David Ker has taken on the world at ThinkChristian.net, or so it probably seems to him. The comments provide some additional links and some vigorous comment.
Category: Uncategorized
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Christian Carnival CCLXVIII Posted
… at Crossroads. You can check out the carnival archive here, and consider getting involved by submitting posts and hosting.
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NLT Study Bible – Initial Reaction
I intended to get started on my response to the NLT Study Bible (Bible Nlt)
written a bit earlier, but several things have kept me from getting started.
I’m going to write two posts today and tomorrow. This first one is simply a quick, preliminary reaction to this new study edition based on the NLT 2nd edition. The second will compare the introductory information to the gospel of Luke with that of several other study Bibles I use regularly.
I need to note first that this is an evangelical study Bible and I am not an evangelical. That doesn’t mean that I’m not going to like it, of course. The basic combination of scholarship involved and the quality text of the NLT makes this a useful Bible whether you are evangelical or not. Thus far, I have found it to be the best I have seen to get a quick view of the evangelical understanding of a book or passage. Names like Tremper Longman III, Philip W. Comfort, and George H. Guthrie are just three names that caught my eye. Contributors such as those suggest that this will be a useful resource.
I am, as almost always, disappointed with some of the marketing style claims. Lines like “revolutionary breakthrough in study Bibles” or the slogal “The Truth Made CLEAR” don’t resonate well with me. But these are elements of the cover, and they are common to the marketing material. The NLT is good and this study Bible is good, but I wouldn’t go as far as “revolutionary.”
And indeed some of the major concerns I have with any study Bible, as well as the marketing language (indirectly) are addressed starting on page A17 (How the Study the Bible with the NLT Study Bible), where we find:
No feature of the NLT STudy Bible is more important than Scripture, the text of the Bible itself.
I wish all users of study Bibles would recognize that fact. Too often Sunday School class or study group members read the notes in their study Bibles as the one interpretation of the text, and don’t bother to think about how that note might have been derived. Now if I could just get them to read this “How To”!
In addition, this same section suggests reading the Biblical text first, and “. . . leav[ing] the notes and other features for later.” This entire section is outstanding, and one hopes that all Bible students who use this Bible edition will read it and follow its advice, including this note:
Please do not treat the NLT Study Bible study notes and other features as the full and final word on any topic of passage. (p. A19)
I’m going to get into more specific features in my next post, in which I will compare and contrast the NLT Study Bible five other editions, but overall my impression is a very useful edition. My teaching work is mostly in United Methodist churches, though not exclusively, and focuses on the educated lay person. I have lacked a single edition that I can unreservedly recommend for evangelical Bible students, one that gives them an overview of scholarly information available, but doesn’t fall into either excessively technical language or oversimplify. At the same time such an edition should refrain from providing the one true interpretation of a text without adequate support. Tall order, no?
Thus far, I think this one will do. My wife is using it as well and giving me her input. She is an educated person and has done a good deal of Bible study, but has not pursued this study academically or professionally. She finds it more useful than The Learning Bible, one that is quite helpful to beginning Bible students in my experience. Thus far, she thinks its language is clear and it addresses topics that are of interest to her. I’m going to urge her to blog some about it herself.
I’m embedding the video provided by Tyndale House on the features, rather than reciting them myself. I will then go into specifics one post at a time.
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Genesis Links
I started collecting links through clips on my bloglines account (yes, the blogroll is public), and one thing I’ve found is that I collect a remarkable number of links and I comment on only a few of them. There have been a number of good posts on Genesis recently, and I want to provide links even though I won’t have time for more than a sentence or two in comment. These all relate to creation or the flood and related issues, so we’re really talking about the first 11 chapters.
From James McGrath, I found Doctor Who: Journey’s End, Creation’s End, God’s End?, which discusses some of the difficulties of the flood story. Reflecting on the flood story’s origins he says:
But when an ancient Israelite author tried to co-opt that story (which was too familiar and could not simply be discarded) into monotheism, it created the ultimate theological conundrum. How does one account for a single God both destroying the world and saving humanity? . . .
You’ll have to go read the entire post to get the picture. He also links to a number of other good posts and discussions here, though unfortunately I haven’t had time to get involved.
Moderate Christian Blogroll member Monastic Mumblings shares a good quote on Genesis.
Those cover it pretty well for now.
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Some Examples of Participating in the Bible
I use the term “participatory” to describe the method of Bible study that I teach. To be more precise I might say that’s the umbrella concept under which I teach any number of different methods, while urging people to also find their own.
When people first hear the word “participatory” they either say “huh” or quite often think of a study group in which each person participates in the study. That is a form of participatory study. But I’m subtly altering the use of the term. I use it to refer to becoming a part of the Bible story yourself.
There are many ways to do this. I like to do it through stories, such as those I post on my Jevlir Caravansary blog in poetry and short stories. I don’t claim these are professional. What they do is help me express the feeling of a Biblical passage or of the time and place it happened.
Recently I’ve been starting to follow David Ker’s Cyber Psalms. His latest one is Cyber Psalm 37. These Psalms are an example of “participating in the Bible” though I’m certain David didn’t work on them because of any method I proposed. I’m just claiming them as a useful example. My idea is hardly original. It actually has substantial echoes of lectio divina in it.
My challenge to any Bible students out there is to find the method that lets you personally get inside the story. Much of this isn’t about exegesis; it’s about getting on board. Of course, the ultimate getting on board is getting out and active accomplishing the gospel commission. That’s one aspect of the final stage of the method as I propose it–sharing. Your approach doesn’t have to be the same as anyone else’s.
My pastor today, preaching on Pentecost, commented that if the Holy Spirit gets hold of you he may send you around the world, or he may send you across the street. Saying yes to that call to get involved is participating, becoming part of the story.
