--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I urge not that we assume that love will…" description: "\"“I urge not that we assume that love will provide a reliable foundation for knowledge but that we nonetheless keep the requirements of love of neighbor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/dale-b-martin-84728_bible_i-urge-not-that-we-assume-that-love-will_2935751.jpg" --- # I urge not that we assume that love will provide a… ![“I urge not that we assume that love will provide a reliable foundation for knowledge but that we nonetheless keep the requirements of love of neighbor foremost in our interpretations of Scripture. We should consider, for example, love to be a necessary criterion (a minimum) when defending an…” quote by Dale B. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/dale-b-martin-84728_bible_i-urge-not-that-we-assume-that-love-will_2935751.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/dale-b-martin-84728_bible_i-urge-not-that-we-assume-that-love-will_2935751.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/dale-b-martin-84728_bible_i-urge-not-that-we-assume-that-love-will_2935751.jpg) > ““I urge not that we assume that love will provide a reliable foundation for knowledge but that we nonetheless keep the requirements of love of neighbor foremost in our interpretations of Scripture. We should consider, for example, love to be a necessary criterion (a minimum) when defending an interpretation of Scripture even if it cannot be a sufficient criterion that will guarantee ethical interpretation.”” Dale B. Martin ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Interpretations of Scripture should prioritize love for others as a baseline ethical filter, even if love alone cannot guarantee correct conclusions. **In simple terms:** Love should be a basic test for scriptural interpretation. Key Takeaway Make love the first check when interpreting texts. Themes ethics theology interpretation love neighbor Mood reflective thoughtful Type theological ethical When to use this quote - preaching - biblical study - ethical decision making - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts hermeneutics moral philosophy criteria Questions to Reflect On - How can love be measured in interpretation? - What limits does love face as a criterion? A Different Perspective Love may conflict with doctrinal rigor or cultural contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Bible-interpretation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible-interpretation/) [Hermeneutics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hermeneutics/) [Interpretation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“There are good theological reasons to reject making authorial intention the goal of the interpretation of Scripture. First, we must recognize that what has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-b-martin/there-are-good-theological-reasons-to-reject-making-authorial/) Dale B. Martin > [“Good docents often begin by asking the viewer, “What do you see in this work?” The idea that the expert should be allowed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-b-martin/good-docents-often-begin-by-asking-the-viewer-what-do-you-see-in-this/) Dale B. Martin > [“In the end, ethical interpretation of the Bible means to think critically about how our practices of textual engagement might help us to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/in-the-end-ethical-interpretation-of-the-bible-means-to-think/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [“As part of our interpretive task, then, we must distinguish between kingdom values and cultural values within the biblical text. With every change in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-webb/as-part-of-our-interpretive-task-then-we-must-distinguish-between/) William J. Webb > [“Those who devote themselves to the study of Sacred Scripture should always remember that the various hermeneutical approaches have their own philosophical underpinnings, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paul-ii/those-who-devote-themselves-to-the-study-of-sacred-scripture-should/) [John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-ii/) > [“An abundance of pictorial fancy, after all, furnished the simple mind quite as much matter for deviating from pure doctrine as any personal interpretation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/an-abundance-of-pictorial-fancy-after-all-furnished-the-simple-mind/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [Jesus said, 'Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's,' and part of that was to go to war, protecting whatever nation was under control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-falwell-jr/jesus-said-render-unto-caesar-that-which-is-caesar-s-and-part-of-that/) [Jerry Falwell, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-falwell-jr/) > [A false interpretation of Scripture causes that the gospel of the Lord becomes the gospel of man, or, which is worse, of the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/a-false-interpretation-of-scripture-causes-that-the-gospel-of-the/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [“It is well known that Pentecost reverses Babel. The people who built the tower of Babel sought to make a name, and a unity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-j-vanhoozer/it-is-well-known-that-pentecost-reverses-babel-the-people-who-built/) [Kevin J. Vanhoozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-j-vanhoozer/) > [Make a mistake in the interpretation of one of Shakespeare’s plays, falsely scan a piece of Spenserian verse, and there is unlikely to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-a-carson/make-a-mistake-in-the-interpretation-of-one-of-shakespeare-s-plays/) [D. A. Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-a-carson/) ## More by Dale B. Martin > [“There are good theological reasons to reject making authorial intention the goal of the interpretation of Scripture. First, we must recognize that what has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-b-martin/there-are-good-theological-reasons-to-reject-making-authorial/) Dale B. Martin > [“Good docents often begin by asking the viewer, “What do you see in this work?” The idea that the expert should be allowed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-b-martin/good-docents-often-begin-by-asking-the-viewer-what-do-you-see-in-this/) Dale B. Martin Explore all 3 Dale B. Martin quotes ## More Bible quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) Michael Arnold > [When you put your hand on the Bible, you are saying something much stronger than just telling your peers that you're going to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/when-you-put-your-hand-on-the-bible-you-are-saying-something-much/) [Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/) > [“Scripture also teaches that human beings are morally responsible creatures”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-peterson/scripture-also-teaches-that-human-beings-are-morally-responsible/) Robert A. Peterson > [“The wife of a junior officer cooped up in a horrible canvas partition in steerage for five months wrote: "I had enjoyed much peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-taylor/the-wife-of-a-junior-officer-cooped-up-in-a-horrible-canvas-partition/) Stephen Taylor > [O Word of God incarnate . . . It is the golden casket Where gems of truth are stored; It is the heaven-drawn picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walsham-how/o-word-of-god-incarnate-it-is-the-golden-casket-where-gems-of-truth/) Walsham How > [How can I trust that the Bible is reliable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-horton/how-can-i-trust-that-the-bible-is-reliable/) [Michael Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-horton/) > [Every plant which my heavenly father has not planted with be uprooted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesus-christ/every-plant-which-my-heavenly-father-has-not-planted-with-be-uprooted/) [Jesus Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesus-christ/) > [Where I come from you're not raised to think on your own. It's not that you're pushed to read the Bible. The Bible is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/where-i-come-from-you-re-not-raised-to-think-on-your-own-it-s-not/) [Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [What comes to mind when you think of heaven? Heaven is referred to in fifty-four of the Bible's sixty-six books, and the final two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/what-comes-to-mind-when-you-think-of-heaven-heaven-is-referred-to-in/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) > [“While it is in one sense a result of God’s presence within us, the New Testament also describes a process involved in our “putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/while-it-is-in-one-sense-a-result-of-god-s-presence-within-us-the-new/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [The definition of a Church is crystal clear in the New Testament. We see the picture of it. They came together the first day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/the-definition-of-a-church-is-crystal-clear-in-the-new-testament-we/) [John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) [Browse all 8,465 Bible quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I urge not that we assume that love will provide a reliable foundation for knowledge but that we nonetheless keep the requirements of love of neighbor foremost in our interpretations of Scripture. We should consider, for example, love to be a necessary criterion (a minimum) when defending an interpretation of Scripture even if it cannot be a sufficient criterion that will guarantee ethical interpretation.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dale B. Martin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-b-martin/i-urge-not-that-we-assume-that-love-will-provide-a-reliable/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bible" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-b-martin/i-urge-not-that-we-assume-that-love-will-provide-a-reliable/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/dale-b-martin-84728_bible_i-urge-not-that-we-assume-that-love-will_2935751.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/dale-b-martin-84728_bible_i-urge-not-that-we-assume-that-love-will_2935751.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/dale-b-martin-84728_bible_i-urge-not-that-we-assume-that-love-will_2935751.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I urge not that we assume that love will provide a reliable foundation for knowledge but that we nonetheless…” — Dale B. Martin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dale B. Martin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-b-martin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I urge not that we assume...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-b-martin/i-urge-not-that-we-assume-that-love-will-provide-a-reliable/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-b-martin/i-urge-not-that-we-assume-that-love-will-provide-a-reliable/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```