--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So long as the New Testament served to…" description: "\"So long as the New Testament served to decipher the Old, it was taken as an absolute norm.\" — Paul Ricoeur" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/paul-ricoeur-16430_decipher_so-long-as-the-new-testament-served-to-d_1981409.jpg" --- # So long as the New Testament served to decipher the Old… ![“So long as the New Testament served to decipher the Old, it was taken as an absolute norm.” quote by Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/paul-ricoeur-16430_decipher_so-long-as-the-new-testament-served-to-d_1981409.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/paul-ricoeur-16430_decipher_so-long-as-the-new-testament-served-to-d_1981409.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/paul-ricoeur-16430_decipher_so-long-as-the-new-testament-served-to-d_1981409.jpg) > “So long as the New Testament served to decipher the Old, it was taken as an absolute norm.” [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The New Testament was interpreted as a key to understanding the Old, becoming a fixed standard for interpretation. **In simple terms:** New Testament guided Old Testament reading. Key Takeaway Acknowledge interpretive lenses. Themes theology interpretation history Mood thoughtful critical Type theoretical educational When to use this quote - academic study - sermon preparation - interfaith dialogue - education Key Concepts hermeneutics canon scriptural authority Questions to Reflect On - How does this norm affect modern theology? - What alternative lenses could be applied? A Different Perspective Rigid norms can limit fresh insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [New testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-testament/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testament/) ## Related quotes > [There always exists an absolute norm to be preserved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xii/there-always-exists-an-absolute-norm-to-be-preserved/) [Pope Pius XII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xii/) > [People no longer try to decipher the mystery of life but choose instead to be a part of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-no-longer-try-to-decipher-the-mystery-of-life-but-choose/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [You look at them, the animals in the wild, and they stay the same. They have their rules which I cannot decipher, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michal-rovner/you-look-at-them-the-animals-in-the-wild-and-they-stay-the-same-they/) [Michal Rovner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michal-rovner/) > [Only that, nothing more - a tiny beam of light to show some hidden aspect of reality, to help decipher and understand it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/only-that-nothing-more-a-tiny-beam-of-light-to-show-some-hidden/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I guess when I look over my shoulder at other designers, I feel like people are so definitive. It's so clear to me what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/i-guess-when-i-look-over-my-shoulder-at-other-designers-i-feel-like/) [Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/) > [My approach is not a scientific approach. For that, we have greater minds than mine. My approach is: I am in the possession of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/my-approach-is-not-a-scientific-approach-for-that-we-have-greater/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Listen with your eyes because here you cannot decipher what is said out of the effort of mouths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myung-mi-kim/listen-with-your-eyes-because-here-you-cannot-decipher-what-is-said/) Myung Mi Kim > [One can decipher another mans life experiences from the amount of stains on their mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-franciscus/one-can-decipher-another-mans-life-experiences-from-the-amount-of/) Steve Franciscus > [I'm not supposed to be able to speak clearly, and decipher what's going on in the media. I'm supposed to be the typical amateur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-lewis/i-m-not-supposed-to-be-able-to-speak-clearly-and-decipher-what-s/) [Carl Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-lewis/) > [I work fitfully, in hope rather than in expectation, invent methods which last a week, and fill notebooks with tiny, illegible writing which often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-minghella/i-work-fitfully-in-hope-rather-than-in-expectation-invent-methods/) [Anthony Minghella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-minghella/) > [I look for mystery and try to decipher it while knowing it is an impossible task. I look for memory, where Mystery lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/i-look-for-mystery-and-try-to-decipher-it-while-knowing-it-is-an/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [I was commissioned in 2003 to create an original show, and began developing 'Upwake.' 'Upwake' tells the story of Zero, a modern-day business man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-tsakos/i-was-commissioned-in-2003-to-create-an-original-show-and-began/) [Natasha Tsakos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-tsakos/) > [I am a night creature, and I write from midnight till dawn, secluded in my office and surrounded by my collection of dragons (I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/i-am-a-night-creature-and-i-write-from-midnight-till-dawn-secluded-in/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Learning to decipher words had only added to the pleasures of holding spines and turning pages, measuring the journey to the end with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/learning-to-decipher-words-had-only-added-to-the-pleasures-of-holding/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [Everyone tries to decipher what I write as if there's a hidden message and I'm like, 'There's no hidden message.' I don't even put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camila-morrone/everyone-tries-to-decipher-what-i-write-as-if-there-s-a-hidden/) [Camila Morrone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camila-morrone/) ## More by Paul Ricoeur > [If it is true that there is always more than one way of construing a text, it is not true that all interpretations are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/if-it-is-true-that-there-is-always-more-than-one-way-of-construing-a/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [What must be the nature of the world... if human beings are able to introduce changes into it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/what-must-be-the-nature-of-the-world-if-human-beings-are-able-to/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [Although there has always been a hermeneutic problem in Christianity, the hermeneutic question today seems to us a new one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/although-there-has-always-been-a-hermeneutic-problem-in-christianity/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [But myth is something else than an explanation of the world, of history, and of destiny. Myth expresses in terms of the world -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/but-myth-is-something-else-than-an-explanation-of-the-world-of/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [But myth is something else than an explanation of the world, of history, and of destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/but-myth-is-something-else-than-an-explanation-of-the-world-of-2/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [Man is this plural and collective unity in which the unity of destination and the differences of destinies are to be understood through each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/man-is-this-plural-and-collective-unity-in-which-the-unity-of/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [There was a wise old owl who sat in a tree The less he spoke the more he heard The more he heard the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/there-was-a-wise-old-owl-who-sat-in-a-tree-the-less-he-spoke-the-more/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [Wisdom finds its