Wednesday, September 30, 2009

I coined a phrase =)

Google currently returns zero results for "American style eschatological eisegesis".  That probably means that I coined it. Hooray!  =P

3 comments:

Al said...

Of course, now there is one result (your post). But that still begs one eensy teensy little question.
What the bleep is "American style eschatological eisegesis"???

OK, OK I'll do my own research.
(time passes)

Got it sorta figured now. I can certainly see what you are referring to. I like the underlying assumption that the 'American style' of understanding the end of the world, etc. is not based on what one can take out of scripture, but what one choses to read into it.

Now for the best part: What do YOU think about it?

Benjamin Ady said...

Al,

You rock. Now we have a better sense of just how freaking fast google is. I posted at 8:08, and you responded at 10:41 by which time google already had it catalogued. When one considers just how big the web is, that is pretty freaking amazing.

aha-what do I think? I'll answer on the condition that you answer the same question =P

the phrase itself speaks a little to what I think.

At one level it seems very silly to me, and at another level it seems incredibly dangerous. That is what I think.

Al said...

I've always been wary of people who figure they have the end of the world figured out--time, style etc. It's bad enough to decide that apocalyptic scripture has to be taken literally (except for the parts we choose to take figuratively), but to then tell the rest of us how a locust or scorpion really is a helicopter (or whatever), and how the mark of the beast is....well, you know what I mean. And then to change the time line because the last one didn't quite work out. And then for one expert to have quite a different picture than another expert. Well, it just doesn't work for me.
Silly, probably.
Misguided, likely.
Scary, yes, in many ways. To assume that days are literal, scorpions are figurative, horns are representative, etc. etc. assumes some license. To make it say what you need it to for your time line to fall into place is a bit high handed. To come to the conclusion that it is now time to assemble at the top of the mountain in white robes really starts missing the point of actually living a life today that positively affects the people around you.
A final monster--if they can do it with eschatology, they can do it wherever else they need to.