MennoNet.com

I have put this query in Anabaptist Theology and Practice as I'm interested in how the Mennonites, Brethren and Amish would answer the following:
How are the Beatitudes interpreted and expressed in your fellowship:
Individually?
As an organized group?

They are taken as a group but with each verse explained individually, if this makes sense.

Hats Off wrote:They are taken as a group but with each verse explained individually, if this makes sense.

I think you are saying this: Every passage must be interpreted as a whole, and in relationship to the other passages. Every verse must be interpreted in its context. "A text without a context is only a pretext."

For instance, some people have suggested that these are instructions for a future kingdom that is not yet here, but Jesus was clearly teaching this to his disciples directly as something to be lived out even before Jesus died and rose from the dead. That affects our interpretation of every verse.

Hats Off wrote:They are taken as a group but with each verse explained individually, if this makes sense.

Makes perfect sense.