Between now and Christmas we're going to be looking at a range of issues/topics/questions on Sunday mornings that people have raised and expressed an interest in. Some of these issues come out of our Bible reading - such as The End Times; others come out of our daily lives - such as Work or Relationships (two separate topics - not a choice that has to be made!)
Because we are going to be tackling these questions from a Christian perspective we are going to be using the Bible - but that raises a whole range of other questions.
It is not simply a case of reading the Bible and doing what it says. Because there are some things in the Bible that we do obey - such as the command not to lie or steal in Leviticus 19. But there are other things that we are largely agreed on no longer apply - such as the command not to wear clothes made of two different types of material, which is also in Leviticus 19. But who gets to say what things apply and what things don't? When do we allow growing trends within society to challenge an 'out-of-date' teaching - such as slavery or the role of women in the church?
And how/what do we think about the Bible? What kind of book is it? What do we mean when we say that the Bible has authority?
I don't think we read the Bible in order to find verses to give easy answers to the questions we wrestle with. Rather we immerse ourselves in the story about God, in order that we encounter God in the story, and through engaging with that story, we learn how to live in the present - in a way that is innovative and yet consistent with what we find there.
Our first topic, for next week, is Decision Making and the Will of God.
1 comment:
In your third paragraph you asked two thought-provoking questions, which have stimulated the following comments::
1)"Who gets to say...?" I would venture that the Bible itself gets to say. Would we suppose that the prohibition against eating pork is 'out-of-date'? or rather that Jesus has revealed through it the full meaning of what is clean and unclean? The law forbids muzzling an ox while it is treading out the grain, but again this was in preparation for supporting preachers, not just oxen! Could not the threefold prohibition in Lev 19.19 against putting certain entities together give us a clue that God wants certain things kept apart from each other, in anticipation of further teachings such as Matt 6.24, Mk 2.22, and 2 Cor 6.14-7.1?
2) "When do we allow...?" Never, in my view. Society is a continual challenge to every aspect of God's revelation. The nations always posed a threat to Israel's true worship, and in these last days we're instructed to conform no longer to the pattern of this world (society). Granted, the challenge can cause us to re-examine our beliefs and seek further understanding from the Scriptures, but in my view we should never allow it to lead us to compromise what God has revealed. Concerning the role of women in the church, for example, I see no internal evidence in the Scriptures that the NT teachings are likely to become 'out-of-date'. 1 Cor 11.16 suggests to me rather that some of the teachings regarding women were potentially contentious and perhaps counter-cultural even in the early church. Is there any other reason for considering the NT teachings out-of-date than their non-conformity with the pattern of our current society? Being transformed by the renewing of our minds, should we not consider that the Biblical teaching is, simply because of its source, ideal for everyone in the church throughout this age?
(NOTE: Actually our society regards the whole Bible as being out-of-date or worse. Shortly after I believed in Christ I was told by my parents that nobody with an ounce of brain had believed the Bible for the past 200 years.)
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