As one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I was deceived into believing false prophecies and false teachings. Now I like to think I’m a reasonably intelligent guy, so how were the publishers of the Watchtower and Awake! magazines able to dupe me for so long? In great part, it was because I accepted their way of studying the Bible. It is the way that every religion studies the Bible, though you won’t get even one of them to admit it.
I’ve introduced two terms to you in previous videos, but it won’t hurt to refresh your memories, after which we’re going to do a little experiment of our own.
The two terms are eisegesis and exegesis.
The word "eisegesis" comes from two Greek words that mean "to lead into." This contrasts with "exegesis," which also comes from Greek and means "to lead out of."
Eisegesis refers to the process of interpreting a Bible text by reading one's own ideas, biases, or preconceptions into it, rather than drawing out the text's original meaning. It often involves imposing one's own views onto the text, which can lead to misinterpretation or distortion of the Bible text's original or intended message.
In contrast, exegesis is the process of critically analyzing and interpreting a Bible text based on its context, language, and historical background to reveal its original meaning. In other words, to draw the meaning out of the Bible text.
Okay, now we come to our little experiment: Let’s say that someone came up to me and says:
“Good Teacher, what shall I do that I might inherit eternal life?”
And then I replied, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good, except God alone.”
From the way I’ve worded that statement, what conclusion would you draw about me? That I’m God? Well, of course I’m not God. We all know that, but remember, we’re entering this discussion without preconceptions. We’re going only with what is actually said. For all you know, I might be delusional. I might really believe that I am God. If I really believed I was God, would I still have answered that way? I mean if I really believed I was God and that only God is good, then when you called me “Good teacher,” why would I ask you why do you call me good?
So, applying the method of Bible exegesis to our little experiment, you would not conclude that I’m God, would you? Because even if I was delusional and believed I was God, I wouldn’t then have answered that question in that way. It makes no sense.
Okay, now let’s apply this to Jesus.
“As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.” (Mark 10:17, 18 NIV)
Would it surprise you to learn that Trinitarians believe that this text shows proof that Jesus is God? To do this, they must abandon critical thinking (exegesis) and utilize eisegesis to support their preconception.
For example, Charles Spurgeon, the renowned 19th-century preacher, commented on Mark 10:18 in his expositions. He wrote, “In this passage, Jesus responds to a young man who calls Him "Good Master" by saying, "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." Spurgeon explains that Jesus did not deny His own goodness but rather aimed to make the young man reflect on the true meaning of goodness and recognize the divine nature of God.”
So, this is a textbook example of eisegesis. Spurgeon starts with the belief that Jesus is God, so he must come up with a way of explaining this verse that supports his belief. He is “leading his idea into” the Bible text.
Trinitarians believe that Jesus was “God in the flesh.” So, every Scripture must be bent to support that preconception. Take for instance, Hebrews 5:8-10 which reads, “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 5:8-10 NIV)
So, I was wondering how a Trinitarian would warp what we read in Hebrews to continue to support the idea of Jesus as "God in the flesh". Here’s what I found:
Trinitarians believe that Jesus is both fully God and fully human. Hebrews 5:8-10 highlights Jesus' human experience, particularly His learning obedience through suffering. This does not negate His divinity but rather emphasizes His genuine humanity. Jesus' experience of suffering and obedience is seen as part of His role as the perfect mediator between God and humanity.
So, by this reasoning, “God in the flesh” needed to learn obedience through the things he suffered so as to be made perfect. But Jesus said God is good which means God is perfect, and Trinitarians claim that Jesus was referring to himself as good because he is God, so how could he be made perfect if God is already perfect? Oh, only his fully human half needed to learn obedience to be made perfect? So, then Jesus, the fully human half, wasn’t good, but the fully God half was good, and if he’s God in the flesh, then…let’s start over. Or maybe, there’s a simpler solution. Maybe if we just accept that the Bible says, that he’s not God, but God’s son, maybe then it can all make sense. Because, you know, God doesn’t learn obedience. Who is he going to obey? And he can’t be made perfect, because he already was, is, and always will be perfect.
Anyway, I thought it was a good example to contrast the difference between eisegesis and exegesis, and to show that while reasoning eisegetically will eventually force a person to twist scripture to an embarrassingly silly degree, exegesis helps us arrive at truth and the truth sets us free. (John 8:32)
I’ve had a number of Trinitarians claim that you cannot be considered a Christian if you do not believe in the Trinity. For them, it is the identifying mark of true Christianity. They also point to the fact that the huge majority of people in Christendom today believe in the Trinity. Okay, well given that, what exegetical application to your own belief do you take from this Bible text:
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13, 14 NIV)
Please ponder that. Thank you for watching.