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Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The Year of Living Biblically Week 3
The Year of Living Biblically is a humor-filled, yet fantastic entry point into a discussion of biblical interpretation. Hopefully you've been enjoying the book! Even if you haven't read it, here are a few questions to get at how interpretation shapes our lives:

1. What's one contemporary issue about which you have changed your mind?

A) Did experience cause you to reexamine your biblical understanding or did your biblical understanding cause you to reshape your approach to the issue?

2. What do you think is the most commonly misunderstood/misinterpreted bible passage?

A) What are your feelings toward people who hold this view with which you disagree?
B) What do you think is the best way of approaching touchy yet important topics with others of varying persuasions?

3. What do you think is the most damaging or dangerous widely-held misunderstanding about the bible as a whole or a specific scripture, in your opinion?

4. What has been the most life-giving practice/belief/way of being in the world you have gleaned from the bible?

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posted by Jemila Kwon at 5:53 PM ¤ Permalink ¤


5 Comments:


  • At 4/15/2008 09:03:00 PM, Blogger thedailylily

    To answer #2: John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."
    An excellent blog on this verse is entitled "How Free Are You" on the www.thedailylily.com.

     

  • At 4/16/2008 09:52:00 AM, Blogger Nancy

    I'm not even half-way finished with the book but am thoroughly enjoying it. Addressing the humor in this book: I loved how AJ described his attempt to obey the OT command to stone adulterers. I was a laughing out loud!

    He perfectly makes the point about how impossible it is to take the Bible literally and to be able to follow all its rules. I'm looking forward tor eading about his last 3 months, when he focuses on the NT.

     

  • At 4/17/2008 07:15:00 AM, Blogger Nancy

    In answer to #4 - The most freeing belief from the Bible for me is that Jesus is the "Truth, the Way and the Life"...which implies to me that my "Truth" comes through relationship with Jesus, not some intellectual process that goes by names that I rarely can keep straight. It frees me from all the theological splits and debate because I can simply choose to believe that Jesus is all I need. As Jesus suggested, a child-like belief will help more than sophisticated academic understanding. And the more I rely on Jesus and choose to try to follow his ways and his Creed, the more in harmony I will be with God.

    This has been a powerful and freeing thing for me. It is way too easy to get distracted by all the arguments about systems of study and so forth...and while they are interesting and can be helpful in fleshing out the Bible, in the end, it is most helpful to me to get back to basics and just let Jesus speak to me. Not that obeying his commands is so simple a thing but I feel deeply inmy soul that loving God and others serves as the compass for all the questions about which way to go in our lives. Half the battle is just stopping to think long enough to ask the questions...which way is most loving to God, others, and self? Then one has to always be alert to the biases of pride and self-interest that influence how we might answer such questions.

     

  • At 4/17/2008 01:26:00 PM, Blogger Jemila Kwon

    Nancy, as always, beautifully expressed. I love the way you tap into the sense in which it is in abiding in Jesus, rather than believing something about Jesus that is "all we need."

     

  • At 6/09/2023 08:06:00 PM, Anonymous Nachos Recipes

    Thanks ggreat post

     
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