What the Bible Says vs what the Bible Reads
Turned on a documentary on the Bible and homosexuality on PBS ... many ministers from the Episcopal Church were interviewed (interestingly, including a Winnie Varghese).
A quote used in the show (paraphrased, as I couldn't find the direct text):
The sad irony is this was from a pastor of a Church that claims Sola Scriptura. To understand the "context, culture and language", isn't the Church the needed authority?
I started channel surfing when the PBS documentary started showing a goofy photographer who's life mission was to photograph dancing men, and came across a very fascinating documentary on the History Channel talked of the banned books of the Bible.
The show's first 30 minutes discussed how the acts of a rich man Marcion and his rejection of the Scripture at the time (i.e., the Old Testament) is one of the factors that spurred the early Church to begin reviewing which books were authorized and which were heretical.
This hit close to home, as so many people in our Church blindly believe Sola Scriptura and argue the Bible has authority over the Nicene Creed and other fundamentals of the early Church. How does this make sense, when those same Councils were the ones instrumental in shaping the New Testament we know today?
To end with yet another quote:
That's from Barack Obama during the campaign in New Hampshire, and I know he wasn't talking about religion. However, the quote definitely applies to our young Church members (both in India and here in the US) - know what you believe in before throwing it away :(
A quote used in the show (paraphrased, as I couldn't find the direct text):
Many people point that this is what the Bible says ... No, this is what the Bible reads. To understand what the Bible says, the reader must understand context, culture and language before really saying they understand the meaning of the words and what it is saying
The sad irony is this was from a pastor of a Church that claims Sola Scriptura. To understand the "context, culture and language", isn't the Church the needed authority?
I started channel surfing when the PBS documentary started showing a goofy photographer who's life mission was to photograph dancing men, and came across a very fascinating documentary on the History Channel talked of the banned books of the Bible.
The show's first 30 minutes discussed how the acts of a rich man Marcion and his rejection of the Scripture at the time (i.e., the Old Testament) is one of the factors that spurred the early Church to begin reviewing which books were authorized and which were heretical.
This hit close to home, as so many people in our Church blindly believe Sola Scriptura and argue the Bible has authority over the Nicene Creed and other fundamentals of the early Church. How does this make sense, when those same Councils were the ones instrumental in shaping the New Testament we know today?
To end with yet another quote:
"If you know who you are, if you know what you believe in, if you know what you are fighting for, then you can afford to listen to folks who don't agree with you, you can afford to reach across the aisle every once in a while"
That's from Barack Obama during the campaign in New Hampshire, and I know he wasn't talking about religion. However, the quote definitely applies to our young Church members (both in India and here in the US) - know what you believe in before throwing it away :(
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