Quotes About Context

There are certain sounds that I've found work well in nearly any context. Their function is not so much musical as spatial: they define the edges of the territory of the music.

Annas responded quickly, "My colleague Joseph is taking Scripture out of context. David was speaking metaphorically, and Isaiah's Suffering Servant is Israel, not Messiah." A voice interrupted their debate. "I can see my tardiness has inspired you to discuss the matter of Messiah in my absence." Pilate paused at the entrance of the chamber, with his personal guard. Everyone stood in respect.

Do we then speculate that when Jesus said that "they were eating and drinking" that he meant the giants were eating humans and drinking their blood? (1 Enoch 7:2-5).

Text without context is pretext.

If we want to understand how the ancient Jews understood the terms they used, we should look at how they themselves interpreted the texts. If one uses only Scripture to interpret Scripture without its cultural context, then one is not actually using Scripture to interpret Scripture, but conforming Scripture to one's own cultural bias and preconceived ideas.

For us to demand that the Biblical text be scientifically or historically "accurate" as we define those terms is not a high view of Scripture, it is a low view of Scripture. It is in fact imposing our own prejudices upon the text by refusing to understand it within its context. This is called cultural imperialism and it is the height of hubris, or human pride.

not a single scrap of actual historical or archeological evidence for this theorizing, it also reeks of modern imperialism by projecting stupidity onto the writers of some of the most intelligent and poetic literature in history. Such arrogance is easily dismissed when one studies the ancient cultural context of divine names as expressing character traits related to specific situations.

Sometimes a piece of literature is intended to be factual or historical, sometimes poetic or figurative, oftentimes both. So it is the literary context that determines how a scripture should be understood, not our expectations that we bring to the text. Since the Bible is literature with different genres and styles of writing, we should be literary in our interpretation, not literal.

When the plain sense of prophecy makes sense, beware your own bias and seek the genre sense. Take every word at its primary, extraordinary, symbolic meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and historical facts, indicate clearly otherwise.

History does not usually make real sense until long afterward.

every environment has a tone.

Emotions are powerful markers of context .

We are not the same musicians, mentally nor the same human beings, and not being the same, it is very difficult to read an old music treatise in its proper meaning and context. The solution, of course, is to read less about music and more about context.1

He could see time lying on the world like a sheen, a frozen blur of movement chopped out of context and painted onto the surface of the cold stone like alien shellac.

We want to share the truth with sensitivity and love and in the context of a meaningful relationship, but with the fundamental purpose of leading someone into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

To put the issue succinctly: since the message was first addressed to the ancient church, it requires explication; since that message now needs to be addressed to a contemporary church, it requires application."17

An expository sermon is designed for the study of the specific details, context, and development of a biblical passage in order to encourage and enable listeners to love God and to help them understand how to apply the truths of his Word to their lives.

We have everywhere an absence of memory. Architects sometimes talk of building with context and continuity in mind, religious leaders call it tradition, social workers say it's a sense of community, but it is memory we have banished from our cities. We have speed and power, but no place. Travel, but no destination. Convenience, but no ease.

Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism.

What election?" he asked. "Never mind," I said. "I was only kidding." One

I was the badass Consort and he was the grim Pack's executioner. Hugging him in the hallways would be entirely inappropriate.

If a cultural reference flies over a man's head, does it make a sound if nobody else gets it.

I meet young people who know me and are familiar with my stuff. They know the package. They might have cherry-picked five or six key tunes. That's how it seems to work. I sometimes wonder if they realise they are not getting the whole context.

It's particularly important for a young woman to be in control of her image - to a certain extent. I mean, there's only so much you can do, because people take photos with you and then all of a sudden they pop up all over the place, they're completely out of context and you have no control over how they're used.