The age long debates about the Christ have reached a
stale and musty status quo. As theologians in general and philosophers in
particular went down the false path of trying to sort out the ‘what’ of God as
substance – essence, the real question that probably lay on the hearts and
minds of early Christians and should resonate with our own, was the mega
narrative consideration of ‘who’ God is. This means that the true path of
discovery moves in the direction of the ‘identity’ of divinity, rather than its
speculative composition. Christ as son of God, for example, is recognized as
having the same ‘identity’ as the God of Israel, and then he enacts that
‘identity’ to the awesome degree of a tight compatibility, which didn’t slip
out of history, but was noticed and testified to in a plurality of ways. Packed
with density, this identification trajectory begins to make good sense as the
interlocking sub-plots connect with the plot, and therefore offer a renewed
perception of Messiah and all he means for God, humanity, and the world.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Living Spiritual Rhythms - November 27
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Reflection for the Week - November 26
It is often argued that it takes a fusion of horizons – text and reader – to create meaning. But I’d wager this could be better said in a more explicit manner as meaning for ‘me – as the reader,’ since meaning arises from what is already there. The point is, it does not make any sense to say if ‘me – as the reader’ never reads the text – the text has no meaning. So, it’s valid to want to critique a reader imposition on the text, or the whims of the reader’s subjective response, or even authorial intent as meaning. Fair enough. Yet, whether ‘me – as the reader’ ever engages with the text or not it still has meaning for itself and the interaction between text and reader does not create this. Thus, a fusion of horizons is necessary for meaning in one sense, but not in another.
Friday, November 22, 2019
Friday Musings - November 22
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Thursday Thoughts - November 21
Real
relationships offer us dynamic possibilities to take part in a productive
spiral towards mutuality—the narrative drama of a shared space to be and be
with the other. Being enmeshed in the beauty of mutuality does not undermine
individual freedom, but enhances it. For where responsible trust increases and
unreliable suspicion diminishes within the theater of a redemptive life, we
discover that a poetics of loving and being loved is a marvel. Sameness and
separation, which both happen in a perpetual moment of embrace and release are
located in, yet transcend words and actions, as we draw ever closer to who we
were meant to be.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Living Spiritual Rhythms - November 20
It is intriguing to see some Protestant ex-fundamentalists who thought they had the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, now becoming equally convinced that seeking and finding truth at all is a waste of time. This naïve reaction to what was an unbalanced perspective in the first place is ridiculous and borders on arrogance, albeit under the guise of humility. If they hadn’t bought into the illusion of total truth to begin with, they wouldn’t be presently exchanging one false extreme for another. Truth, I’d wager, can be found and still be true, without it ever being absolute. But at the same time, there’s so much about ourselves, nature, and God that is mysterious.
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
From Evolution to Eden
We're very grateful for this review of From Evolution to Eden by Joyce.
Laughery & Diepstra's terms “science as informer” and “scripture as
informer” beautifully lay the framework for seeking to achieve a
balance between the two by calling for open and regular dialog between
the scientific and religious communities. It was a welcome treat to be
introduced to reading Genesis 1-3 as “cumulative poetic historiography”
-vs- a less accurate “historical” interpretation. This understanding
brought back many of the things I also learned from N.T. Wright's New
Testament and the People of God which also emphasizes the need to read
Genesis with an eye on the mindset of one living in the Ancient Near
East. I was not at all familiar with Paul Ricoeur’s work, so I
appreciated reading about his contributions to hermeneutics. The chapter
“Sculpting in Time” was particularly engaging, ie, time as motion,
narrative time, the “hermeneutical arrow” and dynamic reinterpretation,
to the “cosmic drama that is still in progress”. I had forgotten how
absolutely loaded early Genesis is with powerful symbols and imagery. I
had not before appreciated looking at early Genesis as a “founding
narrative” to the “unfolding drama” throughout Scripture and nature
(including recent archaeological findings as well as new scientific
discoveries). I recommend this book to every Christian who takes the
Bible seriously, particularly those with a conservative bent who feel
they must interpret Genesis literally in order to be faithful to
Biblical Authority. It would also be of great value to those who are or
have been struggling with their Faith believing it is in conflict with
recent discoveries in the Sciences. Likewise, it offers a needed
challenge to those in the scientific community who have long discounted
religion and the Bible as contributing nothing to Truth.
http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Eden-Making-Sense-Genesis/dp/1938367197/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440154029&sr=8-1&keywords=laughery
