Degree Mill
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” John 14:26 NASB
Teach – In academic circles, a “degree mill” is a company that offers you pieces of paper that claim you have a university degree, from a B.A. to a Ph.D. For a price, these pseudo-institutions send you credentials without requiring any of the hard work of accredited centers of learning. You just pay your money and hang the bogus degree on your wall. While I do not believe that all real education must come through accredited institutions, I certainly know what it takes to produce true scholarship. It takes real work. Real time commitment. Real struggle. Real study.
Except, of course, if you are guided by the Holy Spirit.
Today I received an email in response to my correspondence with a reader who suggested that the Song of Solomon was an allegory about the Church and Christ. This is a very old Christian interpretation that conveniently ignores the erotic elements of the ancient poetry. It is also an interpretation that requires the reader to suppose that no one who read the poem prior to the death of Yeshua really understood it. The one who proposed this allegorical interpretation claimed that “God showed me to interprete [sic] the Bible several ways: 1) literally at face value, 2) as compared to other scriptures 3) as an allegory when apropriate [sic], as Jesus and the writers sometimes did, 4) as the Holy Spirit would interprete [sic] it, sometimes that is literally, allegorically, however He would choose. I try not to limit the Holy Spirit.” In other words, since the Holy Spirit tuaght this reader that Song of Solomon is an allegory, we don’t need to investigate any further. We can by-pass all the contextual, linguistic, cultural and historical research and simply meditate and pray. The Holy Spirit becomes a private, personal instructor. And, presto-chango, I receive my official interpreter’s degree from the Holy Spirit degree mill (best of all, I don’t have to pay for it because Jesus already did).
Let’s see how this works out historically. Based on the idea that men can receive private instruction from the Holy Spirit, we must conclude that The Holy Spirit guided the early Church fathers to reject Messianic Judaism. The Holy Spirit inspired Augustine and Aquinas to propose the philosophical God of the via negativa. The Holy Spirit led the Church to persecute the Jews for 1500 years. The Holy Spirit enabled Martin Luther to see that Jews needed to be exterminated. The Holy Spirit taught ante-bellum theologians that Negroid people were cursed by God. The Holy Spirit instructed the Catholic popes to change the day of Sabbath. The Holy Spirit guided David Koresh to establish the Branch Davidian ministry. The Holy Spirit leads some current television preachers to teach that God wants to make you rich (if you just send your tithe to me). You get the idea. My reader might object to all of these as “not really being from the Holy Spirit.” But I would ask, “How do you know?” What is the difference between your claim for private instruction and any of these other claims? What grounds do you offer for me to trust your Holy Spirit insight? And as soon as you offer reasons, then I would point out that you are no longer relying on the Holy Spirit as the basis of your claim.
The Greek word didasko in its widest sense means to impart instruction and practical knowledge. Its Hebrew parallel is lamad. From an Hebraic perspective, the object of such teaching is to do the will of God. By the first century, this Hebrew word most often meant instruction in the Torah for the purpose of living according to the commandments. This implies context, not private spiritual inspiration. Instruction in godly living is a public, communal process. Even Yeshua’s statement is addressed to the disciples (plural), not to individuals. In the Hebraic community, learning and teaching demand correspondence with Torah and plenty of debate and discussion. Yeshua would never have suggested that the Holy Spirit is the personal and private revealer of uncontestable truth. It takes a Greek orientation and a lazy mind to pretend that all I have to do is let the Holy Spirit inform me.
But it’s oh-so-tempting to choose this Holy Spirit escape path. Then I don’t have to really study. Then I can claim “divine” authority for my interpretation. Then I will always be right.
But no one should listen to you.
Wherever I travel, I encounter this penchant for lazy exegesis. The alternative often seems overwhelming. Language study, history, culture, theology – all that stuff takes time and effort. “Why can’t God just reveal it to me?” is the easy way out. God could, of course, but then you would have to defend your views in the public arena and that would put you right back to square one. Learning (lamad) is hard work. It requires many opinions and considerable debate. Avoid the “Holy Spirit told me” claims like the plague. They are probably closer to Pharaoh than to Yeshua.
