Talk:Matthew 7:16
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This whole page seems to be based on the writings of authors who are all published by the same publishing company - which seems to indicate it represents one particular sect's point of view.
The obvious common sense interpretation of "By their fruits you shall know them" is that true teachings are those that produce good results for you. This strongly implies that an individual needs to exercise their own mental capacity to decide and discern. This is in contrast to a doctrine that says that only experts (who are so designated by other "experts") can discern what is God's revelation and what it means.
In order to comply with Wikipedia's "cite references" concept, one must cite books by experts who interpret what God's relevation means.
That is why the whole page spends paragraphs trying to nullify Jesus' saying. He did not say "by citing reference works produced by experts, though shall know them".
Agreed on the problems with the interpretation, however, the first interpretation (is the person's life consistent with what they're saying) is a fairly standard and indeed obvious way of looking at it. The second of course is simply another way of supporting orthodoxy.
I'd like to see someone who has more scholarship than I have comment on it.
65.121.27.85 (talk) 01:23, 15 May 2013 (UTC)
For a comparison, see the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas verse 45. The Patterson and Meyer translation says:
45 Jesus said, "Grapes are not harvested from thorn trees, nor are figs gathered from thistles, for they yield no fruit.
Good persons produce good from what they've stored up; bad persons produce evil from the wickedness they've stored up in their hearts, and say evil things. For from the overflow of the heart they produce evil."
Thomas is usually taken to be derived from the no-longer-extant Q Document, which is also the source of the saying in Matthew and Luke.
http://users.misericordia.edu//davies/thomas/Trans.htm (this may not be the best source.)