{"id":624,"date":"2010-05-28T11:05:37","date_gmt":"2010-05-28T18:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sharefaithblog.wpengine.com\/?p=624"},"modified":"2017-10-09T10:32:02","modified_gmt":"2017-10-09T17:32:02","slug":"staying-true-word-ever-changing-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sharefaith.com\/blog\/2010\/05\/staying-true-word-ever-changing-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Staying True to the Word in an Ever-Changing World"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The Departure Syndrome plagues Christendom. The Departure Syndrome ruins churches, derails movements, sparks compromise, initiates heresy, tears down upright lifestyles, and damns people eternally. The Departure Syndrome takes place when people depart from the truth of the Bible. It can happen slowly\u2014even imperceptibly\u2014but it does happen. It may not happen flagrantly, but can happen neglectfully\u2014but it does happen. When a departure occurs, failure results. Feeling replaces substance. Hunch replaces codified information. Emotion replaces truth. Personal cogitation replaces Divine revelation. What this calls for is staying true to the Word in an ever-changing world. Here\u2019s how to do it.<\/p>\n

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The Difficulty of Staying True to the Word in an Ever-Changing World<\/strong><\/p>\n

When we talk of \u201cdeparting from God\u2019s Word,\u201d or \u201cneglecting the Bible,\u201d any conservative Christian would raise his or her hands in horror and object to that kind of iniquity. Few groups actually dive into compromise and Bible-departure in such an intentional way. One of the difficulties of staying true to the Word is that the process of departure is gradual and even imperceptible. It may involve mere neglect of the Word, or it could involve subtle reinterpretation of certain passages. The problem is so pervasive that it actually affects movements en masse. It affects educational centers and mainline denominations. It\u2019s not easy to stop a departure that you don\u2019t realize is happening.<\/p>\n

Another difficulty comes from the assault of the world. As the title of this post suggests, the world is ever changing. The Word is not. Tenaciously clinging to an ancient book, derided by science, scoffed by atheists, ridiculed by liberals, and questioned by critics becomes pass\u00e9. It\u2019s embarrassing. Contemporary culture shifts and changes. The idea of a touchstone of truth is totally irrelevant. Postmodernity, the prevailing philosophical trend, only believes in one absolute\u2014the disavowal of any <\/em>absolute. Self-contradictory as it may be, this philosophy affects the thinking of millions of Americans, even Christians. Because of this influence, Christians navigate a flawed pseudo-belief in the Bible by reading it and then simply interpreting it based on \u201cwhat it means to me.\u201d Listen to any small group Bible study and that phrase, \u201cmeans to me,\u201d \u00a0will probably come up at some point.<\/p>\n

Staying True to the Word Starts with Inspiration<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bible is not about \u201cwhat it means to me.\u201d The Bible is about what it means. God decided the meaning, because He wrote it down. The corrective to the Departure Syndrome is to understand some of the basic tenets of the doctrine of bibliology.<\/p>\n