Comments on: Coming up for air & verse tests

By: James

James — Sat, 12 Mar 2005 17:18:41 +0000

Memorization is not abad thing, regurgiation is. I believe we have to know the Bible in it full context, not justa few verses here and there. The Bible is NOT written in English.

By: Blog Jones

Blog Jones — Thu, 10 Mar 2005 13:21:38 +0000

Heh. OK. I lose.

By: iGirl

iGirl — Thu, 10 Mar 2005 05:13:46 +0000

I agree that the tests would be a nightmare to grade if it were left up to the grader’s subjective judgment. And sometimes it really does make a difference. Even a misplaced comma can totally change the interpretation of a verse. (Trust me; I’m an English teacher.:wink:) While those were not in the original, I believe in most cases they were put there by someone who knows a whole lot more about how to interpret the verse than I do.

By: Barbara H.

Barbara H. — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 12:22:47 +0000

Most of my teachers also counted off for spelling or punctuation mistakes.

I have a little more trouble counting off for punctuation since that’s not “inspired.” But, to grade they have to have a standard to go by. And sometimes a comma in the right place does make a difference in how the verse is interpreted, so I guess I can see why they do it.

By: to Give an Answer

to Give an Answer — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 20:50:28 +0000

I concur. The memorization doesn’t itself encourage taking verses out of context. However, I do think that it is good to read the verse in context at some point in the memorization process. (Instead of just looking at the specific verse to be memorized.) That way, you have a better idea of why the author wrote that verse.

Yes, the reason teachers require word-for-word memorization is for objectivity. While your example of “Christ Jesus” versus “Jesus Christ” is quite slight, other differences are more subjective. Also, unexact memorization can lead to problems in interpretation if the verse is recalled from memory. I’ve seen that happen when in theological debates/discussions. A person will remember a verse slightly off, making it fit his/her position a little more neatly. The difference may not make much difference for the overall point of the verse, but it can lead to misapplication of a verse’s minor points.

That said, I feel your pain. Throughout elementary and high school, our verses had to be word-for-word correct. Most of my teachers also counted off for spelling or punctuation mistakes.

By: Barbara H.

Barbara H. — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 12:45:43 +0000

I agree with dtalbert — memorizing verses in itself doesn’t encourage taking things out of context unless the teaching that came with it did so. It is nice, though, to memorize passages rather than single verses.

As for exact wording in tests — I think primarily that is the standard for grading. It would be awfully hard for a teacher to discern how to grade the verses objectively if he had to weigh every variation.

By: dtalbert

dtalbert — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 00:01:21 +0000

No, memorizing verses doesn’t encourage proof-texting. Proof-texting comes from poor exegetical method and a weak grasp of biblical/systematic theology. What memorized verses DO encourage is accurate presentation of what the Bible says.
That said, those tests could be brutal. I advise (if possible) getting Dr. Shumate for anyone else reading this. His presentation of verse tests was much more forgiving than Dr. Miller’s.