^^Not quite, but close. The thing is, in my relationship with my girlfriend, her parents are CONSTANTLY saying that I'm not permanent yet, and that we don't know if I'm "In God's plan for her," or if she's in mine. I know God has plans for me, but the thing is, is there only ONE plan he would like us to take?
I'm just kinda confused on the whole thing, because the logic runs in circles... What if you sin and it messes up God's intended plan? People tell me, "Oh, he accounts for you sin and makes a new plan." But did he not know of the sin and make the plan ahead of time? But if he knew about it, why was the "new" plan not in the original plan?
If you want the true root of the question, it's fear that God will "split" me and my girlfriend, because it's not in his intended "plan." I'm not TOO worried atm, because there are no signs that He wants that right now, but still... Can I not choose who I want to be with unless he specifically tells me not to be with them? And if I can't, but do anyway, is it sin??
This question also comes from a background of me hating English class. I don't like deep meanings, and like to see things at face value. In fact, in English class I've been asked to find the OPPOSITE of what the author was conveying, using strategies similar to this that involves removing context like this. I don't like to look at the small particulars that may or may not mean something significant, and rather like to look at what it actually SAYS.
Another things I HATE is when people say, "Oh, it can be interpreted this way, this way, this way, AND this way!!" Now, while I agree some authors may use double entendres, I honestly think that in most cases, and author wrote something to have one meaning, and then an over-eager literature critic comes along and BAM, twelve different "meanings." See what I mean?
Oh, well... hmmm... I do believe that God has a plan for us and I use it as an overarching singular noun (though this one great plan can have many sub-plans to get us to the end). So, there's that overall great big plan but at any particular moment in our lives, there are small plans (or nudges) to get us to complete the overall great plan for our lives.
As for responding, I don't think there's an issue with that. If it's not because you did something wrong, I don't think God would purposely put you in a place you don't want to be. So if you don't want God's plan to send you to a very dangerous part of Africa, He probably won't send you there. But over time, you might suddenly one day feel like it might not be so bad to go to Africa. If that's part of His plan, then He might nudge you to then take action by opening doors and closing others - either to prepare you to go to Africa or to send you there right away! So if you're worried that God will break up the two of you, I say you don't need to worry if it's not an unholy relationship. But will you break up with her in the future? I don't know but if it does happen, it's either your girlfriend who wants to break up (so, not God's doing), or you want to break up (not God's doing), or both of you want to break up (not God's doing).
You have to remember that God is omnipotent and omniscient - He can see the future. We can't do that. So one has to be careful of how we assign or interpret this "plan." Just move along in life but pay attention to any surprising feelings you may have. Those are your "nudges." But you need to be careful in how you discern because you don't want to respond to the wrong "nudge" that might not be from the Holy Spirit!
You can choose to ignore the plan (which probably isn't such a great idea) or you can choose to respond to it. I chose to respond to mine and though it is difficult and trying at times, it is not as bad as it sounds. If you were to ask me to respond to the calling a few years ago, I would have balked and said no. I wouldn't worry too much about it other than to listen and discern. When you're ready, you will know. Unfortunately, there's no magical formula to all this.
But yeah, this is off the main topic I was trying to put in the thread... Is the Bible supposed to be read as a whole, or are the numbers and spacing placed AFTER the Bible was written of any significance? I mean, the Bible wasn't spaced into these small sentences piece by piece while it was being written... At least I don't think so... So why on earth would Jeremiah 29:11 not be applied to Israel and only Israel? Is it PURELY because of those numbers that happen to have been placed there?
I believe in both - as a whole and separate parts but I'm not sure how to explain it to you... it just... makes sense to me lol
This question also comes from a background of me hating English class. I don't like deep meanings, and like to see things at face value. In fact, in English class I've been asked to find the OPPOSITE of what the author was conveying, using strategies similar to this that involves removing context like this. I don't like to look at the small particulars that may or may not mean something significant, and rather like to look at what it actually SAYS.
Another things I HATE is when people say, "Oh, it can be interpreted this way, this way, this way, AND this way!!" Now, while I agree some authors may use double entendres, I honestly think that in most cases, and author wrote something to have one meaning, and then an over-eager literature critic comes along and BAM, twelve different "meanings." See what I mean?
The Bible was never meant to be difficult for people to read and understand. It is God's Word. He wants us to understand - not to be confused with everything He has for us to read. I hold to two ways of interpreting it - a strict way and a casual way. Guess which one is more dangerous?
Keep in mind a few things.
a) most of us are not Jewish
b) we don't live in Israel (or at least I don't)
c) we don't fully understand the cultural and society aspects of ancient times
d) the Bible was written during a time where a lot of the history and culture is lost or destroyed
To understand what's going on, you need to place yourself in the shoes of the Jews back in the day. It is not easy - that's why we have historians, archaeologists, and scholars to help us with that. Then look at the passage/verses through their eyes. For example, many of Jesus' parables were about farming, viticulture, fishing, etc. These were occupations that most people understood back in those times. So when Jesus told a parable, they understood what He was saying. We don't. The last time I checked, few of us have fished on the Sea of Galilee. But if you put yourself in their shoes, you would understand that the Sea of Galilee experiences great storms quite often. So now when you read the story where Jesus walked on water, it puts you in their shoes - the disciples were absolutely stricken with fear in that rickety wooden boat! Or, when Jesus gives the parable of the enemy sowing weeds in the master's fields, historians have provided us with information that back then, it was very common for a jealous neighbouring farmer to sow weeds in their neighbour's fields. If we were neighbours and I saw that your fields produced a better crop of wheat, I might sow some weeds. This weed I sow is poisonous and actually looks like the wheat you grow until they mature (then you can tell the difference). This became a huge problem so the Romans passed a law to criminalize the practice. Now when you read Matthew13:24 - 30, you will look at it from a new understanding and perspective. But would you have understood all that from a modern-day life-view? No.
Then there is the language barrier. The English Bible(s) you have are all translated. When you translate from one language to another, some meanings are lost. There's no argument there. The English language (which will surprise many people) is actually a very poor language to communicate feelings, culture, and history. So much is lost when you translate into English. Many Middle-Eastern, Slavic, and Asian languages are far more novel and delicate when it comes to words as compared to the English language. So keep that in mind. When you read something, wonder what the original word really means. Try to find out. When you start doing this, you will begin to realize that there are some interpretations that just don't hold water simply because the Bible doesn't say either for or against.
So if you have an interpretation that's unclear because the Bible is apparently silent on the matter, what do you do then? You look at the whole Bible to see if there is a general rule or teaching that can be used to interpret the question/passage/verse. What if there isn't one? Well, it could mean one of a few things:
a) it's not an issue with God
b) it's an issue but you can only understand it from the original writings which we don't have or are lost
c) it is unknown, err on the side of caution
One popular example of that is the age-old question of is masturbation a sin? There are several places in the Bible where there
could be examples of masturbation but it is not clear in the original writings (you need a Bible encyclopedia to help you out with this). Even if there were examples of it, the Bible does not make an issue of it in those verses/passages. So, we rule out the first way of reading it. Can some other lessons, laws, understandings, and teachings in other parts of the Bible help us interpret this issue? The answer is no - at least not on the act of masturbating. There are many verses and passages to help us interpret on whether the thoughts, the feelings, and other actions associated with this act is a sin or not but not on this act specifically. For example, fantasizing while masturbating could be a sin but it doesn't mean the act of masturbating is a sin. Or, masturbation can lead to an addiction. The addiction would be wrong but that still leaves us wondering if the act of masturbation without an addiction is a sin or not. So we have a problem. We still don't have an answer. So, let's look at what Jews hold to back in the day. Jews hold that masturbation is a sin. They use Onan as an example. However, from step 1, you would have understood from your research that Onan's example is really about
corpus interuptus. It was where Onan violated the levirate laws that Judah had created. It was also an issue of greed and selfishness. Seed-wasting is also not very clear as to whether that is an act of masturbation or not. It can have multiple meanings! So we're still stuck. What to do?
a) God doesn't really care about this issue, or
b) it's an issue and God does care but we can't find it from the original writings, or
c) the Holy Spirit convicts you every time you masturbate and therefore you should stop, or
d) err on the side of caution - don't masturbate
I would probably take the stance of c) or d) as the safest bets.
A casual interpretation would not go through all these steps. It would stop short of putting ourselves in the shoes of the people in ancient times. It would not look at logical fallacies of different interpretations. It would only hold to tradition and verses quoted out of context. Sometimes, a casual interpretation is correct. Sometimes, it is not. You have to be careful. Again, there's no hard and fast rule to all this. It takes practice and time.
If you're really interested in figuring all this stuff out, try the exercise of figuring out whether the Bible says masturbation is a sin or not. Once you begin digging around, you will understand what I mean. If you don't have a Bible encyclopedia, try the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia edited by Bromiley. It's free online (I have the book version). You will not find "masturbate/masturbation" under "M." So you might start with Onan, then levirate, Judah, Tamar, covering of one's feet, Saul, David, right (for right hand), left, eye, gouge, punishments, emission, and so forth. Then Google to find an interpretation that makes sense. Keep a handy list of logical fallacies beside you and compare each explanation with that list. I can assure you that you will only really find a few handful of biblically researched interpretations and only one site that attempts to point out all the fallacies for each argument given complete with verses and passages.
Try doing the research. It will be a great learning exercise for you.