Thursday, November 22, 2007

BT/E #4



Collecting Data



If we read a text and ask questions of it, we will likely find answers to these questions in the text or itself. These textual answers are the most important data to collect. Some answers will be found in secondary literature. These answers are important but not as important as the textual ones. Let's look at John 3 again to understand what I mean...

I noted before that it would be problematic to read John 3.3 and simply make an association based on a theological concept, partly because this is not a cautious (or even humble) approach to the text - to assume that we understand it without engaging in "conversation" with it. The other issue here is that an association that comes from a theological concept is an answer to a question that comes from a secondary source. (e.g. What is "being born again" all about? It's about the theological concept known as regeneration.) But this can short-circuit the process of collecting and analyzing the textual data. Instead, the "conversation" might go...

John 3.3 “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

So, what does being born again mean? The answer is in the text. Notice that Nicodemus doesn't question why it is necessary. He questions how it could happen. The answer that Jesus gives about the way in which being born again is to occur is not an answer to the question, "what is being born again?" Nicodemus seems to understand what this would imply - a change in origin of birth (the spirit not the parents) would imply a different parentage, a different lineage. This is what seems to amaze Nicodemus at the end of the conversation - that Jesus is seriously asserting that a change or parentage needs to occur by a work of the Spirit of God. But to suggest that a spiritual change of paternity would need to take place would be to accuse someone of being other than a child of God (a Jew would have found this implication outrageous).

This is some of the textual data. This data does not disprove any notions of the theological concept of regeneration. This data has merely been allowed to speak for itself. The collection of this data and other data like it can provide a bigger picture of Biblical Theology, and that will be the topic of the next discussion.

Friday, November 16, 2007

BT/E #3



Questioning the Text:

Reading is not automatic. You can scan your eyes across a page 100 times or more and never really read. Even for someone with a photographic memory, there must be an engagement with the text. In other words, reading is more like conversation than we think. When we engage in conversation - responding, anticipating, reacting - we are more certain that we are understanding the person with whom we are speaking. And the same is true for reading. When we engage with the text, we are more like a good conversation partner - one who really wants to get at the heart of what the other person is saying.

How many times have you been frustrated by someone who thought they knew what you were saying or meaning but didn't really understand you at all? The more you tried to explain the more confusing the conversation became, because they thought that they already knew what you meant - or even what you were going to say! This is how reading can get if we let it. We can be the bad conversation partner who refuses to listen carefully because we are convinced that we already know what is being said - unless we engage with questions!

Asking questions of the text conveys a certain attitude that says, "I'm not sure I quite understand, but I would really like to. Could you please help me," which - by the way - is a very good prayer to keep going in the background as we read. Displaying this type of attitude leads to a better reading (a better conversation). Now, enough about disposition. What are some questions of the text?

1.) Where is this taking place, and what do I know about the place?
2.) Who is in the text at this point, and what do I know about them?
3.) What details are in the text (names of people, places, things), and why would they be here?
4.) Why is the text arranged in this way? Is there anything before or after this part of the text that sheds light here?
5.) When is this taking place? Is there a special occasion or time of day that is mentioned?
6.) What could have been said that wasn't?

Question 6 is the least important on most occasions, but it can be important at times. Otherwise, these questions are very basic, but they must be asked. Essentially, they all relate to the disposition I talked about above and, basically, they all ask this basic question: "Do I really understand __________?" Fill in the blank: a place, a term, a story, a concept. Ultimately, this question gets to the heart of it all and leads us to the most humbling and exciting question that we could ever use to fill the blank: "Do I really understand Jesus?"

Thursday, November 15, 2007

BT/E #2




I suppose that it would help if I began to explain my approach to Biblical Theology along the "hashing out" of a biblical-theological approach to Evangelism. So, here's a simple definition: Biblical Theology is an organic process that develops from an organic reading of the text.
More on that later ... here's a
schematic to help the process along. It shows that there should be questions of ideas, questions of the text, and the analysis of data. These will, in turn, inform original ideas (which will give a better reading of the text, which will give clearer data...and so on.

We all begin with preconceived ideas. These ideas may be inadvertent - shaped by upbringing and education, as well as culture; or these ideas may be intentional - shaped by a conscious desire to believe and maintain a certain set of ideals. Preconceived ideas are not necessarily bad, but they can be troublesome when reading the Bible, because they can often interfere with the most natural and organic reading of the text.


As you can see in the schematic, Ideas are less meddlesome to the process if they are subjected to questions before and during the reading of the text. Asking yourself questions like, "why do I hold this belief?" and "where did this notion originate", can identify ideas that have not necessarily come directly from the text but are affecting the way that a text is being read.

For instance, if we read in John 3.3, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Then, we assume that we understand it because we have been taught that being "born again" is about the theological concept known as "regeneration," which is defined as a spiritual process with such and such results and such and such effects. If we then go on without further thought, then we could be missing out on what is actually going on in the text.
Being "born again," in this passage may have much more to do with what is being said in the time and place where Jesus said it than in the 16th century - when it was developed as a theological notion by certain scholars and pastors. (This is not to say that theological development is unwanted and unnecessary. These issues just need to be handled one at a time.)

At any rate, ideas need to be subjected to questions, as does the text, which will be covered next time.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

BT/E #1


By no means extensive, here is a preliminary sketch of the major events of the story of redemption. This is a VERY big picture, perhaps too big. But the goal is to organize a plan of explanation that will be cohesive and easy to follow or to tell.

Event

Passage

Significance

Creation

Gen 1&2

God created a world w/ a particular order

Fall

Gen 3

Man colludes with evil for the 1st time and corrupts his relationships; brings death, sin.

Curse

Gen 3:16

A solution to the problem is introduced

Covenant w/ Abraham

Gen 12-15

God will bless the earth through Abraham

Invitation to Israel

Ex 19

Israel is invited to become their own intercessors and be given the task of reaching the nations

Covenant w/ Israel

Ex 20

Israel rejects the invitation and is given a representative priesthood

Covenant w/ David

II Samuel 7

God will bring about his kingdom through David

Fall & Exile of Israel

Lt. Prophets

Israel rejects being God’s vehicle of Grace; God punishes them with exile

New Covenant

Gospels

Jesus brings God’s New Covenant to bear upon Israel and brings a new vehicle of God’s grace

Death of Christ

Gospels

Jesus bears the curse so there is no threat to the New Covenant

Resurrection of Christ

Gospels

Jesus is vindicated and demonstrated to be the true king of Israel and the world; solution to the problem of evil is realized.


More to follow...

Biblical Theology and Evangelism


Among random thoughts that I might post here, I want to begin a project that I've been "chewing on" for quite some time. Biblical Theology is a discipline of Biblical Studies that is near and dear to my heart. Its approach to the scriptures and to Christian Theology is beneficial in a number of ways, and it has been applied to all sorts of areas in Christian Life, except Evangelism. Now, it's not entirely true that nothing has been done in this area, but the work is not very extensive. So, I'm going to try to begin "hashing it out," so to speak, here on my blog.'' I hope eventually to develop a sort of "presentation," even, that will enable anyone who is interested in using a "biblical-theological" approach to the work of Evangelism. Mainly, this exercise is for my own benefit - to finally do something with these thoughts and to develop an approach. But I hope it helps whoever is reading.

Stay tuned for more...