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Craig Keener: Remarriage and Divorce

I am posting another of the excellent videos in Asbury Theological Seminary’s Seven Minute Seminary series.

In this video Dr. Craig Keener addresses the issue of Divorce and remarriage — particularly as it relates to the teaching of Jesus.

 

 

I appreciate the way he addresses this issue. But, I also wanted to post this for another reason. In this video, Dr. Keener raises the issue of whether Jesus used hyperbole (deliberate over-statement) in his teachings. Dr. Keener points out that he clearly did.

This is an important point to remember — especially for those of us who are tempted to ransack through Jesus’ teachings for rules and regulations — he just didn’t teach that way. He used overstatement to get our attention.

 

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2 Responses

  1. John Meunier April 14, 2014 / 6:14 pm

    How do we tell the difference between hyperbole and the “I really mean this” parts?

    • Craig L. Adams April 14, 2014 / 6:29 pm

      Good question. I’m not sure I have a good answer — or, at least “good” in the sense of providing a simple rule. Reading the Sermon on the Mount convinces me that Jesus did use hyperbole. So, one must be discerning about this. Coming to the teaching of Jesus in the hope of finding clear, hard and fast rules may be a sure way to misunderstand.

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