tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8478227.post1241099250698743035..comments2023-07-23T11:18:06.500-07:00Comments on In the Corner with Matt: Histoical Criticism Is Dead?J. Matthew Barneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02599013442666547304noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8478227.post-51305479652847879192009-05-23T10:51:47.601-07:002009-05-23T10:51:47.601-07:00David,
We should read the Bible like any other bo...David,<br /><br />We should read the Bible like any other book because it is a book coprised of various documents written by different people, in different genres, at different times, for different purposes, to different audiences. Why not use the tools that we have that help us understand poetry in general when we read the Psalms? Why not analyze the plots of Genesis, 2 Kings, and the Gospels like people analyze plays and novels? Why not investigate how Paul argues his points in a similar way that people study how Plato uses rhetoric? <br /><br />Frankly, because I believe the Bible is like no other book (which I fully admit is a presupposition that is dependent on a faith response) I should read it like any other book - meaning that I should earnestly seek out what it really means. If some other way of understanding literature helps me better understand what the Bible says, then I am going to pursue that end. <br /><br />But of course the second part of the statement in question is sticky for many academic sorts. And I completely get that. I often operate with the "prove it to me" mentality as well. But as a Christian New Testament scholar I can't lay aside my convictions totally. Instead it is my explicit goal to use all of the tools available to help me better understand Scripture so that I can do a better job of teaching it to others.J. Matthew Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02599013442666547304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8478227.post-13107574514667014652009-05-22T15:52:27.681-07:002009-05-22T15:52:27.681-07:00"We should read the Bible like any other book whil..."We should read the Bible like any other book while keeping in mind that it is not any other book"<br /><br />Why should we "read the Bible like any other book" when you begin with the presupposition that it is NOT any other book?David Carrnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8478227.post-35307592302640264852009-05-17T23:07:00.000-07:002009-05-17T23:07:00.000-07:00It depends what you mean by "theologian." If by t...It depends what you mean by "theologian." If by that term you mean a cold, unbelieving scholastic more interested in small details rather than honoring God, then you are right. However, that is not the only way to define "theologian." At its base a theologian practices theology, namely thinking about God. I would certainly say that I engage in thinking about God and I would also contend that I do so in order to worship God, bring him glory, and better understand the Bible. Just so you know, under this second more fair-handed definition every author of the Bible is a theologian as well as countless other Christians who have greatly influenced the faith from the earliest days until now.<br /><br />I'm not sure when it started, but assuming that being a Christian means checking one's brain at the door is entirely unhelpful.J. Matthew Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02599013442666547304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8478227.post-44830737246646864752009-05-17T22:07:00.000-07:002009-05-17T22:07:00.000-07:00Reading your self is excatly and only what you are...Reading your self is excatly and only what you are always doing.<br /><br />Theologians are highly over-rated.<br /><br />All of theology is entirely useless and never really changes anything at a DEPTH level---cant change anything in fact.<br /><br />The various authors that wrote the books of the Bible (Old and New Testaments) were not theologians.<br /><br />Nor were the people who wrote the Sacred Texts or Scriptures of the other Traditions---all of which are now freely available on the internet.<br /><br />None of the great religious and Spiritual art of any of the Traditions was produced by theologians. On the contrary they were founded by Illuminated Realizers---Saints, Yogis, Mystics and Sages.<br /><br />None of the Traditions, East or West, were started or inspired by theologians. <br /><br />Nor were the great practising schools of esoteric Spirituality in the Eastern Traditions.<br /><br />Nor were the various Monastic schools within the Catholic and Orthodox Traditions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com