Walter Brueggemann is attempting to show the importance of viewing scripture as multidimensional where there are always new layers that can be discovered and unexpected meanings. He believes that it is important to have a backbone of certain apostolic faith where scripture reveals consistent theological claims of God’s character and will. Besides these main points, we have to rely on interpretation which are not objective. Brueggemann wants us to shift away from a ridged reading of the bible and to more mysterious view where the text continuously holds fresh and different meanings. Like how imagination takes us beyond the text and it can help bridge the ancient world to our own. Or how we can be inspired and strengthened by the spirit of the …show more content…
It is a tricky balancing act to say the least.
Phyllis Trible raises significant questions regarding to the pluralistic interpretations of scripture. Trible’s point that churches often use scripture as it is traditionally understood without dealing with the hermeneutics of it, has been rather common in most religious setting I’ve been in. It might not be a “bad” interpretation, however, it gets back to Brueggemann point of one-dimensional readings of the bible which lack the newness and strangeness scripture has to offer.
The article by Ronald Osborn shows how we follow a trail of tradition; a just war tradition. However, American Christians, in particular, often times are not even following the just war parameters that St. Augustine lays out. Instead, they have more of a pro-military and “ends justify the means” attitude which contradicts much of St. Augustine’s stance. There are large problems in the way Christians have traditionally viewed violence and justice. Is killing Osama bin Laden the way to achieve justice for the victims? What about the costs of this getting to this
Benjamin Banneker was a primarily self-educated child of a former slave who became a prominent African American renaissance man and activist during the 18th century. In 1791, Banneker wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson, the aim of which was to challenge Jefferson on the topics of slavery and racism, and hopefully get him to change his opinions and eventually take further action. He called upon tone, alluding to historical events, and juxtaposing the difference between Jefferson’s own writings and actions in order to drive his point home.
Rauschenbusch has introduced many new ideas into the theological point of view. He still uses many of the same ideas of the “old theology”, but has just made some important changes to add his own thoughts on what theology should be about and how it should be used to influence people’s daily lives throughout the world. Rauschenbusch says,
BBC. "Christianity and the ethics of war." BBC - Religion. N.p., 3 Aug. 2009. Web. 14 Jan. 2012. .
Barth’s opening thesis is a view that everything that can be known with confidence about God or divine things is known only or primarily by faith, as opposed to a coherent or cognitive. In addition, existential, in the sense that Barth affirms that scripture has an objective significance, even before considering it through faith and reason. According to Barth, “This circumstance is the simple fact that in the congregation of Jesus Christ, the Bible has specific authority and significance” (p. 56) and without the congregation it becomes only historical. It becomes important to uphold and defend the Bible’s authority and the power does not come from any simple measure employed by us individually. It is up to the congregation to openly confess the analytical propositions without fear and become actively engaged in the faith and obedience of which it asks (p. 56).
September 11th, 2001. An organization denoted as terrorists by the United States, Al-Qaeda, attacked the U.S on our own soil. In his “Letter to the American People”, the leader of Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, takes a defensive stance regarding the attack, giving his justifications of why the attack on the U.S was warranted and acceptable in the terms of Just War Theory, citing examples of the Right to Self-Defense and reasons why he was justified in targeting American civilians. Just War Theory is comprised of ideas of values to determine when acts of aggression are morally justified or not, and it is primarily split into two categories, Jus Ad Bellum (Justice of War) and Jus In Bello (Justice in War) (Walzer 21). In this essay, I will be arguing against Bin Laden’s claims of the justification of Al-Qaeda’s attack, using the failure of Bin Laden’s attack to meet the requirements for a just war in terms of Jus Ad Bellum and Jus In Bello.
N.T Wright (2008) stated that “When we read the scriptures as Christians, we read it precisely as people of the new covenant and of the new creation” (p.281). In this statement, the author reveals a paradigm of scriptural interpretation that exists for him as a Christian, theologian, and profession and Bishop. When one surveys the entirety of modern Christendom, one finds a variety of methods and perspectives on biblical interpretation, and indeed on the how one defines the meaning in the parables of Jesus. Capon (2002) and Snodgrass (2008) offer differing perspectives on how one should approach the scriptures and how the true sense of meaning should be extracted. This paper will serve as a brief examination of the methodologies presented by these two authors. Let us begin, with an
...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) .
“The Bible is a special revelation from God to man of truths concerning Himself, His purposes, His plans, His will, man and his sinful nature, and God’s redemptive plan for man.”
The Wesleyan quadrilateral is still relevant today as it provides a method for discovering the things of God, ourselves, and lets us know who God really is. For the purposes of this reflection paper, I would like to summarize the four components of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral and then reflect personally upon each term as how it relates to the Christian theologian. The first component of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral is scripture. The term scripture used in the Wesleyan Quadrilateral refers to God’s word. God’s word is found in the Bible.
Travelling around the world, this paper presents the various religious perspectives evidenced in recent actions taken regarding the death penalty.
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...
Trible, P. (1973). ‘Depatriarchalizing in Biblical Interpretation’. Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 41 (1), pp.30-48.
This paper will provide an opportunity for dialogue within a small group setting on the idea of how Christians who are to model Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, in loving our enemies, not to kill, along with the presence of defending humankind by force; more specifically, the idea of just war. This study group will meet over the course of five weeks for one and half hours each.
readers and brings perlocutionary effects through what is said in the biblical text. The triune communicative action continues through the subsequent work of the Spirit in the church over time and space. Similarly, Seitz also maintains a Trinitarian understanding of divine discourse. He says, “As the Son and the Father are one, so, too, is the witness to them from the Old and New Testaments, which witness is perceived by eyes of faith through the work of the Holy Spirit.”101
Westphal, M. (2009). Whose Community? Which Interpretation?: Philosophical Hermeneutics for the Church. Baker Academic. 107