How do you see God's Word? part 1
It seems to me that when discussions about living as a disciple and figuring out what God wants or says it best for us, it often becomes strained and even argumentive because even though we are using the same basis (the Bible) we are talking in different languages. Those different languages are the ways we look at or intrepet the Bible. I think it would be helpful if we realized this and understood at least a little bit of why others can read the same passage and come to a different conclusion. So over the next several posts I will mention some of the different ways people look at the Bible. This not an attempt to convert you to a particular way of intrepeting the Bible, I just want to make you aware of the differences and help us see that when we disagree the "other person" isn't just being obstanate (generally speaking :>).
I have my own way of looking at the Bible which of course I think is the "right" one or I wouldn't use it. Through this discussion (feel free to comment anytime) although someone may change some of their opinions, the goal is for us to be more understanding of each other.
The more technical or scholarly comments are based on my study of more learned men than myself. These will include N. T. Wright, Scot Mcknight and Patrick Mead among others I have probably forgotten.
I am going to try and keep each post short so it will readable as you open it and not something you feel is so long you have to come to when you have more time. So until next time - Shalom
posted by Johnny | 9:36 AM
2 Comments:
Johnny I think this is a valid area to consider since we all come to god with certain bias or at least a point of reference that may or may not be healthy. So naturally we bring that point of view to our study of God's Word. Look forward to reading more.
Thanks for your post Johnny. You are right. This is the concepts behind the missional church movement. As we take the Gospel to different cultures we realize that it is important to check our language used to teach and interpret the Bible.
For instance, Celebrate Recovery. How does the Recovery Community/Culture need to see the Gospel? How are terms such as repentance, forgiveness, healing, or others used differently in this community than in the White Middle/Upperclass Rural community surrounding it. While we think that they are the same they are understood differently. How do we present the Gospel (presented to a Greek speaking Jewish culture) that has been translated into English to a culture that is dominated by guilt, shame, and self-destruction? What terms need to be retranslated, reworked, or reframed.
Repentance = the Hebrew actually suggests behavior modification. However the Greek word means a change of mind or heart. Which one works in the recovery community?
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