Arriving at the Paradigm Shift: A preponderance of evidence

As the Holy Spirit has shifted my paradigm with scriptural illumination, I find myself in the precarious position of not being able to go back to the old paradigm, and business as usual. More than that, I know that the Lord does not want me to. To participate in the old paradigm is tantamount to approving it. I could no more participate in the old paradigm than a catfish could survive on dry land. This presents certain problems for me because the paradigm shift has happened over a twenty-year period. Interestingly, the basic core of the paradigm shift came all at once; I intuitively knew it to be true, and even trusted in it based upon the unction of the Holy Spirit and this was almost instantaneous from the beginning twenty-plus years ago.

However, the proof has come over a twenty year period, and has been the result of much study of the scripture. I dare say that I studied sometimes, all day, and I am quite certain that if I averaged it all out it would amount to at least two and one half hours of study per day, seven days a week, for 20 years. If I do the math it would be conservatively speaking 18,250 hours of study. During this study, I have written at least 2,000 pages of writing which would average out to 1,140,000 words. I am not boasting as I am sure that others have studied more but it is clear that I have not adopted the paradigm shift lightly.

It should be fairly easy to see why not many are willing to instantly embrace my paradigm shift and yet, I see the Holy Spirit moving many people in the same direction and admittedly, there are those who have surpassed me. So I say without reservation that my paradigm shift comes with a preponderance of evidence. Anyone willing to study and listen would after a while see that there is indeed a preponderance of evidence for the shift. It is indeed a valid way to look at the biblical narrative, and of course, I think that it is the best way.

I have gradually over time gained the courage to ask tougher and tougher questions about the biblical narrative. In so doing, I have grown fonder of it, and much more convinced of its inspiration. I no longer struggle over the many paradigm shifts that are clearly presented within the pages of the sacred text. There are drastic changes of paradigm over the scripture from Genesis to Revelation. They coincide nicely with the cultural development of society. It is imperative to understand historical context within the pages of scripture. Here are some important things to consider, some important questions to ask when examining the sacred text.

1. Who was the intended audience, what would they have thought and what would have been the meaning for them?
2. What were the cultural conditions of the occasion that caused the text to be written?
3. How do they compare with what we face today culturally?
4. What were their beliefs about redemption, eschatology, the Messiah etc.?
5. What if any are the overriding themes that link the narrative together as a whole?
6. What was the actual meaning of the original language and where there are obvious discrepancies from one text to the other, what was the likely intended meaning?

I will end this post here, but I hope that some of you will begin to take the journey through the many posts on this blog that will begin to show the preponderance of proof for the accuracy of the paradigm shift. I will say this. So much of what we call Christian doctrine in mainline evangelical churches is pathetically off the mark!