For the last couple weeks, I've written some ecclesial and theological provocations. For the next couple weeks I'm going to focus on spirituality -- namely, prayer -- as well as blogging about other things.
I've got a couple books out that focus specifically on praying the Bible: the first one is about the ancient art of lectio divina; the second about using prayers from the Bible in our daily lives. I'm going to be posting some material from those books here. This, I hope, will generate discussion in the comment section and throughout the blogosphere in a way that the books themselves cannot. Today, a preface to the practice of lectio divina:
A friend of mine calls the Bible "the nonfiction storybook of God's interaction with humankind." Some of us may get hung up on the word storybook, thinking it implies a lack of truth or historicity. But the Bible is a collection of stories, some from the ancient past of Israel and some from the more recent past of Jesus and his early followers. The stories are very much true and very much alive.
The aliveness of the Bible and the stories within it are what sets
Christian Scripture apart from any other book you can buy. One way to understand that way of reading the Bible is
like dissecting an animal in science class. I can remember getting my
formaldehyde-soaked baby pig in tenth-grade biology class. Mainly I
remember the smell! My lab partners and I named him Porky. Porky was
dead, of course. The only way to dissect something is to kill it first.
This is what we often do to the Bible when we get hung up on a word or a phrase or a verse. We deaden the liveliness of the book God has given us when we spend more time reading the notes in our study Bibles than we spend reading the actual text. When we try to freeze the Bible in a certain time period, it becomes like an ancient relic soaked in embalming fluid.
That way of reading the Bible--deadening and then dissecting it--stands in contradiction to
the way Christians have always understood our
sacred book. John Robinson (A.D. 1575-1625) was the pastor of the
Pilgrims before they left on the Mayflower for the New World. His
famous saying summarizes a different way of approaching Scripture:
"There is yet more light and truth to break forth from God's Holy
Word." In other words, God has new things to say to us through the
Bible today. Scripture is not static. It's not like a history textbook
that simply records events from long ago. Instead it's living and
active and has the ability to constantly transform the lives of people.
You might think "the Bible is living" is a weird idea. You might have a Bible near you right now. Look at it. It sits there, inanimate, made of dead trees and maybe bound with the hide of a dead cow. That doesn't seem living in any way. The Bible lives in another sense: because it's God-breathed, it has the ability to breathe God's Spirit into us. God's Spirit hovered over the face of the turbulent waters in Genesis and brought order out of chaos. God's Spirit gave Jesus the power to heal people who were suffering. And God's Spirit blew into the upper room where the Disciples were gathered and blew them out into the streets where they proclaimed the good news and started healing people themselves. This same Spirit indwells the Bible today, gives the Bible power, and guides us in our interpretation of God's Word.
Think of it this way: The belief of Christ-followers is that, though the Bible is done being written, it's not done writing. The Bible writes its truths on our hearts, speaking its words constantly into new situations, new times, and new cultures. God's Spirit is alive and well and enables us to read the Bible in faith. No other book can make that claim.
If you want to read more, I invite you to check out Divine Intervention: Encountering God through the Ancient Practice of Lectio Divina.
This is what we often do to the Bible when we get hung up on a word or a phrase or a verse. We deaden the liveliness of the book God has given us when we spend more time reading the notes in our study Bibles than we spend reading the actual text. When we try to freeze the Bible in a certain time period, it becomes like an ancient relic soaked in embalming fluid.
That way of reading the Bible--deadening and then dissecting it--stands in contradiction to
the way Christians have always understood our
sacred book. John Robinson (A.D. 1575-1625) was the pastor of the
Pilgrims before they left on the Mayflower for the New World. His
famous saying summarizes a different way of approaching Scripture:
"There is yet more light and truth to break forth from God's Holy
Word." In other words, God has new things to say to us through the
Bible today. Scripture is not static. It's not like a history textbook
that simply records events from long ago. Instead it's living and
active and has the ability to constantly transform the lives of people.You might think "the Bible is living" is a weird idea. You might have a Bible near you right now. Look at it. It sits there, inanimate, made of dead trees and maybe bound with the hide of a dead cow. That doesn't seem living in any way. The Bible lives in another sense: because it's God-breathed, it has the ability to breathe God's Spirit into us. God's Spirit hovered over the face of the turbulent waters in Genesis and brought order out of chaos. God's Spirit gave Jesus the power to heal people who were suffering. And God's Spirit blew into the upper room where the Disciples were gathered and blew them out into the streets where they proclaimed the good news and started healing people themselves. This same Spirit indwells the Bible today, gives the Bible power, and guides us in our interpretation of God's Word.
Think of it this way: The belief of Christ-followers is that, though the Bible is done being written, it's not done writing. The Bible writes its truths on our hearts, speaking its words constantly into new situations, new times, and new cultures. God's Spirit is alive and well and enables us to read the Bible in faith. No other book can make that claim.
If you want to read more, I invite you to check out Divine Intervention: Encountering God through the Ancient Practice of Lectio Divina.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
First, I confess that I'm new to (and therefore, very cautious toward) the "emergent church". But, I seek to be more open and to learn from the entire Body of Christ. Therefore, I confess that I approached your blog and your article today with a preconceived idea of what you were going to say. I was very wrong. Forgive me.
Secondly, I serve in a denomination that is charismatic/evangelical/liturgical/sacramental in its worship and calling. I believe that the "ancient paths" provide a safe, tested, and proven way of following Christ. Therefore, once again, I expected "emergent Christians" to be trying to "re-invent the wheel", i.e., to re-invent the Church. While there may be some that do this, I was pleasantly surprised to find you reaching back into church history and ancient practices in order to strengthen the modern soul. Once again, I was wrong in my preconceived idea and I was wrong. Please forgive me.
Finally, I enjoyed your article very much. I have subscribed to your blog and look forward to reading more. God bless you!
Everyone not suffering from the mental illness caused by religious brainwashing knows that prayer is just talking to your self. There is no good evidence that any prayer has ever been heard or answered. Those not brainwashed can see the Bible’s many impossibilities, misperceptions and blatant lies. I studied and researched the Bible for several years and wrote a book titled, The Gospel Truth: A Reality Check. You can check it out by going to the website:
http://www.eloquentbooks.com/TheGospelTruth-ARealityCheck.html
First Class post Brother keep up this great work
wait, what? you're a Christian?! how could this be?! ;)
Tony, you walk in a gifting you may not even be aware of. It is evident in this post. You continue to inspire and amaze me, and I thank you for what you contribute to my walk with Jesus.
Lord, thank you for the work you are doing in Tony's life, and in the lives of many through him. Amen.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.