The following is from: The Inclusive God, Reclaiming Theology for an Inclusive Church by Steven Shakespere & Hugh Rayment-Pickard, Canterbury Press 2006.
The Inclusive Bible
"What people tend to mean when they say 'You don't take scripture seriously' is 'I don't agree with you'." (p 14)
"A useful word in contemporary philosophical theology is 'incommensurability', meaning the inability to reduce a complex structure, or complex ideas, down to a single substance or simple components. As serious readers of the Bible, we should notice and respect the incommensurability of scripture. For example; the methodology of the New Testament is theological pluralism: we are offered four separate Gospels and a host of other texts, all written for different audiences. The very structure of the New Testament reveals a theological practice which values differences: differences in voice, inflection, genre and interpretation. If we are to respect scripture properly, we must take these differences seriously and understand what the richness and complexity of this assembly of texts is revealing to us. (p 14-15)
"The proper response to the incommensurability of scripture is what we could call 'hermeneutic humility', by which we mean that all interpretation of scripture is provisional and is made in the knowledge that many other, equally serious, interpretations are possible. Indeed, since the reading of scripture is always made from the point of view of readers located in different times and cultures, the ongoing interpretation of the bilbical texts is necessarily open-ended. When we reach an understanding of scripture we must realize another person may already have, or is about to have, an interpretation that does not fit with ours. This pluralism of texts and interpretations is, of course, blindingly obvious. But nevertheless the Church has still struggled to acknowledge it." p 15
"The reduction of scriptural truth to a set of doctrinal propositions is an act of vandalism on the biblical tests. Although this approach is very often held up as the mark of those who take the Bible 'seriously', it is in fact the work of those who take dogma seriously and are prepared to do whatever it takes to press scripture into the service of a particular church's doctrines. We only need to survey the history of the Christian denominations to see that those who claim to be taking scripture 'seriously' can reach quite different conclusions." p 15
"The Bible is a multi-document archive that cannot be reduced to a single theological message - although the churches have certainly tried hard enough down the ages to bring about such a reduction. All the while, scripture has remained stubbornly incommensurable..." p 16
"...the Church is a community in discussion about its classic texts and persons. This discussion is already well underway and has 2,000 years of wisdom, and error, under its belt. But it is not over. The conversations and arguments about the essence of Christianity are still a work continually in progress." p 17
I am reading Revise Us Again (living from a renewed Christian text) ... much simpler writing than what you're getting your teeth into Mia, but very much to the point. In it Frank Viola examines key areas that impact us as Christians and explores new ways to handle them. I am enjoying it. (and no 8 syllable words either!)
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