Topical Index: teach, didasko, lamad, Holy Spirit, John 14:26
“since the Holy Spirit taught this reader that Song of Solomon is an allegory, we don’t need to investigate any further”
Hi Skip,
I agree with your thesis above, but would make one minor change based on my experience
For me the Holy Spirit “tempts” rather than teaches
He gives us a “taste” of what we most want to consume
But then doesn’t tell us what the “dish” is
Or where to find the recipe
And when we finally find what we are looking for
It requires a lot more hard work, long hours, and mental discipline
Than we would have ever imagined
This leaves little hope for the person that isn’t a scholar, or doesn’t have access to tools for research, or time to pursue a deep study. If those are requirements for learning/understanding God’s Word, then perhaps that is limiting God’s Holy Spirit from leading us to all understanding. In my own journey I see the Spirit of God leading me in this way: I pray for wisdom, insight, and discernment. I read Genesis forward looking for God in all that I read. As a result of this, passages that I have previously “read OVER” are leaping off the page and fitting into the ‘puzzle’ beautifully. Questions that have been unanswered all my life are finding answers in the process.
Thanks Bonnie for your comment. I was thinking along those lines also. The Holy Spirit reveals things but it is all based on the Word of God. He doesn’t reveal anything to me that is not supported by God’s word.
I agree with both of you ladies. I’ve experienced enough for myself. I am not going to argue with anyone. I’m good.
“then perhaps that is limiting God’s Holy Spirit from leading us to all understanding.”
“In my own journey I see the Spirit of God leading me in this way: I pray for wisdom, insight, and discernment.”
Hi Bonnie,
I agree and think you make a lot of good points
I’m very grateful that we have Skip and educational tools that make our journey much easier
I don’t think we will be judged by what we know, but rather by what we do with what we know
AMEN! I encountered the same argument for the exegesis of Psalm 8. This could only be speaking about Jesus and not about man. My question was: what about the people who read it for about 1000 years before Christ? No answer.
It takes hard work to figure out what Scripture means. Hours of studying behind your desk. And even than: I can always be wrong because I missed something.
The best proof is the use by the author today of the term Messianic Judaism. If you – Skip – mean Messianics who accept Yeshua, you really should not use this term, because Judaism …….
Exactly. Messianic Judaism is still waiting for its Messiah, while we know His name: Yeshua!
Skip, this was excellent! Thank you so much. It’s spreading on Facebook already! 🙂
When Protestantism rejected Roman Catholicism, it also rejected the idea that it is the church that defines doctrine, i.e. correct interpretation of Scripture. Instead, the Protestants went with the idea that the Holy Spirit will guide individuals into all Truth, and that the church – the ekklesia – is an unnecessary inconvenience that stands between the individual and YHVH.
“Protestantism rejected Roman Catholicism”
“Holy Spirit will guide individuals into all Truth”
Hi Ian,
Around the turn of the century, PBS put on a lot of programs that discussed the Bible
Typically they would have a Jew, a Catholic, a Protestant, and a Mediator
Sometimes they would have a Muslim as well
In my view, the Jew and the Catholic would typically have a better understanding of the Bible
One time they had a Muslim and a Methodist (as I recall) with a PHD from Cambridge
The Muslim was a small, kind, gentle, and somewhat informal man
And the Methodist was a very large, formal (suit and tie) powerful man
They were both very sensitive men and both tried very hard to connect their positions
But it was not comfortable to watch
Sometimes I noticed the Jewish and Muslim scholars could find a lot of common ground
Michael,
It is the Jewish folk who are contrasted against Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, and most everyone else. It is the Jewish folk who say Torah is the standard for everything else, and everything else should be read in the light of Torah.