literary expression in wisdom literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/wisdom-finds-its-literary-expression-in-wisdom-literature/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [There has always been a hermeneutic problem in Christianity because Christianity proceeds from a proclamation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/there-has-always-been-a-hermeneutic-problem-in-christianity-because/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [It is always possible to argue against an interpretation, to confront interpretations, to arbitrate between them and to seek for an agreement, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/it-is-always-possible-to-argue-against-an-interpretation-to-confront/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [Hope, insofar as it is hope of resurrection, is the living contradiction of what it proceeds from and what is placed under the sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/hope-insofar-as-it-is-hope-of-resurrection-is-the-living/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [Testimony should be a philosophical problem and not limited to legal or historical contexts where it refers to the account of a witness who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/testimony-should-be-a-philosophical-problem-and-not-limited-to-legal/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [The narrative constructs the identity of the character, what can be called his or her narrative identity, in constructing that of the story told.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/the-narrative-constructs-the-identity-of-the-character-what-can-be/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [Narrative identity takes part in the story's movement, in the dialectic between order and disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/narrative-identity-takes-part-in-the-story-s-movement-in-the/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [“The dictionary contains no metaphors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/the-dictionary-contains-no-metaphors/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) [Explore all 39 Paul Ricoeur quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) ## More Decipher quotes > [Everyone tries to decipher what I write as if there's a hidden message and I'm like, 'There's no hidden message.' I don't even put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camila-morrone/everyone-tries-to-decipher-what-i-write-as-if-there-s-a-hidden/) [Camila Morrone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camila-morrone/) > [Learning to decipher words had only added to the pleasures of holding spines and turning pages, measuring the journey to the end with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/learning-to-decipher-words-had-only-added-to-the-pleasures-of-holding/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [I am a night creature, and I write from midnight till dawn, secluded in my office and surrounded by my collection of dragons (I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/i-am-a-night-creature-and-i-write-from-midnight-till-dawn-secluded-in/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [I was commissioned in 2003 to create an original show, and began developing 'Upwake.' 'Upwake' tells the story of Zero, a modern-day business man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-tsakos/i-was-commissioned-in-2003-to-create-an-original-show-and-began/) [Natasha Tsakos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-tsakos/) > [I look for mystery and try to decipher it while knowing it is an impossible task. I look for memory, where Mystery lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/i-look-for-mystery-and-try-to-decipher-it-while-knowing-it-is-an/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [I work fitfully, in hope rather than in expectation, invent methods which last a week, and fill notebooks with tiny, illegible writing which often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-minghella/i-work-fitfully-in-hope-rather-than-in-expectation-invent-methods/) [Anthony Minghella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-minghella/) > [I'm not supposed to be able to speak clearly, and decipher what's going on in the media. I'm supposed to be the typical amateur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-lewis/i-m-not-supposed-to-be-able-to-speak-clearly-and-decipher-what-s/) [Carl Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-lewis/) > [One can decipher another mans life experiences from the amount of stains on their mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-franciscus/one-can-decipher-another-mans-life-experiences-from-the-amount-of/) Steve Franciscus > [“Listen with your eyes because here you cannot decipher what is said out of the effort of mouths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myung-mi-kim/listen-with-your-eyes-because-here-you-cannot-decipher-what-is-said/) Myung Mi Kim > [My approach is not a scientific approach. For that, we have greater minds than mine. My approach is: I am in the possession of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/my-approach-is-not-a-scientific-approach-for-that-we-have-greater/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I guess when I look over my shoulder at other designers, I feel like people are so definitive. It's so clear to me what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/i-guess-when-i-look-over-my-shoulder-at-other-designers-i-feel-like/) [Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/) > [Only that, nothing more - a tiny beam of light to show some hidden aspect of reality, to help decipher and understand it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/only-that-nothing-more-a-tiny-beam-of-light-to-show-some-hidden/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [You look at them, the animals in the wild, and they stay the same. They have their rules which I cannot decipher, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michal-rovner/you-look-at-them-the-animals-in-the-wild-and-they-stay-the-same-they/) [Michal Rovner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michal-rovner/) > [People no longer try to decipher the mystery of life but choose instead to be a part of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-no-longer-try-to-decipher-the-mystery-of-life-but-choose/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I'm an infant with Shakespeare; I'm kind of learning how to walk. I am trying to decipher the code, you know? I do my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-santiago-hudson/i-m-an-infant-with-shakespeare-i-m-kind-of-learning-how-to-walk-i-am/) [Ruben Santiago-Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-santiago-hudson/) Browse all 78 Decipher quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So long as the New Testament served to decipher the Old, it was taken as an absolute norm.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Ricoeur" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/so-long-as-the-new-testament-served-to-decipher-the-old-it-was-taken/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Decipher" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/so-long-as-the-new-testament-served-to-decipher-the-old-it-was-taken/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/paul-ricoeur-16430_decipher_so-long-as-the-new-testament-served-to-d_1981409.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/paul-ricoeur-16430_decipher_so-long-as-the-new-testament-served-to-d_1981409.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/paul-ricoeur-16430_decipher_so-long-as-the-new-testament-served-to-d_1981409.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So long as the New Testament served to decipher the Old, it was taken as an absolute norm.” — Paul Ricoeur", "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": "Paul Ricoeur", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "So long as the New Testament...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/so-long-as-the-new-testament-served-to-decipher-the-old-it-was-taken/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/so-long-as-the-new-testament-served-to-decipher-the-old-it-was-taken/#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 } } ] } ```