In his book, The Good Book, Peter J. Gomes attempts to convince his readers the proper way to read and interpret the Bible, takes an analytical standpoint on past (and current) controversial topics such as racism, women, Jews, and homosexuality. Along with these two things, he explains to his readers how the Bible interacts with several topics people typically have questions on in regards to how they relate to the Bible.. The main point of his novel, as I see it, is to inform the readers of two things. The first being that there is both a right and wrong way to read the Bible, while the second is that people in general want to read the Bible but are biblically illiterate and do not know how to approach it. Gomes splits The Good Book
Gomes applies culturalism a great amount in this part. The four cultural events analyzed in this section are: Christians justification for racism and slavery, the history of women in the Bible and in the religious community, the treatment of Jews by religious peoples, and the general negative opinion of homosexualy amount Bible readers. Gomes explains that in these four events, people did use, or are using, the Bible to justify their hatred of different groups. He also brings up the fact that Christians and other religious people have since apologized for their treatment of women, African Americans, and Jews. By saying this he heavily implies his belief that, once again, Christians are going to be on the wrong side of the debate in regard to homosexuality. The section on homosexuality is the most relevant in this part as it is a current event that is still debate nationwide. In said section, Gomes analyzes the Bible verses that Christians believe to have homosexual implications. Eventually, Gomes uses his personal interpretation of what the verses could mean along with historical context, to explain that the Church should not harbor any hatred or negative opinions to those practicing homosexuality. The other sections of, “The Use and Abuse of the Bible”, give
In, “True and Living Word”, Gomes introduces the readers to a variety of topics and attempts to explain how the Bible relates to them. These topics are: The Bible and...The Good Life, Suffering, Joy, Evil, Temptation, Wealth, Science, and Mystery. The Good Life is a slightly more detailed repetition of Gomes’ main point. This section again explains how the Bible is a living text, as it withstands the test of time and applies to all those who read it, and how people are scared of admitting their Biblical illiteracy. Gomes makes a broad statement in this section that everyone feels drawn towards the Bible, subconsciously know it is holy, and want to read it but do not know how. He also states that the Bible is difficult to read and requires great analysis to truly understand it’s message. The other seven sections discuss how the Bible connects to each of them. These seven section are essentially a “crash course” on the Bible’s
Throughout the essays of Richard B. Hays in “Awaiting the Redemption of Our Bodies” and Walter Winks “Biblical Perspectives and Homosexuality” both authors tackle the difficult subject of homosexuality and how it should be perceived in terms of the bible. Both Authors agree that Homosexuality is a sin according to the bible, but have different perspectives on how it should be handled and received. Christians. Richard B. Hays opens his essay talking about his friend Gary, who was dying of Aids and was struggling with homosexual behavior. In Hays’s “Living under the cross” section he says “there is no reason at all for the church to single out homosexual persons for malicious discriminatory treatment; Insofar as Christians have done so
It is the reader and his or her interpretive community who attempts to impose a unified reading on a given text. Such readers may, and probably will, claim that the unity they find is in the text, but this claim is only a mask for the creative process actually going on. Even the most carefully designed text can not be unified; only the reader's attempted taming of it. Therefore, an attempt to use seams and shifts in the biblical text to discover its textual precursors is based on a fundamentally faulty assumption that one might recover a stage of the text that lacked such fractures (Carr 23-4).
“For The Bible Tells Me So” by Daniel Karslake is a documentary style film that focuses on issues about sexuality. The film focuses on the conflict between homosexuality and Christianity and the analysis of several Bible verses about homosexuality. The film attempts to alter the minds of homophobes by using facts, science and several interviews with Christians who also have gay children. The interviews are done with five American, very Christian families and “how they handle the realization of having a gay child” (Karslake, 2007.) The film looks at both the understanding of the church, that is portrayed within the film, and the suggestion that there can only be one sexuality, heterosexuality, and that all others are sins in the eye of God.
The book is mean-spirited and vicious in its attacks upon the godly evangelical scholars who labored so hard to produce the modern versions, not to undermine the Word, but to make it more understandable to the average reader.
People, specifically in the U.S., have gone from viewing the bible as “The absolute, unchanging word of God,” to, “A collection of guidelines, allegories, myths, and stories useful for good living. Offensive versus must be igno...
...nature of God, the world, and human beings, the Bible is a source from which a reasonably comprehensive worldview may be constructed. Many narratives or teachings of Scripture speak directly to the various elements of a worldview” (Palmer, pp 93) .
In Daniel Karslake’s documentary, For the Bible Tells Me So, he examines the intersection between Christianity and homosexuality. Karslake uses parallelism, appeal to emotion, and appeal to logic to highlight how the religious right has used its interpretation of the bible to stigmatize the gay community. With the use of these rhetorical devices, he is able to auspiciously convey his argument that there can be a healthy relationship amongst the opposing side of this belief. He attempts to enlighten the viewer with the thought that Christianity's homophobia represents a misreading of scripture, a denial of science, and an embrace of fake psychology. The families call for love.
Harris, Stephen. Understanding The Bible. 6 ed. New York City: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2002. Print.
Cahill sees Scripture as having three dimensions, which she defines as “the specific texts on the issue at hand, specific texts on related issues, and general biblical themes or patterns” (64). For specific texts, she mentions Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, the Romans, and Timothy. Citing the historical and social contexts of the Old Testament texts, she dismisses them as not easily applicable to modern society (65). When she considers Paul, she questions whether his lists of sins translate well into modern moral discourse because of Paul’s primary concern with idolatry and because of the Greek model of homosexuality, which greatly differs from modern homosexual relationships that resemble marriage (65). Though she does not specifically state it, implicit in these references to historical context is doubt about the Spirit-inspired nature of the Scriptures. In questioning the ability of the Scriptu...
The Bible is read and interpreted by many people all over the world. Regardless, no one knows the absolute truth behind scripture. Walter Brueggemann, professor of Old Testament, wrote “Biblical Authority” to help people understand what he describes as six different parts that make up the foundation to ones understanding of scripture. He defines these six features as being: inherency, interpretation, imagination, ideology, inspiration, and importance. As Brueggemann explains each individual part, it is easy to see that they are all interconnected because no one can practice one facet without involuntarily practicing at least one other part.
What was the wickedness that cried out for God’s wrath and judgment?... ... middle of paper ... ... And finally, it assumes that a homosexual relationship thusly described is part of the biblical concept to begin with, and such is an unfounded assertion refuted by the fair and careful examination of Scriptures.” (p. 51)
Mears, Henrietta C.. What the Bible Is All About. Rev. and updated. ed. Ventura, Calif., U.S.A.: Regal Books, 1983. Print.
Thus, an effort is made to highlight how Bible interpretation – through its publication – has developed in the history of Christianity.
Answering these questions is the purpose of this essay. I begin by arguing that the Bible cannot be adequately understood independent of its historical context. I concede later that historical context alone however is insufficient, for the Bible is a living-breathing document as relevant to us today as it was the day it was scribed. I conclude we need both testimonies of God at work to fully appreciate how the Bible speaks to us.
The bible is what helps keeps our faith alive as it contains a rich amount of history that tells us of God’s revelation and the ways how our faith works. Although the bible contains numerous works of different people, it is still a work of God that helps our faith remain constant and grow, as everything written was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In some way, I was able to understand the value also of the other books, as before I did not really take interest of the other books included bible, aside from the likes of the Gospels, Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, and Proverbs. Nevertheless, I realized that the books are all part of the bible as each has a purpose to serve and stands as a testament to the infidelity of humanity, and of God’s unfailing love for