Everyone else says, “No!”
The Muslims say Torah should be read through the lens of the Qur’an.
Mormons say it should be read through the lens of the Book of Mormon.
And most Christians (but no all) of all persuasions, are convinced that the Torah should be read through the lens of the New Testament. Christians will tell you they believe that the two testaments are “equal authority” but in practice place an unhealthy priority on the wrong end of the Bible.
But in the first century, when Yeshua taught the rabbis and disciples, none of these “lenses” yet existed — not the Qur’an, Book of Mormon or New Testament. He taught and quoted liberally from the Tanach — Torah, Prophets and Writings. When a dispute arose among those who were listening to Him, He often stopped their opinions with, “What did Moses say?” He used only one object of study — Tanach. So shouldn’t we?
Yes, we should, Donna.
“It is the Jewish folk who are contrasted against Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, and most everyone else. It is the Jewish folk who say Torah is the standard for everything else”
Hi Ian,
I can’t speak for Protestants and Muslims, but I was a Catholic in grammar school and can tell you that Jesus was rarely mentioned in my Catechism classes
The theological focus was clearly on God the Father (Confession = Forgive me Father = Priest who represents the Father)
The most important prayer was The Lord’s Prayer, then Hail Mary, then Glory Be (Trinity)
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father,
Who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Glory Be
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
My Catholic Bible refers to God as Yahweh and was translated from the Hebrew Torah
The well known editor of The Jerusalem Bible, JR Tolkien, was accused of being a Jew
In response Tolkien replied: whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people.
The Catholic theology I was taught in 7th grade was “cut whole cloth” from the Talmud
Whenever I would ask my mother what the Jews believed, she would say she wasn’t sure
But she thought they believed basically the same thing the Catholics believe
Except that the Jews did not believe that Jesus was God
And neither did she; as she told me more than once, she did not believe
God was a man
Danger!- Danger! ~ In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit ~ (Judges 17:6)
In “those days?” Ha! “Those days,” my friend, are “these days.” “Opinions” are like belly-buttons, whether and “innie” or an “outie,” everyone has one, and oh, do we love to share our “views” or perspective. Well… ” the way I see it- it went down this way. or that way and what is the end result of all this cacophony? Mass confusion. Yes, even during “mass!” And what was the “opinion” of the masses, the “sheeple” during the mock-trial of the Messiah? And “our audience says…?” “Away with Him, Let Him be crucified.”
This is the “why” of Scripture. Without the living, life-imparting, Christ-revealing words of God, written for “whosoever will” in the Book of God, our Bible- we are going to fail. Not “may fail,”- are going to fail. And there is a rampant pandemic ignorance among the “sheeple” concerning (yes) “what God has said.”
Our only hope and sure foundation is found in these three words: “It is written.” How firm a foundation, ye saints of the LORD is laid for your faith in His excellent word. We (who are His) have found a place to stand. The sure foundation, the “solid rock’ of the scriptures.
May these words, find there mark- deep within the soul of every man: ~ You do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. ~ (Matthew 22.29) Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life. Let me more of their beauty see- wonderful words of life. Words of life and duty- “teach me” faith and duty! Beautiful words. Wonderful words. Wonderful words of life.
Here is how we roll and here is any “success” we will know. Listen. Listen attentively. (Heed) Listen and do- “hearken/shema”. “And the word of the LORD came unto…” God “instructed” Abraham. Abraham was a man. God instructed Adam.Adam was a man. God instructed Joshua. Joshua was a man. God “interacted” with Daniel and came to his rescue. Daniel was a man. David was inspired and wrote many songs of praises to God. David was a man. Isaiah was a man. So were Peter and Paul.
Is God through speaking to “man?” Not on your life!..But- ~what do the scriptures say?~
I’m not a believer in “tats,” (I’d rather wear a t-shirt), but I would be tempted to have one, if only to “remind me,” – “what do the scriptures say?” We must, we must, we must- return, again and again to the very ancient, written instructions of YHWH, “ask for the old paths,”- and walk therein.
