We are continuing on with our study of comparing Greek rational/logical thought to analogical thought, which is the style of thinking the Bible was written in.
One of the main differences between the two is that Greek thought has a tendency to see things in an isolated fashion whereas analogical thought views things in their totality, as microcosms.
What do I mean by that?
Well, what is a microcosm?
It’s basically a miniature model of a larger and more complicated world, a miniature universe so to speak.
For instance, a family could be considered a microcosm of the larger community.
Or to put it simply, if you want to know what a community is, look at its microcosm-the family, because the family is nothing but a tiny model of a people group similar in structure to the larger group of people we call a community.
Here is a quick snapshot of the differences between Hebrew thought which is a culture that embodies analogical thinking and Greek thought which is a culture that embodies rational/logical thinking.
-Hebrew is a completely SEPARATE culture designed to communicate the Bible’s utterly incomparable and unique teachings.
-Hebrew concepts are based on the mind of God.
-Hebrew concepts and teachings have ONLY been given to Israel via the Torah and then later Scriptures
On the other hand…
-Greek is a widespread and divergent culture.
-Greek culture and all of its philosophy, science and technology, and morality and truth finding are based on HUMAN or MAN-MADE efforts.
So how do Hebrew concepts, originating only in Hebrew culture, and originally expressed only in the Hebrew language, get successfully transmitted to the minds of Greek thinkers (like those in the West and many other parts of the world) who have never before been exposed to such concepts and don’t even possess a vocabulary to express such concepts in their native language?
Think hard on that question.
When you take a fleshly manmade system of thought and try to apply it to the Bible which operates under a practically opposite style of thinking, what do you get?
The answer is you get a disaster, that’s what.
Now don’t misunderstand me here.
I’m not saying that Greek language or culture are somehow evil or ungodly.
The Lord created all languages and for His own good purposes decreed that the New Testament would be unleashed into the world in the Greek language.
However, even though written in Greek, as I mentioned before, the New Testament IS still a Hebrew book through and through and must be read and interpreted via an analogical Hebrew mindset.
That’s the challenge we face.
How do we put aside our hopelessly rational/logical brains so we can properly understand a book that was created in analogical thought, language and culture?
It can be done.
But in order to do so we have to let go of false doctrines and traditions that were created by rational/logical Greek thinkers who to be quite frank hated the Hebrews and despised Israel.
I’m talking about prideful men who could not even bear the thought of attempting to approach the Scriptures from the original Hebrew mindset it was written in.
To do so would have been to validate Jewish culture and thought.
For a gentile controlled church that wanted to erase all vestiges of its original Jewishness, up to the middle of the late 2nd century, adopting a Hebrew mindset was an unthinkable notion.
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