The need to divide, or cut, or handle, the Word is paramount to understanding its true context
STATEMENT:
Your post about rightly dividing prophecy from mystery reminds me of a story about 6 blind men arguing about what an elephant was like. the poem, “The Blind Men and the Elephant” by John Saxe. In the poem, each blind man had grabbed a different part of the elephant and was vigorously defending his position. The man who had the leg declared the elephant was like a tree, the one who had the ear said he was like a fan, the one who had the trunk asserted he was like a snake, and so forth. So too, Christians can grab different verses in the New Testament and begin arguing—as if the Bible could contradict itself. That is not how to establish truth in the Christian world. The Bible is God-breathed and does not contradict itself. God’s people are to “rightly handle,” the Word and the words in it, and not wage useless word battles with them. The Bible can be wrongly believed and taught, and it can also be wrongly used as a weapon against other people.
ANSWER:
Thanks for your input. I have no doubt that many denominational churches today handle the Word incorrectly, twisting the Word to fit their church creed or traditions instead of truly studying the Word to find out what God’s will and purpose for the Body of Christ truly is. Thus, your analogy is true for people who take parts of God’s Word and change it fit their purpose and views, essentially creating it into something like what you describe with the elephant's anatomy.
