Today I leave for a week to take a seminary class at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, MO. We are taking NT Survey with Dr. Greg Perry. Should be a great class. I'll report on any reflections along the way.
Part of the classwork was to be done before we get there. The majority of this was our assignment to read the whole NT in 30 days (10 chapters a day or so) and respond to various reflection questions. Up until now I had never read the Bible this way and it has proved very helpful. Reading 10 chapters at a time (in one sitting) really gives you a chance to follow the author's train of thought and think his thoughts after him. The big themes can be seen with clarity and you really get a sense that you grasp his main points. Give it a shot sometime, it's a great exercise. I fear that we tend too often to read little portions of scripture which certainly can glean truth, but out of context does not lead us to how one verse can fit into the whole of the author's intent. Context, context, context...
4 comments:
Would you say that perhaps the "truth" gleaned out of context is at best a "truth" not fully understood, or even not properly understood, because it is not fully and properly contextualized?
Is the importance of context something we selectively determine, or is context always necessary for proper interpretation? If we pick and choose when context is important, what are the criteria? Does context just surface when there are interpretive problems, or a disagreement over interpretation? (e.g. "You're wrong because you are taking Paul's statement out of context...."). When these issues are not at hand, does context just slip into the background?
I promise asking these questions will lead to people raising their voices in the classroom.
Here's a great book on this issue:
"Scripture as Communication" by Jeannine Brown (Baker Academic, 2006). You really should read it, when you have time. If you want, I'll just send you a copy.
I would highly encourage you to read the entire Bible - not just the NT - that way. There is nothing like reading entire books in one or two sittings, in order to get the big picture and understand the context better. It is well worth it.
I suspect Zach knows that...
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