Biblical interpretation,
in the best sense of the art and practice, has been rightly focused on God, the
text, and the reader. Recently, culture has been fittingly added to this trio,
but it seems to me that there is at least one other consideration that will
help us better interpret the biblical story; and that is the natural world. If
we leave out this feature, our interpretations will be less sufficient and
perhaps even more wrongheaded than they would be otherwise.
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Living Spiritual Rhythms - May 31
Monday, May 29, 2017
Reflection for the Week - May 29
We live and die in the midst of brokenness and
beauty. They both engage us deeply with an insightful truth: life is like this.
Our world and our lives, as it were, are cut in two. This tension permeates
creation and us as part of it. Looking outside and then inside reminds us that
this is the way it is. Sometimes there’s lament and sometimes there’s praise,
yet both are woven together. One never effaces the other. Faced with this
reality, we long for transformation and the gift of resolution, where
brokenness is absolved and beauty alone remains.
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Thursday Thoughts - May 25
No narrative is fully
explanatory and totally complete. In this sense, metanarratives do not exist.
Be they scientific, theological, or philosophical – all fall short of being
able to give us that much sought after “meta” that constantly escapes our
grasp. And it’s a good thing it does. To live spiritual lives in this regard
means to embrace the “sufficiently given,” and to let go of the dreams and
illusions of that which tempts us towards the more than is available for right now.
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Living Spiritual Rhythms - May 24
Christology has spent so much time on whether and
how the Christ is divine and/or human, obviously an important matter, that it
has unfortunately often underplayed or at least not given enough attention to
the cosmic Christ. A Christ without the cosmos is not the Christ of the
biblical or natural world informers.
Monday, May 22, 2017
From the ruins of a six literal 24 hour day creation is born a new hermeneutical adventure.
Now that we have become more aware of ourselves as
part of an emerging and evolving creation nested within a vast array of
galaxies, our interpretations of early Genesis are going to have to interact
with this data if we are to have a better understanding of God and human
origins. Our book From Evolution to Eden proposes some fresh possibilities for
your consideration. Check it out.
Friday, May 19, 2017
Friday Musings - May 19
The reality of better or worse interpretations of
texts, God, selves, others, and world will always be with us, but because truth
and love matter, we should aim for the better.
Monday, May 15, 2017
Reflection for the Week - May 15
From Living Spiritual Rhythms Book 1 - p. 44
Tenacious obscurity sometimes plagues us and we’re unable to see as clearly as we would like. Groping around for illumination saturates our thoughts and feelings, and there are no easy answers to be found. We fear being excluded, alienated, and lost. Yet, living and working through the shadow of time is a continual and viable challenge, as we search for renewed light and embrace it as we are able.
Friday, May 12, 2017
From Evolution to Eden - May 12
“Early Genesis says…” doesn’t
amount to much unless one can answer the underlying question: What kinds of
texts are these anyway? We aim to respond to this query in From Evolution to Eden. Check it out. Available as an ebook too!
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