Analysis Of Christianity: A Story-Formed Community
➢ Christianity: a story-formed community Like the rabbits in Watership Down, Christian communities are “story-formed communities” because Christians are people who have been and are being formed by the stories of the Scriptures that culminate in the story of Jesus
➢ Scripture: a community-formed text The converse is also true: the Scriptures are “community formed texts.” The Scriptures were formed out of communal experiences of God that were “handed over” (traditio) from one generation to another. Tradition is the origin of the stories and other writings that eventually formed “The Books” (Ta Biblia) that are the Scriptures.
➢ The primary meaning of Scripture: Scripture reveals (primarily) via stories 1. Who is God …show more content…
To be a Christian is to identify with the story of Jesus and with others who have done so.
➢ What are some challenges to using Scripture in moral reflection? 1. Christian ethics is not identical to biblical ethics. The ethics expressed in Scripture differs from the faithful use of Scripture in ethical reflection. In other words, the ethical practices, rules, and norms as they were communicated to the original audiences for which the Scriptures were written are not entirely identical to those of faithful Christians who live today. Faithfulness to the Scriptures requires translating them so that they are brought to life in the present rather than frozen as a lifeless museum relic from the past. 2. There are a variety of voices and visions in the Scriptures. They can appear to conflict with each other. Ex. Jesus doesn’t seem to embrace the violence in the Old Testament. 3. Differences in historical contexts. Ex. When the Scriptures were written, nuclear bombs, computers, and modern medical technologies did not exist. Again, a slap with the left hand does not mean the same thing as it did during the time of Jesus (see Wink). 4. Multiplicity of possible …show more content…
Respect Scripture’s primary function as a narrative that shapes moral character. Scripture shapes character by narrating who God is and who we are to be in response to God. Allow Scriptures to school the whole person—i.e., imagination, emotion, worldview, loyalties, intentions, etc. Allow Scriptures to MEDIATE the relation between self and world such that it forms one’s imaginative landscape and serves as a window to the world.
Corollary: Treat the secondary moral aspects of Scripture, such as moral norms and rules, as secondary by interpreting them light of the primary narrative that reveals Divine and human character. Ask questions such as “What purposes and values do the rules serve in light of the story?” “How can we apply the rules to enable us to become the kind of people that the story calls us to be?” Ex. Thou shall not kill. How does the story of Jesus reveal the fullest meaning of this command? Does the story reveal that the command calls us to be peacemakers?
3. Avoid biblical fundamentalism and
➢ Scripture: a community-formed text The converse is also true: the Scriptures are “community formed texts.” The Scriptures were formed out of communal experiences of God that were “handed over” (traditio) from one generation to another. Tradition is the origin of the stories and other writings that eventually formed “The Books” (Ta Biblia) that are the Scriptures.
➢ The primary meaning of Scripture: Scripture reveals (primarily) via stories 1. Who is God …show more content…
To be a Christian is to identify with the story of Jesus and with others who have done so.
➢ What are some challenges to using Scripture in moral reflection? 1. Christian ethics is not identical to biblical ethics. The ethics expressed in Scripture differs from the faithful use of Scripture in ethical reflection. In other words, the ethical practices, rules, and norms as they were communicated to the original audiences for which the Scriptures were written are not entirely identical to those of faithful Christians who live today. Faithfulness to the Scriptures requires translating them so that they are brought to life in the present rather than frozen as a lifeless museum relic from the past. 2. There are a variety of voices and visions in the Scriptures. They can appear to conflict with each other. Ex. Jesus doesn’t seem to embrace the violence in the Old Testament. 3. Differences in historical contexts. Ex. When the Scriptures were written, nuclear bombs, computers, and modern medical technologies did not exist. Again, a slap with the left hand does not mean the same thing as it did during the time of Jesus (see Wink). 4. Multiplicity of possible …show more content…
Respect Scripture’s primary function as a narrative that shapes moral character. Scripture shapes character by narrating who God is and who we are to be in response to God. Allow Scriptures to school the whole person—i.e., imagination, emotion, worldview, loyalties, intentions, etc. Allow Scriptures to MEDIATE the relation between self and world such that it forms one’s imaginative landscape and serves as a window to the world.
Corollary: Treat the secondary moral aspects of Scripture, such as moral norms and rules, as secondary by interpreting them light of the primary narrative that reveals Divine and human character. Ask questions such as “What purposes and values do the rules serve in light of the story?” “How can we apply the rules to enable us to become the kind of people that the story calls us to be?” Ex. Thou shall not kill. How does the story of Jesus reveal the fullest meaning of this command? Does the story reveal that the command calls us to be peacemakers?
3. Avoid biblical fundamentalism and