The world is full of people with strange ideas. The number one factor that makes them strange is that they are different from me. Other times it is because they are like the oddball two headed snake. I always wonder how such animals get anywhere.
There are two camps that I have been rubbing elbows with, the King James Only people, (KJO) and the Mid-Acts Dispensationalists, (MAD). That is an acronym that showed up on the front of the latest book my MAD friend mailed me. I can’t wait to use it on him and see if he noticed it himself.
These two groups have a lot of overlap and I am certainly not an expert on either on. Like most groups of more than one person they also have a wide spectrum within the in crowd. KJO folks can range from people who were simply raised on the KJV and are quite comfortable with it to people who practice what is called a second inspiration. That means that the actual words in your personal KJV, printed last year, are the directly inspired, perfectly preserved, flawless and perfect Word directly from the mouth of God. I don’t think I stated that too strongly.
The MAD people see that position and say, “Hold my beer.” It might be more accurate to say, “Hold my tap water,” but I think you get the point. If it were poker they would see the KJO and raise them their eternal soul. This sect tends to also endorse the KJV but also have a central verse in their system of theology.
(2Ti 2:15 KJV) Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.What they do with this is interpret “rightly dividing” in a very physical way. Most believers understands the point here is to interpret the Bible correctly. MAD people believe it starts with a pair of scissors. They cut the Bible up based on time periods and believe such things as, since the book of Psalms was written to Israel the 23rd Psalm does not apply to us today. That would be bad enough but they also put the teachings of Jesus in the Old Testament and say they don’t apply to us. If you know what Thomas Jefferson did to the Bible you can get the idea.
This approach puts them in that catagory of “Christians” who believe that if you don’t agree with them you will not be going to heaven.
To be continued...
homo unius libri
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.