Holy Spirit and Holy Scripture

We started the class by listening to the first 20 minutes of a talk by Eugene Peterson (translator of The Message version of the Bible).

Simon continued and gave the following handouts:

From Eugene Peterson, “Eat the book”

“Reading the scripture formatively, reading in order to live”

“In order to read the scripture adequately and accurately, it is necessary at the same time to live them. Not to live them as a prerequisite to reading them, and not to live them in consequence of reading them, but to live them as we read them, the living and reading reciprocal, body language and spoke words, the back-and-forthness assimilating the reading to the living, the living to the reading, Reading the Scriptures is not an activity discrete from living the gospel but one integral to it. It means letting another have a say in everything we are saying and doing, It is as easy as that. And as hard.”

Suggestions for Bible reading:

Read Convincingly	These revelations come in words. There are meanings behind the words. There is a God behind the meanings. “All Scripture is God-breathed.” (2 Timothy 3:16a)
Read Carefully	These words come to us is “concrete” time (history) and “concrete” space (language and culture). Let the text speaks for itself. (text referring to the written, the spoken and the living) Let the complete text speaks for itself. “"Do you understand what you are reading?" (Acts 8:30)
Read Communally	These words were given to us not me, so let us read together. These words were given to people across time and space, so let us understanding together. Reading these words alone may make me a saint but living these words together may make us a church. “Make my joy complete by being like-minded” (Philippians 2:20)
Read Livingly	These words were given to be read and lived over and over again. The reading and the living cannot be separated as each informs the other. To read these words is to live these words and to live these words is to read these words. You will need some time to read all these words, even more time to understanding and a life time to live by them. “Thrill to God’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night.” (Psalm 1:2) “You word is a Lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

We then discussed:

The injunctions upon women in 1 Timothy 2:9-15 are: 1. Timeless truths and normative for today. 2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3. 3. Culturally shaped but, with proper interpretation and transfer, for today; e.g., we can learn from how Paul addressed a situation with uninstructed women in Ephesus. 4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5. 5. Needed for early Christians, bound in the first century, but not for today.

Tattoos:

1. Are forbidden because of Leviticus 19:28. 2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3. 3. Are forbidden in Leviticus as idolatrous marks, which we know from study of the ancient Near East. 4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5. 5. Are permissible, because the purity codes are not for Christians today.

Homosexuality's prohibitions in the Bible are:

1. Permanent prohibitions reflecting God's will. 2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3. 3. Culturally shaped, still normative, but demanding greater sensitivity today. 4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5. 5. A purity-code violation that has been eliminated by Christ.

The Bible is:

1. God's exact words for all time. 2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3. 3. God's message (instead of exact words) for all time. 4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5. 5. God's words and message for that time but need interpretation and contextualization to be lived today.