Tigers Slay Indians!!!

"Tigers Slay Indians"? What does that mean? Well, it depends on the genre in which it is communicated. Let me explain.

If you saw "Tigers slay Indians" on CNN.com, you might assume that there was some tigers that killed some Indians, perhaps in the jungle somewhere. However, if you saw the same title on any sports website like espn.com, you'll automatically know that it's probably referring to some type of sport, for instance baseball, in which one team, the Tigers, defeated another team the Indians.
The meaning is genre specific. Though we think we know the meaning of the individual words, we really dont know what they mean until we know the genre or specific context in which it was communicated.

Sadly, most Christians today are more skilled reading the newspaper than they are their bible. We pick up the newspaper, and we know exactly how to read each section within it. Comedy, business, periodicals, obituaries, etc. Each section we read it differently, expecting different things. It would be foolish of me to read the comedy section in the same way I read the obituaries. Or if I read the advertisements section, thinking it all to be promises.

Genres are like shopping bags. If I was carrying a GAP bag in my hand, you would expect certain things to be in it...Perhaps overpriced clothes, jeans, etc. But if I was carrying a CHILI's bag, you would expect some good food to be inside. The bag gives you appropriate expectations, as well as applications. You would say "hmmm let me smell..." for the chili's bag, but that wouldn't be appropriate for my GAP bag.

Yet, when we read the Bible, we ignore the individual genres. Books like Proverbs, we read it in the exact same way as we would Paul's epistles. Yet, as i'll get into later, this is dangerous...How silly it would be to get into Proverbs asking "What has God promised me..."God has communicated in unique and different ways, we need to learn them.

All this to say...we need to study God's word in a more disciplined manner. We need to handle it accurately, with fear and trembling. Learn how to study and read your bible in a smart manner. I'll get into it more, but I believe it is of the utmost importance. The Church must step up and teach its members how to read the book we claim to hold on high.

Think about it. (Props to Walt Russell for helping me see this)