On faith: Context, context, context is mainly important — not parachute theology

Brent Emery

On faith

The three rules of pitching are location, location, location. The three rules of real estate are location, location, location. Words on a page only have meaning in the context (location) in which they’re written.

As a student of the Scripture, I am keenly aware of the necessity of interpreting words within the context in which they were spoken or written. The Bible, without context, can be used to say or prove anything the interpreter wants to claim.

I have recently heard several well-meaning fellow believers take Scripture out of context and assert something from the text that violated the author’s intent.

I have a new name for this theological phenomenon — parachute theology, which allows for someone to land on a verse wherever they decide and extract meaning from it with no concern for its context.

That kind of theology is great for T-shirts and coffee mugs, since the extracted words were wrenched from the context.

Unfortunately, many of the primary violators of context and perpetrators of “parachute theology” are pastors.

In the following paragraphs, I’ll explore some common texts that have been taken out of context and allow you to determine if we need to rethink the issue.

A favorite verse of many pastors is II Chronicles 7:14, which reads, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

I can’t tell you the times I’ve heard a well-meaning (but wrong) pastor quote this verse and never refer to the verses that precede or follow verse 14.

You would think that, from listening to it, this verse existed in a contextual vacuum. Welcome to parachute theology!

The context for this verse is the dedication of the Temple that Solomon the King of Israel had just completed. If one reads the first 13 verses of II Chronicles 7, they will see that the “my people” of verse 14 is the Israelites. The “land” that will be healed is not America, despite the charge of many pastors to the contrary.

The context of this verse is Solomon, Israel and the Temple. Rarely, if ever, do I hear the one quoting verse 14 bring the context of Solomon, Israel or the Temple into the discussion.

If one asks how the people of Israel are to “humble themselves” and “turn from their wicked ways,” the verses following verse 14 answer the question for us.

The next verses implore Israel to return to the obedience of G-d’s commands as found in the Torah. If Israel will return to the Torah, it will have demonstrated a humble heart and a desire to turn from their own paths.

The only way this verse can apply to Christians (in context) is if they see themselves connected to Israel and willing to follow the same commands.

Another common verse in the Hebrew Scriptures that seems to be taken out of context on a regular basis is Proverbs 29:18. This verse (half-verse) states, “where there is no vision the people perish.”

Many well-meaning pastors have asserted that this verse refers to having a plan for the future, equating the word “vision” with the idea of planning for the future. So are the plans of every pastor now the referent in Proverbs 29:18?

When one looks at the Hebrew word translated “vision,” they find it’s mostly used in the prophetic books of the Hebrew Scripture and is never used to refer to the plans of men.

While it’s certainly a good idea to plan for the future, this verse in Proverbs is not addressing that topic.

So what is Proverbs 29:8 addressing? The word “vision” could be translated “prophetic vision,” which equates to a word from the Lord.

When we compare the first part of verse 18 with the second part, we find the parallel thought of “blessed is he who keeps the Torah.”

Amazingly, not too many are willing to quote the second half of verse 18, as it probably doesn’t “fit” their theology, like the first half.

Without a willingness to look at words in context, we can arrive at conclusions that the Biblical authors never intended. I believe inserting our ideas onto the Biblical text as if our thoughts were theirs is a subtle form of idolatry.

This column is a plea for everyone to take seriously the context of the Scripture, allowing the text of G-d to speak into our lives what He has for us and not what we have imported into the text.

The reference of ‘G-d’

Some readers have contacted The Peninsula Gateway curious about Brent Emery’s reference to God in his On Faith column.

The following is an explanation from www.jewfaq.org:

“Judaism does not prohibit writing the Name of God per se; it prohibits only erasing or defacing a Name of God. However, observant Jews avoid writing any Name of God casually because of the risk that the written Name might later be defaced, obliterated or destroyed accidentally or by one who does not know better ... Normally, we avoid writing the Name by substituting letters or syllables, for example, writing ‘G-d’ instead of ‘God.’ ”

On Faith columnist Pastor Brent Emery can be reached at Congregation Beit Tefillah or by e-mail at torah4today@comcast.net.