No, not the zombie!
Rob Bell.
Seriously, I've been working on this Exodus hermenuetic thing for a while now. I've begun to see a central theme of the Bible, that many of the stories repeat the theme in different ways. It is Exodus. For me the key to getting a big picture of the Bible, especially the Work of Jesus, is by reading it in context with the Exodus story. I've been working with this for about 6 years now after doing some research on OT Temple worship, and I've been even more convinced as I have been trying to brush up on my Eucharist/Holy Communion theology.
Recently Rob Bell beat me to a book title called, "God Wants to Save Christians." In this he outlines several points where the Church (especially the Western church) just doesn't get it. Besides that, he begins to outline a hermenuetic of his own...the Exodus story.
It seems as though everytime I read a new Rob Bell book, he's saying something that I've been chewing on and thinking about...often in eerily similar ways.
Don't get me wrong. It's not exact, and I disagree with him about how much liberation theology is present within his hermenuetic. But I'm encouraged that the Spirit of God is leading us together. And it's not just the two of us. I recently read some other pastors writing of basically the same thing.
Sometimes it seems like we're out on our own too often...especially as we try to be faithful heretics (read Peter Rollins' new book "Fidelity of Betrayal"). It's nice to know that sometimes I really am hearing the Spirit of God trying to tell me something...and it's not just my warped brain messing up all the time. Even greater is knowing that the Spirit of God is talking to others, and that together we are called to the ministry of bring God's love and truth to the world.
2 comments:
Your going to have to tell me what a hermenuetic is. I could probably go look it up on Dictionary.com or something, but asking here is more fun :-)
hermenuetic is a method of interpretation.
Scholars and/or theologians will often have an underlying hermenuetic which guides the way they interpret Scripture.
John Wesley's was Love.
John Calvin's was Predestination.
Luther's was Grace.
It's something you get from stepping back and looking at the big picture...then using that "lens" when looking at the details.
It is in a way a bias, but we have to start from somewhere...Knowing one's hermenuetic and why it is your guiding interpretive principle, I believe, is a good way to help yourself and others see Scripture in fresh ways.
Post a Comment