"To interpret the Bible truly, then, we must do more than string together individual propositions like beads on a string. This takes us only as far as fortune cookie theology, to a practice of breaking open Scripture in order to find the message contained within. What gets lost in propositionalist interpretation are the circumstances of the statement, its poetic and affective elements, and even, then, a dimension of its truth. We do less than justice to Scripture if we preach and teach only its propositional content. Information alone is insufficient for spirital formation. We need to get beyond 'cheap innerancy,' beyond ascribing accolades to the Bible to understanding what the Bible is actually saying, beyond professing biblical truth to practicing it."
-----Kevin J. Vanhoozer, from "Lost in Interpretation? Truth, Scripture and Hermeneutics" in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (March 2005)
3 comments:
Wow! "Fortune cookie theology"... very descriptive. This guy knows what's up, and should with a name like Vanhoozer.
i was just having a similar discussion last night. and i read your thoughts on Radiohead's OK Computer. i feel like you are a member of my own personal ka-tet where thousands live around this world thinking and being aware of all the same things, troubled by all of the same what-ifs, and cursed with the wisdom that our what-ifs are the most plausible outcomes of society's various destinies.
i have been tortured with these thoughts since i was a very young child.
i grew up on a sailboat with my father and our house was in front of the county's largest cemetery (my playground). i played go-fish with my great grandmother every time i was at home (on land) and had to learn to readjust when she died.
my father and i would watch meteor showers and eclipses.
he would say, "how big do you think the universe is?"
and i would say, "big!"
he would say, "do you think you could measure it?"
and i would say, "no way."
he would say, "well, how can you call something 'big', which is a measurement, if you can't measure it?"
and i would say, "maybe it ends somewhere."
and then he would say, "what would make it end? a wall? if so, what would be on the other side of the wall?"
..
i think about energy and what makes the street lamps blow out at random when i drive under them, and if it means anything.
i've seen that strange bird in the sky and wondered if it was watching.
all of these feelings are truly just feelings of knowing that something just isn't right.
the whinier or more a.d.d. a child is, the more i know that they are neglected (moreso than their parents realize).
standing in a retail store, overhearing a mother scorn her son for doing something out-of-line.
keep your ducks in line. send them into the education factory so that they can come out more confused and more lost on the other side.
some of them having completely shed their skin of who they truly are, never knowing when this shedding took place - was it gradual? or did it happen overnight?
i held on tight, all throughout my school life, knowing that there were better ways to educate the people.
i found it quite sneaky (snake-like) that all throughout my education i was never taught to cultivate my own land or build my own home or be self-sufficient.
i was taught to depend and become a slave to this society.
i felt "the big brainwash" all around me, and how each day was spent SITTING in a classroom as we got fat and lazy... and depressed.
you should look up "allison slade" and learn about the school that she opened up in chicago.
she is definitely a quiet member of our underground ka-tet.
i wonder if we'll ever win this thing... this awakening.
you should take a peak at my band on YouTube ("Stella Noir").
most of my songs are about waking up.
for example: "No Surprise"
"carrion, carry it to the sun,
but don't ever learn to fly.
slowly memories return to me,
a way i once saw everything
shines its face now & then,
and i don't remember even if
only for an instant.
no alarm will ever wake up all this sleep,
so for now i pray the lord my soul to keep.
if you find it in your hands,
carry it far away before you
rid yourself of all of this.
throwing it down,
will only bring it back up,
and back into the world
you silently dismiss.
shake me, make me, take the time to find a way to wake.
if i die before that happens,
i pray the lord my soul to take.
no words of wisdom will ever open all these eyes,
and if the end is made by men it'll come as no surprise.
weary boots, traveling soul pursuit,
and you never knew just how or why
it came to this chance you can't afford to miss to turn it into something, something beautiful!
let it rise above your temporary disguise,
fear in numbers can't stop the slumber, it comes as no...
it comes as no surprise."
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ktnarnia
love,
kt
ktnarnia at gmail dot com
KT, you're an interesting bird. My wife went to Auburn. Did you go there? How did you stumble across my review?
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