Marcus is introduced with a question about reconciling what he knew to be true from his youth in the church with the new things he was learning when he went away to college. Marcus begins by talking about his Lutheran upbringing and the literal-ism of his understanding of the bible. He learned about the bible with pre-critical-naivete where he took the bible to be true because his authority figures believed it to be true. At this point Marcus finds himself in post-critical-affirmation. He understands that the stories are not literally true but finds the truths in the parables without being concerned with the factual accounts.
Do you have any suggestions for looking at the bible anew?
- It’s not very helpful to read the bible a verse at a time over the course of a year.
- The most important role of biblical interpretation is context. The bible comes to us from our religious ancestors, to interpret the bible without contextual understanding is very hazardous.
- It is important to remember that the bible is long. It’s not adequate to quote a single verse to settle a matter. There are passages that affirm slavery and the subordination of women that we no longer affirm today. Be careful of a false reverence of the bible.
What venues are the most valuable for Christian education?
Adult theological re-education at the parish level is very important. Sermons where scripture is interpreted is probably of most importance
What are the blind spots of the conservative reading of scripture?
Most Protestants in America teach biblical infallibility. This idea has only really been around for the last 150 years.
People believe the bible was written to us and for us, when really they were written by ancient communities for ancient communities.
Mainline Christianity has claimed the bible while Marcus hopes to regain the bible and scripture for more spacious Christianity.
How do we read scripture with integrity and for transformation?
The primary reason scripture can change us is because it can effect the way we see the world and our understanding and views of social justice, meaning economic fairness. It might change the way we see how we live in this country. It can change the way we understand our identity.
Marcus closes with a discussion about his experiences in the developing world and how the spirituality and cultural values of South Africa differed greatly from the white European values.