Transforming Scripture: The Episcopal Church of the 21st Century (Transformations) - Softcover

Wade, Frank

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0898695945 ISBN 13: 9780898695946

Verlag: Church Publishing, 2008

Inhaltsangabe

At once “travel guide” and vision for the future, the Transformation series is good news for the Episcopal Church at a time of fast and furious demographic and social change. Series contributors - recognized experts in their fields - analyze our present plight, point to the seeds of change already at work transforming the church, and outline a positive new way forward. What kinds of churches are most ready for transformation? What are the essential tools? What will give us strength, direction, and purpose to the journey?

Each volume of the series will:

• Explain why a changed vision is essential
• Give robust theological and biblical foundations
• Offer a guide to best practices and positive trends in churches large and small.
• Describe the necessary tools for change
• Imagine how transformation will look

How can we open ourselves to the transforming energy of the Bible, and how can we become biblically literate? How do we read the Bible as a “revealed text,” the Word of God, in a church and culture as diverse as ours, without pain and division? These are some of the questions Wade asks about Episcopalians and the Bible. The 21st century church has commitments to diversity and evangelism, a responsibility to interpret the meaning of life for people whose lives are longer than ever before, and a need to speak to the emerging culture of the future generations. We must allow ourselves to be transformed by Scripture as never before.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Frank Wade is the former rector of St. Alban's Church in Washington, DC, and a noted preacher and conference leader. He lives in Washington, DC.

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Transforming Scripture

By FRANK WADE

Church Publishing Incorporated

Copyright © 2008 Frank Wade
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-89869-594-6

Contents

Series Preface.............................................................
vii
Acknowledgments............................................................
ix
1. The Bible as Meeting Ground.............................................
1
2. The Art of Effective Bible Study........................................
32
3. Surveying the Methods...................................................
57
4. Rethinking Our Attitudes................................................
97
5. Stories from the Meeting Ground.........................................
124
A Guide for Discussion.....................................................
139
Resources..................................................................
145
Notes and Sources..........................................................
149

Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

The Bible as Meeting Ground

In 1699 the Bishop of London dispatched the Reverend Thomas Bray to the wilds ofMaryland to see how the Anglican Church was doing. His report, dated 1701, waspessimistic: "They are in very much want of instruction in the Christianreligion, and in some of them utterly destitute of the same." To Bray'scredit he addressed the problem by establishing the Society for the Propagationof the Gospel, which provided missionary support throughout the British Empireand continues to serve to this day, but success in biblical literacy continuesto elude Episcopalians just as it does the rest of the population of the UnitedStates. Stephen Prothero, historian of religion and popular culture at BostonUniversity, tells us in Religious Literacy that while Americans hold the mostwidespread belief in the supernatural of any developed country, we are the mostreligiously ignorant in the Western world. A recent Gallup poll contains thestark revelation that we remain "a nation of biblical illiterates," withhalf of our adult population unable to name even one of the four gospels. Ifthis is the result of three centuries of teaching, it might be time for adifferent approach.

There is good news and bad news about the way Episcopalians approach HolyScripture. The good news is that we who worship weekly and on the feast days ofthe church probably hear more scripture read and expounded upon—in prayers,sermons, and hymns—than many other mainline Protestants. The bad news is thatour once-a-week (at best) liturgical engagement with scripture is all mostEpiscopalians get. This is something most of us know to be true. Indeed, ourlack of disciplined scriptural engagement is one of the inside jokes mostEpiscopalians chuckle about in moments of self-deprecating honesty.

Most Episcopalians will readily admit to not knowing the scriptures. Some willeven describe a personal reluctance to engage the Bible in disciplined study forreasons ranging from simple apathy to a complex and fearful aversion. Notsurprisingly, the 1999 Zaccheus Report by the Episcopal Church Foundationaffirmed that the scriptures are clearly less central to the faith life of themajority of Episcopalians than the Prayer Book, hymnal, and Holy Eucharist.

In this book I will consider some of the reasons why to this day Episcopaliansare still "in very much want of instruction" in the Bible, as well as insome of the foundations upon which a new and transformative approach could bebased. Beginning with past and current approaches to scripture in our church, Iwill suggest a new emphasis that may allow the Bible to bear more fruit in usnow than it has in the past. I say "emphasis" rather than "technique"because I think this is more a matter of soul and heart than of method, eventhough the right tools are important. (We will look at some of these later on.)So recognizing that we are a people who like to "cut to the chase," I amgoing to summarize in the briefest possible terms just what that emphasis willbe. That way you can have some idea of where we are going, and we can traveltogether harmoniously without worrying too much about the destination.

where we are going

Christianity is not basically a philosophy or a body of knowledge but a way ofliving in which we meet and experience the living God. Consequently its primaryresource, the Bible, misses its potential when it is considered apart fromliving our lives in relationship with God. The Bible is a meeting ground whereour spiritual ancestors have gone for the past several thousand years toencounter the Lord and see their lives deepened and directed in accordance withGod's priorities. The "meeting" which takes place in these holy texts hasconsistently proven to contain infinite human value, even as our perceptions andunderstandings of the "meeting ground" have changed. The study of scriptureprovides us with a guidebook to this place of meeting, telling us of origins,interpretations, and nuances that help us to hear the Word the Lord is speaking.In the same way that a museum audio-tour helps us to observe a painting all themore closely, or a theater program helps us to understand a play, Bible studyopens us to the fullest experience of God in scripture. It is possible to be sopoorly prepared and biblically illiterate that we can hear almost nothing fromGod, while the clamor of our culture comes through loud and clear. And it ispossible for the wrong kind of study to make the encounter so full of bits ofinformation that we hear nothing but reverberations and echoes—think of arestaurant with so much rattle and clatter that conversation is reduced to lipreading.

The whole point of the religious enterprise is to be in a right relationshipwith God. William James wrote over a century ago in The Varieties of ReligiousExperience that religious belief, Christianity included, holds that "there issomething wrong with us as we naturally stand" and that "we are saved fromthat wrongness by making proper connection with the higher powers." Ourapproach to the Bible must reach for that "proper connection" or there is noreason to approach it all.

While our "want of instruction" is still daunting, this book will show thatwe are perfectly poised to alter our course and make the desired connection. Iwill take a candid look at the issues that seem to confuse our church, and thenconsider the theological foundations that have been provided for us by ourforebears—as well as what our contemporaries have built upon them with renewedBible study methods and systems. I want to show how our best traditions can beextended into the twenty-first century, allowing us to be sufficiently informedand enriched by scripture to let the soul of Thomas Bray rest more easily.

Now that you have some idea of where we are going, let's consider what isinvolved in getting there.

challenges from the culture

I grew up in West Virginia just after World War II. An annual feature of publicschool life was a Christmas pageant: shepherds in potato sacks, citizens inbathrobes, kings swathed in bolts of cloth, angels in white, and seriouscompetition over the roles of Gabriel and Mary. During the year, those who choseto were allowed to leave school early and walk across town to the MethodistChurch for classes titled "Religious Education." This was, of course, morean education by the dominant culture than...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Church Publishing
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2008
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0898695945
• ISBN 13: 9780898695946
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 160
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: preigu; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; 49078; Deutschland