If I say, “the Bible says . . .” I am not shutting down conversation. I am simply stating something about which the Bible makes a statement. The hearer is allowed to disagree with any statement I, or the Bible, make. And I am also allowed to disagree with any statement he may make. I will not be troubled if the hearer thinks I am a fool or somehow less intelligent.
We all must have some ultimate authority upon which we base our beliefs. While some may choose to rely on the many various man-made theories, I choose to believe the Bible is the ultimate authority. It speaks for itself.
If “context is really important” for us to understand or interpret the Bible, whose context are we accepting? Are we relying on the Bible, or are we relying on many opinions of disparate groups of people (churchmen and humanists alike).
I look at the Grand Canyon and say, “Here evidence of a world wide, catastrophic, hydrologic event.” Some others say, “Here is evidence of millions of years of lying down of sediment, followed by other millions of years of the carving away of a channel by the Colorado River. If the Bible says God created the earth (and everything else) is six days I believe it.