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Interpreting the Bible

In these early episodes I’ve been laying the groundwork for biblical interpretation in a way that, I trust, produces hope, strengthens faith, and shapes our lives with the love of Christ Jesus. Just this opening description of what I’m trying to do with this podcast exposes my bias. I’m a Christian who tries to be Christ-centered, but I struggle with fears, resentment, and ego like anyone else. I don’t pretend to have mastered a life of following Christ. I’m on a journey toward His perfect love. I have rough edges that need attention. I have baggage that gets in the way and wears me down. I’m human, learning to be that which God made me to be, His handiwork meant for good deeds that bring glory to God. I believe Jesus is the way to the life abundant. I believe Jesus is the savior of the world. I believe that knowing Jesus personally transforms my life in a way that makes me more hopeful, more kind, and more effective at bearing fruit for God that lasts. So when I read the Bible, I rea...
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How is the Bible Authoritative? (e.g. Why should I care what the Bible says?)

How is the Bible Authoritative? (Ep 3) Hello and welcome to Mything The Point, a podcast of biblical interpretation. I’m your host, Scott Tyring, an ordained United Methodist pastor. I greet you from my home studio situated next to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway! Mything the Point is a podcast with the goal of bringing you, the listener, insights into how to read the Bible in ways that are life affirming and hopeful. In this episode, I take on the question of how the Bible is authoritative. In previous podcast episodes, I’ve tried to lay out some of the reasons a biblical and scientific narrative for understanding life can create tension. I’ve covered some history and acknowledged the problem we have in America when we read the scriptures in English translations without training. It can lead to a poor understanding of the authors’ intent and, depending on the person, may yield bizarre or even ugly theologies and doctrine. The Bible can be used as a destructive rhetorical weapon, rat...
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Is This Story True?

Is This Story True? If the Bible contains myth, can it be trusted? Have you ever opened a bible and read something that caused you to ask, “Is this story true?” One example is the Bible story about a man named Jonah who was swallowed whole by a big fish in the Mediterranean Sea. He survived three days in the fish’s belly before he was vomited up on shore. How did he survive without air? People ask, “How could Noah and his family have cared for all the animals in the world on that boat?” “How did Noah even get all those animals gathered into the ark?” “What about the dinosaurs?” There are many such questions asked of the Bible. These types of questions reveal the problem. It’s our approach to biblical interpretation. Questions like this reveal our contemporary worldview, which is informed by empiricism or the scientific method. We are shaped to think that something is factual or true only if data can be gathered through observation, measurement, and repetition. If something can be...
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Introducing Mything The Point, A Podcast of Biblical Interpretation

Introducing “Mything The Point” A Podcast of Biblical Interpretation If you are familiar with some of the arguments between science and religion, you will know there's a long history of church authorities suppressing a narrative of life on this planet, and the universe around us, from a scientific point of view; that is from a narrative based on discovery and the development of physical laws and logical theory. Galileo discovered through observation that the earth orbited around the sun. He concluded the earth wasn't the center of the universe. The Church imprisoned Galileo for his scientific conclusions. It took 500 years for Roman Catholic authorities to admit the church was wrong to have persecuted Galileo. The same is true of secular authorities suppressing a narrative of life from divine revelation. Intelligent Design Theory is a theory that suggests that the order and complexity of the observed universe dictates that a mind of great intelligence must have designed it....
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