And let us never forget, SomeOne we know was also “tempted and tried!,” and came away “victorious!” (Selah!- stop, and think about it!)
Not once. Not twice! (verily-verily!) Three times the son of man spoke unto Mr. Twister, “our” adversary, the Deceiver, these three words: ~ it is written! ~ And herein lies “any man’s” victory:
Christ defeated the Accuser as a “man!” He showed us, He demonstrated for us “How To..” The Second Adam did exactly what the first Adam should have done, but failed to do..
The Messiah, (who was fully man) – remembered and spoke – “the words of God!” And how was Adam#1 derelict in his duty? Epic failure- and “every man” knows the rest of the story. He failed to “remember and speak” the words of God and answer the accursed Accuser in the affirmative: “Yes, (amen!- it is so-) God did say that..
Now if only… If only we had Someone to help us “remember” the words of God.. (Do we?)
What did He say? If only we (adams) could remember -(and then speak..)
“It is written:”
~ But when the Father sends the Advocate- the Helper-the Comforter as My representative–that is, the Holy Spirit-the Ruach haKodesh-He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you ~ (John 14.26)
Too much about doctrines and not enough about doing. Jump into the river and don’t debate the existence of it. Discover the Lord and you find Creation. But not the old creation, but the renewed creation, where renewal, redemption and the God’s Kingdom is advancing on this Earth as it is in Heaven. Shalom.
I grew up in a religious environment that thrived on “God told me…” and “The Spirit is showing me…” As a person who has had a heart for God since I was seven, I always seemed to be the puzzled piece that did not fit. In fact, I seemed to be in the wrong box. All the other pieces appeared to fit nicely together and form some interesting pictures; but not me. You see, I never heard God’s “voice” and what the “spirit was showing” was very much like my own imagination – a very active imagination.
In years to come this idea of “just let the spirit move” became nothing short of bizarre. As I became a volunteer, intern, and staff member of some of America’s most known TV preachers. The “spirit” moved them to roll their week’s supply of marijuana joints while preparing their sermons at 4:00am, 40 years of alcoholic addictions and spousal abuse, wife swapping, and hidden bedrooms behind office bookshelves lined with Bible commentaries. It was their prophetic insight that “showed” them they could clean up money from Columbian drug lords by running it through their ministry. After all, God changes sinners into saints; he can change bad money into good money. I know of millions of cash dropped in offering buckets by individuals that have been planted in the crusade audience. IRS cannot trace cash offerings.
I have seen five gallon buckets of water prayed over and then thrown over a mass frenzied audience. Literally in sixty seconds I have heard a crude sexual joke backstage and a “word of knowledge” on stage from the same preacher. Did you know that the only reason Paul had a thorn in his flesh was because he did not “name it and claim it”. Today sitting in a warehouse in central Texas is a large stockpile of a ghost-written book. Its supposed author bought a million copies of his own book so it would be listed on the NY Times bestseller list – paid for by the tithes and offerings of his “faith partners”. The financial solvency of a major christian university owes a debt of gratitude to the vision of a 900 foot Jesus that its founder had. A fictitious, contrived story conceived to raise money.
Why am I posting these comments?
I have spent a lifetime in pursuit of the TRUE God; the Sovereign One. The paths I have traveled have been good, bad, entertaining, authentic, comforting, and tragically dangerous. In the summer of 1988 I was on my belly crawling under a Cadillac looking for a pipe bomb. I did not read this in a book. I lived it. Today I am working on my PhD in Philosophy of Theology. Dr. Moen is my academic mentor. This journey is long, tough, and at times discouraging. This is hard work. I am determined to be authentic and will settle for nothing less; especially as it relates to knowing and understanding the whole Counsel of God. My life and the lives I serve are being weighed in the balance, and I will not surrender to the flippant, flamboyant, fashionable, flawed sensationalism that is less about Christ-likeness and more like William Randolph Hearst’s yellow journalism.
