ASV John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Read More
Posts Tagged ‘Bible’
Jesus Christ as The True Vine in John 15.1-7
Jesus of Nazareth’s Dialogue Regarding Hell
This is the third installment of a series of posts collectively titled: “The Literal Tenor of the Metaphorical Hell: A Literary Critique of Scriptural Language concerning Hell, The Human Soul and a Defense of Metaphorical Conditionalism.” The first post was titled: The Literal Tenor of the Metaphorical Hell. The Second post was titled: Mechanics of Metaphor: Hell is a Shabby Hotel of Vicious Circles.
Jesus of Nazareth, in the Gospels, teaches his followers about a realm wherein God chooses not to eternally abide with those who consciously choose, during the first existence, to not abide with and within Him. The metaphorical characterization of this realm ranges from “gates,” “roads,” “hell,” “furnaces,” “weeping,” and “gnashing of teeth.” Read More
Mechanics of Metaphor: Hell is a Shabby Hotel of Vicious Circles
This is the second installment of a series of posts collectively titled: “The Literal Tenor of the Metaphorical Hell: A Literary Critique of Scriptural Language concerning Hell, The Human Soul and a Defense of Metaphorical Conditionalism.” The first post was titled: The Literal Tenor of the Metaphorical Hell.
The word “metaphor” claims an etymological root in the Greek verb metapherein, meaning “to transfer.” Simply stated, a metaphor serves to transfer the sense of one word to another. Many literary critics choose to explain metaphors in terms of the two words/subjects by which larger meaning is transferred: the tenor and the vehicle. The tenor is the subject of comparison, or what is to be compared; the vehicle is the means of comparison, or that to which the subject (tenor) is compared. Read More
The Literal Tenor of the Metaphorical Hell
This is the first installment of a series of posts collectively titled: “The Literal Tenor of the Metaphorical Hell: A Literary Critique of Scriptural Language concerning Hell, The Human Soul and a Defense of Metaphorical Conditionalism.”
The four views of Hell are categorized as Literal, Metaphorical, Purgatorial, and Conditional. The Purgatorial view is based, for the most part, upon ecclesiastic and emotional presuppositions rather than authentic exegetical research. The Literal and Metaphorical views should not even exist as two separate views; they exist as such as a result of the improper interpretation of metaphor. Once this literary issue is resolved the two views are remarkably compatible regarding not only the tenor behind the metaphorical language, but also in the foundational belief re: eternity spent in this realm. The conditional view properly interprets metaphorical language and is characterized by a solid exegetical argument for eternal annihilation over eternal suffering. Read More
Literary, Ideological, and Canonical Read of Ecclesiastes 3.1-8
Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2. a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3. a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4. a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5. a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6. a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 7. a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8. a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. Read More