Proof-texting is the use of out-of-context quotes to support an argument. Most often, proof-texting is used in the quoting of religious texts, although scholarly texts are often used. The technique is somewhat related to and is often combined with sophistry, which uses garbled logic to support an illogical claim.
Proof-texting is a prevalent mistake in interpreting the Bible. This involves selectively using isolated Bible verses or passages to support a preconceived idea or argument without considering their original context, intended meaning, or the wider teachings of the Bible. It encompasses the act of extracting verses from their surrounding context ...
Today’s episode addresses the issue of proof-texting. What is proof-texting is? Why is it problematic? And how can we all approach Scripture with greater humility and accuracy. The discussion emphasizes the importance of understanding Scripture within its original context—recognizing historical, cultural, and literary factors.
The proof text method of biblical interpretation has a long and varied history that reaches back to biblical times and before. One well-known key text that was applied by first Christians to Jesus’ life is Hosea 11:1, “Out of Egypt have I called my son” (Matthew 2:15).
Long before there was texting, there was “proof-texting,” the phenomenon of referring to Bible verses to support your beliefs. Unfortunately, proof-texting often goes like this: you have just made a point in a discussion, when a person who disagrees with you says with a smirk on their face, “Yeah, but what about…” and then they try to put you in your place by using a biblical quote ...
"Proof-texting ignores the context of the passage or chapter in which the particular verse is located, as well as other passages related to the same topic. It also ignores the literary and historical contexts in favour of a concept that sees scripture as a string of vaguely related thoughts, each with inherent truth." ii.
The negative meaning of “proof-texting” describes when a passage is pulled out of its context, meaning, and purpose, and is used improperly. Grotesque examples are easy to come up with. Some people use the Bible as a magic book of guidance (the equivalent of a deck of Christian tarot cards): “When I was deciding where to move, I flipped ...
Proof-texting is that time-honored method of biblical interpretation that consists in citing a verse to justify some theological conclusion without any respect for its context or intended use. ... That can’t possibly be the meaning of a verse in this part of the Bible because it’s the wrong dispensation/covenant, etc). The interpretive tool ...
Most of us mean well and are sincere in our beliefs and in our search for the truth. We don’t want to deceive others nor do we want to be deceived ourselves. ... “Prooftexting (sometimes ‘proof-texting’ or ‘proof texting’) is the practice of using isolated, out-of-context quotations from a document to establish a proposition in ...
Meaning of prooftext. What does prooftext mean? Information and translations of prooftext in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. ... A proof text is a passage of scripture presented as proof for a theological doctrine, belief, or principle. Prooftexting (sometimes "proof-texting" or "proof texting") is the ...
Proof texting. Proof texting is the method by which a person appeals to a biblical text to prove or justify a theological position without regard for the context of the passage they are citing. At its worst, for example, "theologian A claims to have a more 'biblical' theology than theologian B, based upon counting up verse in parentheses (on a random page from each work) and claiming to have ...
a pretext for a proof text.” The dogmatic approach of proof-texting misunder-stands the way meaning is conveyed: “the meaning of Scripture is atomized by being regarded as contained in key-words or key-phrases or isolated single verses treated without respect to their neighbouring context.” By construing
Many denominational believers, and even some Christians, have a problem with what is commonly called "proof texting." That is the practice of proving a particular doctrine with a Bible text.This practice is not without a multitude of precedence in the Bible. Jesus constantly "proof te
The following proof-text is often cited as the basis for this belief: All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, ... the Bible is fixed in meaning. The following proof-text is often cited as the basis for this belief: But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own ...
S ince the start of the 20th century, the heart of mathematics has been the proof — a rigorous, logical argument for whether a given statement is true or false. Mathematicians’ careers are measured by what kinds of theorems they can prove, and how many. They spend the bulk of their time coming up with fresh insights to make a proof work, then translating those intuitions into step-by-step ...