telling God to butt out...
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Interesting post 'here' from Pete Rollins about the Biblical hermenuetics and epistemology...
"even if it were possible to get a God’s-eye view it would be most unwelcome. For perhaps what is more important when reading the bible is the debate, the multiple play of interpretations, the challenges it holds and the power it possesses to transform our lives. In other words, perhaps the truth of the bible is not some propositional affair which can be handed down from above like a magisterial dictate. Just maybe the truth which the bible contains is not some mere objective epistemological system which can be affirmed or denied by the mind any more than the source of religious truth is able to be objectified via an epistemological system."
Read the full post and enjoy more of Pete's Rabbinic parables!
"even if it were possible to get a God’s-eye view it would be most unwelcome. For perhaps what is more important when reading the bible is the debate, the multiple play of interpretations, the challenges it holds and the power it possesses to transform our lives. In other words, perhaps the truth of the bible is not some propositional affair which can be handed down from above like a magisterial dictate. Just maybe the truth which the bible contains is not some mere objective epistemological system which can be affirmed or denied by the mind any more than the source of religious truth is able to be objectified via an epistemological system."
Read the full post and enjoy more of Pete's Rabbinic parables!
1 Comments:
hello Malcolm,
The reverse of this is a sense of despair that the bible says nothing concrete at all because we have a mish mash of completely contradictory readings with no consensus - we have no story to tell about the revelation of God in Jesus as the bible as our record as nothing to say that is trustworthy.
I also was at a one day seminar with James Alison this week who gave a very persuasive talk about the incorrect biblical interpretations that some conservative christians have about homosexuality in the bible - some topics require rigorous textual analysis as they are too important for an anything goes free for all.
All the best,
Rodney
The reverse of this is a sense of despair that the bible says nothing concrete at all because we have a mish mash of completely contradictory readings with no consensus - we have no story to tell about the revelation of God in Jesus as the bible as our record as nothing to say that is trustworthy.
I also was at a one day seminar with James Alison this week who gave a very persuasive talk about the incorrect biblical interpretations that some conservative christians have about homosexuality in the bible - some topics require rigorous textual analysis as they are too important for an anything goes free for all.
All the best,
Rodney
I'm Malcolm Chamberlain
from Liverpool, United Kingdom
. I'm married with two young children and, in addition to Liverpool, have lived in Leicester (for the first 18 years of my life), York, Peshawar (Pakistan), Oxford and Walsall. I've been actively involved in the emerging church since 2001, as a founding member of Dream in Liverpool City, and coordinator of the Dream network. I'm currently engaged in research into emerging missional communities, and work as a parish priest and pioneer minister.
commented by
Anonymous, 8:42 PM