Tag Archives: CENI

CENI: A Better Way — The Gospels

Take a deep breath and repeat after me: “The New Testament is neither a constitution nor a blueprint. The New Testament is neither a constitution nor a blueprint. The New Testament is neither a constitution nor a blueprint.” Much of … Continue reading

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CENI: The Laws Behind the Curtain

What’s really going on? Why do our leaders feel so comfortable — so insistent — that their interpretations are right, when it’s obvious that the scriptural support for many of their positions is very, very thin? Well, it all goes … Continue reading

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CENI: Necessary Inferences

The “NI” in CENI is necessary inference. Now, I majored in mathematics, and to us mathematicians, an inference is not “necessary” unless it is proven to a mathematical certainty. The Church of Christ approach to necessary inference is something else. … Continue reading

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CENI: Binding Examples

As we considered in the earlier posts in this series, the “E” in CENI stands for “examples,” generally spoken of as approved examples or binding examples. Now, originally, the idea was a simple one: any approved example certainly shows that … Continue reading

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CENI: Commands

“Commands” is the “C” in CENI, and it would seem to be the easiest to apply. Obviously enough, if God commands it, we good Christians should obey it. How complicated could that be? Pretty complicated indeed, as it turns out. … Continue reading

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CENI: Antithetical Thinking

We humans have a natural tendency to overreact to emotionally traumatic events. We tend toward avoidance behaviors, that is, if one dog bites us, we stay 100 feet away from the next dog we see. And this affects our theology. … Continue reading

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CENI: Introduction

I’ve been planning to say something on CENI hermeneutics for years. Now I finally get to it. For those not familiar with the term, “CENI” is the internet abbreviation for Command, Example, and Necessary Inference. And CENI is the foundation … Continue reading

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