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Christian Carnival CCXXIII – Tabernacle Edition
Welcome to the Christian Carnival, tabernacle edition.
Why use the tabernacle? In my teaching I have found that the tabernacle and its services are almost infinitely useful, often illustrating things that one might not assume from the text. I identify as carefully as I can when I’m being strictly exegetical, and when I’m using the imagery to help get across other lessons. As an example, see my talk The Sin of Getting Stuck, in which I use the tabernacle as an illustration of progress in one’s Christian walk–clearly not exegetical, yet the tabernacle lends itself to this. (Note that this is a little over an hour long video, so unless you’re patient, skip it! Audio is also an option.)
I have attached posts to various sections. There is no greater and lesser holiness implied. For example, Outside the Camp is for posts about witness and our relationship to the world. The camp itself is for daily living. In front of the gate is where many debates and confrontations took place. In the courtyard was a place for learning as the Israelites carried out God’s great teaching program. I reserve At the Altar of Sacrifice for items related to atonement and salvation, and The Holy Place for worship related items. Hopefully I’ve placed your post well.
The pictures here are from http://koti.phnet.fi/petripaavola/Tabernacle, whose author gives kind permission to use them non-commercially on each page. I have only chosen a very small number, and I’ve had to reduce their resolution, so I recommend going and looking at the results of his hard work.
In the Camp
Rodney Olsen presents Keeping Pets in Perspective posted at RodneyOlsen.net. As Christians, what should our attitudes be towards pets?
William Meisheid presents Seeking Solidarity posted at Beyond The Rim…. A critique of Peggy Noonan’s article on the Wright-Obama controversy.
Richard H. Anderson presents Rewriting Tabitha posted at dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos.
GP presents Fear is your Friend posted at Innstyle Montana- Your Home on the Range. Horses teach us Isaiah 41:10 (look it up!).
In the Courtyard
Ade Sobanjo presents 5 Reasons why Sex before Marriage is dangerous !!! posted at Celebration of Love.
Jeremy Pierce presents Adam and Eve’s Race posted at Parableman. Is it meaningful to ask what race Adam and Eve were?
Trevor McKay presents Dating And Courting… What’s The Difference? posted at The Christian Dating Chronicles.
Pete presents Money and your prayer life: Do you pray about your finances? posted at Bible Money Matters. Is it important to pray about your finances?
Weekend Fisher presents Scoring the books of the canon: cumulative scores at Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength After looking at a series of early lists of Christian writings, here Weekend Fisher shows the cumulative scores for how well attested each book is. The final answer on which books are best-attested historically will be no surprise to Christians — but may disturb conspiracy theorists who claim that the canon of Scripture was nothing more than an exercise in political power or an arbitrary set of books that could easily have been otherwise.
I present here my post Hosting Bible Translations Wiki right here at Participatory Bible Study Blog. This is an open invitation to sign up and get involved in creating a solid encyclopedia of Bible translations, editions, canon, and topics related to creating the Bible edition you use.
Outside the Camp
Crystal Nichols presents 7 ways to live in harmony with your coworkers posted at Christian in the Corporate World. We are commanded to love each other, that includes our coworkers, too! Here are some easy ways to show Christ’s love to you coworkers.
Angela Williams Duea presents Go With God, Immigrant posted at angelawd. Illegal immigration is a loaded topic, but we’re still challenged to love the individuals God places before us.
Jody Neufeld presents Are you challenged to THINK on Sunday mornings? which is actually an introduction to her three part series on witnessing which she wrote after she heard a particularly challenging sermon on the subject.
At the Altar of Sacrifice
Scott Clair presents Is the recognition of sin important? posted at Anticipating the King. This article deals with whether or not the recognition of sin is important when evangelizing.
Ken Brown presents On Sin and Atonement posted at C.Orthodoxy.
A review of the film Atonement, focusing on its elucidation of the corporate nature of evil and the impossibility of atoning for one’s own sins.John at Brain Cramps for God writes On Depravity and Obedience. It seems many times folks just do not understand what “total depravity” really means; nor do they understand why Christians actually strive to obey the “rules”.
David Porter presents Shall we continue to sin or can we change? posted at A Boomer in the Pew.
At the Gate
simplyeddie presents First Principles posted at Simple Life In Christ. He says: “Hope you like this article! It’s my first submission to Blog Carnival.” Welcome Eddie!
Diane R presents Angry Young Christians? posted at Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet. Why are there so many angry young adult Christians nowadays?
Holy Place
Chad Dalton presents There is a place posted at Living Stone Bible Church Blog.
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Next Christian Carnival Will be Here
I’m hosting Christian Carnival CCXXIII here. It will be posted later today. I actually cut off submissions this morning, so if you had your post in any time last night, it will get in there.
I’ll be posting from somewhere out of my office, so corrections will have to wait at least until evening.
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Intellectual and Spiritual Independence Redux
James McGrath has posted a Challenge to Anti-Intellectual Christian Fundamentalists. I think it’s a good one. I posted on this before, though from a different angle.
I want to highlight here an important question. Where in scripture or Christian tradition do we get a high value for intellectual independence? Certainly there is a value for independence in thought, but that is a reasonably balanced idea, in which independence helps with creation of new ideas and the testing of old ones, but in which one is free to recognize dependence. I simply cannot count the myriads of ways in which I, at this very moment, am dependent on the intellectual and physical product of others.
But the Christian ideal is often expressed as a body with many parts, or as a family. Neither of these metaphors suggests some sort of absolute intellectual independence as a value.
I like to know. I like to check things for myself. But at the same time, I must acknowledge dependence, and I should be very grateful to those who have done the hard work on which I base what I write and teach.