If you are skilled and knowledgeable in accurate exegetics, then you have a responsibility to study, research, and teach others. If you do not have this talent, then I suggest you take a Torah-observant Jew by the arm and follow him/her to the hill of the LORD. As for me and my house, drive through windows ceased to be an option some time ago.
Roderick, -amen! “As for me and my house, drive through windows ceased to be an option some time ago..”
At some point in time, (hopefully sooner than later) we (all) will come to the full realization and recognition, “God does business with those who mean business.”
His words ?
~You will seek Me and find me, when you seek Me with all your heart ~ (Jeremiah 29.13)
All or none. – No dabblers. – No doubters.
~ be not faithless, but believing! ~
Now THAT’s MY brother! I can see the family resemblance! c
Roderick,
Thanks for sharing some of your powerful story.
It was a jolting reminder of the all encompassing importance of Micah’s charge to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our G-d. And, yes…study and research also, to the extent that G-d affords us those opportunities.
Judi, I have just been studying about the SHuLCHeN or the Table of Grace. In the Temple it was called the Table of Presence and had on it the Showbread. Since the destruction of the Temple in 70CE, the closest expression we have to this table is our dinning table. Since the table is associated with grace or CHeN, then we must also consider what grace looked like in ancient Israel. For Christians grace is what replaced the law and is what saves us from our sins. To Israel it was a place to camp and a place for economic, social, and political exchange; yes, and even theological discussions. Maybe you can see the similarity between Israel’s table of grace and the dinning table in your home. It is at the table of the LORD that the Father parents us – His children – with His instructions for life. And, as we invite our children – all those whom we are discipling – to sit and camp at our table, they too can be nurtured. Man does not live by bread alone; but by all that transpires around the table of grace. That is why drive-through religion has no more value than fast food masquerading as health food.
Thank you for your word. i found it helpful but i think there needs to be a balance. I know you are specifically talking about teaching and I know there are extreme examples in regards to hearing the Holy spirit but for every one negative story there likely 20 good ones. We can always come up with a bad experience or example we have heard on the grapevine to justify any stance we make. Reacting to hearing or having a bad experience leads to an opposite error.
In the New testament there are several examples of people hearing the inner voice of the Holy Spirit and being led by it. For instance Acts 8:29 ‘The spirit told Philip, go to that chariot and stay near’ That was subjective but it didn’t make it wrong. In Acts 13:2 we have another clear example. ‘While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting the Holy Spirit said, “set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which i have called them” In Acts 15:28 it says ‘It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us ….’ They were obviously in some sort of intimacy or had an inner witness with the Holy Spirit. Also Acts 16:6 ‘… having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word to the province of Asia. Acts 27:10 ‘men I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous …..’ He obviously had an inner knowing from somewhere.. In actual fact the inner voice of the Holy Spirit seemed to be the less dramatic way that God lead them. They had angels, visions, dreams. My reasoning if was good enough for them its good enough for us and we should expect God to speak these ways and personally he does to me because we have the same Holy Spirit. That doesn’t mean i don’t read, study the word of God and strive to understand it. We need both.
You make a good point. There are examples of the Spirit’s direct instructions to many, in both Testaments. But, in my opinion, there is a significant difference between the examples of Scripture and the things we hear claimed today. First, the Spirit, as far as I can tell, rarely told someone else what He wanted me to know. Second, the Spirit never told anyone anything that was contrary to Torah and third, the Spirit never was the personal exegete of existing Scripture (in other words, the Spirit never told me what Scripture meant). Should we seek a balance? Of course. But I will raise plenty of objections the moment someone says, “The Spirit told me that this is what this verse means.” The Spirit might tell you what you must do to APPLY this verse to your life, but I have yet to find a case where the Spirit provides me with a private exegesis of a verse that is open to public examination.