little extra with the waves?

http://www.physorg.com/news3985.html

We need to be thinking of our advances in materials and our present period technologies, because this is not 1965 when much of the 350-mile levee system was build and re-enforced. Please think on this.

“Lance Winslow” - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs

Some say there has not been water on Mars for millions of years, there is no real evidence of any water on Mars near where the Rover is cruising around, but then again there is no evidence of water in the Mojave Desert, Sahara Desert or the Gobi Desert here on Earth either. Yet even in those places there is ground water below the surface. There is evidence that there was once water on Mars, but the million-year time period is simply not going to fly with observation at all.

One clue to recent water flows on Mars would be the fact that the tracks of the rover from the rear view are barely visible and it has only been a few months since they were laid. The rates of wind erosion from our friendly dust devil energy spirals took care of that pretty quickly indeed. So if the tracks of the rover are nearly covered over, then we have a slight problem with the million years ago theory of water. Now then, in following this observation data, one could say that there has been water on the surface in much more recent times. How about I throw out an idea here, lets say water has been on the surface in the last five or ten years, but not more than 50 years. Some would say there is no evidence of that, yet, there is; use some simple deductive reasoning my Dear Watson.

So where is the water now? It is below the surface in ground water and when there is a volcanic event or heating of the planet it boils up to the surface or becomes steam. The steam mist falls back to the Mars Surface and flows until it is soaked up and ends up back down in the underground aquifers. We know there is water on Mars at the pole, which has frozen and we are pretty certain there was or is water on the surface too. Water on a Planet really means we might find similar type evolved life as on Earth, and only a fundamentalist Religious blind man could disagree. No, I am saying you need Laser Eye Surgery or calling you names, my point here is to get your to think with your mind.

“Lance Winslow” - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs