One of the great problems in education is rote learning. It is learning the answer to a question without knowing how to get the answer without having been first given the answer. Too much of education including some of what I do myself makes this mistake. A great example is that I used to interview coaches and I would tell them what I was looking for. Right there I gave them the answers and they quickly nodded their consent. I had their consent, but not their understanding or their knowledge. I needed to have put the bar higher. So that is what I am going to do here. I need to find out if people understand and not just consent, because then I can trust people to be accountable without my help.
So with the bar higher, I am not just going to give a definition for holy or blessed. I need people who understand these words, not mouth the definition from a dictionary. Do you know how to find their meaning in the Bible? That is a far better question. This may shock a few people, but many scholars only repeat the definition they learned in school but they don't know how to find the definition for themselves. They cheat and use a lexicon and call that scholarship.
I want to prove that today. Defining holy and defining blessed are only two examples, but there is one example that I find really glaring. Most students (including scholars) can tell me the words of the greatest commandment by quoting from one of the gospels. What they cannot do is explain to me is how the lawyer or Jesus knew this before their answer was recorded. They also cannot answer equally a number of related questions.
So here is my set of questions for you and them:
1) What is the greatest judgment in the Bible? How do you know this?
2) What is the greatest testimony in the Bible? How do you know this?
3) What is the greatest law in the Bible? How do you know this?
4) What is the greatest commandment in the Bible? How do you know this (beside quoting from a gospel writer)?
5) What is the greatest statute in the Bible? How do you know this?
Notice that if you can answer, "How to you know this?", then you can answer the rest of the questions and not just one of the questions. It is 5xs times more valuable to know how than what in this case. It could be though that is too conservative of a value. It might have exponential value instead which is much higher!
Here is another thing I would like to ask. I would like to ask "If, 'Do you for others what you would have them do for you', is the golden rule for the greatest commandment; then what is the corresponding golden values for the other greatest things listed above?"
1) What is the golden continuity in the Bible? (to go with the greatest law)
2) What is the golden bond in the Bible? (to go with the greatest testimony)
3) What is the greatest model in the Bible? (to go with the greatest law)
4) What is the greatest rule in the Bible? (obvious, to go with the greatest commandment)
5) What is the greatest sense in the Bible? (to go with the greatest statute)
This means being at least 5 times more understanding, if you can answer all of these. Please keep in mind, these would not be know just to lawyers and rabbis like Jesus. Golden things are the easy to understand dummy-level materials of the Bible. See the spirit that I say this in through the picture below. It is not a matter of insult. It is a matter of do we know or do we really understand. Understanding here is greater than rote learning.
I like as a teacher to create understanding students, who can move on to be teachers themselves. But if you want cheap answers, then I warn you that I won't be giving those out. I can tell you what holy means, but you need to see how easy it is found in the Bible. If you can answer my questions, then you will have little trouble defining it. Actually, you will have a lot less then scholars. Otherwise, you are going to be subject to deception. Do we want a Christianity (or a Judaism) that is buying things, because we are dumb enough to buy it?
You can try to answer these questions above through using the comments section below. I will grade you, but I will not give you the easy answers. You have to think on at least the easiest level. I want to make sure you understand and that you understand that you don't understand even the greatest commandment, if you don't know how a person knows this is the greatest.
Best of all, I can hope that you will learn more without the answers provided in advance. Let's test what we really know and understand before we ask for a teacher's help. I hope you do well and I look forward to your answers. Remember, every attempt to understand is moving toward understanding. An attempt is never wasted. It is the lack of an attempt that is wasted. May God bless your efforts and my teaching.
In Christ,
Jon
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