How to Read the Bible - A New Hermeneutic, Part 6

How To Read The Bible - A New Hermeneutic

Part 6

What Works For Me

When Reading the Bible

by R.E. Slater

August 16, 2020

The Many Worlds of Hermeneutics

I originally wrote this piece as a single composition as I did not wish to have any of it read alone in its parts as each part is necessary for the other part. However, it is a long piece and so, with reservations, I have divided it up for the convenience of the reader. But for those who wish to read it as a whole I have left the original intact and titled parts 1-6. Thank you. - res

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Bible Scholar Peter Enns advocates reading the bible around the person and work of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We might also substitute the love of God as a centralizing theme when reading the bible. As such, replacing the bible with God Himself is the nub of the argument. Not binding it to a hermeneutical tradition whether Reformed, Catholic, Jewish, or Islam. But by binding it to the Author of the bible Himself. God is Love and in Love God came to redeem us. His name is Immanuel, Son of God, Christ Jesus, Messiah. By whatever name YHWH is know we know Him as Lover of our souls and our Creator-Redeemer Father-God.

Essentially then, the bible speaks to God Himself, the Author of the bible. Many times the bible is referred to as the Word of God. This means that God has revealed Himself to creation in all that He is. From imbuing God's Self into and through creation (including man) to revealing Himself in manifest ways through oral testimonies which were collected into a set of narratives later to be known first as the Jewish Scriptures and secondly, after God's Incarnation, the Christian Scriptures.

In the Gospel book of John, his opening chapter speaks to Jesus as being the Word of God who revealed God's Self to us even as He was God come in the flesh (incarnation | virgin birth) to testify that God is a God of love come to save the world.

The Deity of Jesus Christ   (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1&version=NASB)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 [a]He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [b]comprehend it.

The Witness John [the Baptist, cf. vv 19ff]

6 There [c]came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 [d]He came [e]as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 [f]He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

9 There was the true Light [g]which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His [h]own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were [i]born, not of [j]blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Word Made Flesh

14 And the Word became flesh, and [k]dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of [l]the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me [m]has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His fullness [n]we have all received, and [o]grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth [p]were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Let's start off then with some quotes by Peter Enns after which we will let Peter explain how to read the bible through the lenses of God's love and Jesus Christ.

R.E. Slater

August 20, 2020

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Quotes by Peter Enns

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Peter Enns_Is the Bible Inerrant?

Peter Enns_Is the Bible Inerrant? from Plain Truth Ministries on Vimeo.

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Amazon Link

How the Bible Actually Works:

In Which I Explain How An Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book

Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers - 

and Why That's Great News

by Peter Enns

February 19, 2019

Hardcover – Illustrated

Controversial evangelical Bible scholar, popular blogger and podcast host of The Bible for Normal People, and author of The Bible Tells Me So and The Sin of Certainty explains that the Bible is not an instruction manual or rule book but a powerful learning tool that nurtures our spiritual growth by refusing to provide us with easy answers but instead forces us to acquire wisdom.

For many Christians, the Bible is a how-to manual filled with literal truths about belief that must be strictly followed. But the Bible is not static, Peter Enns argues. It does not hold easy answers to the perplexing questions and issues that confront us in our daily lives. Rather, the Bible is a dynamic instrument for study that not only offers an abundance of insights but provokes us to find our own answers to spiritual questions, cultivating God’s wisdom within us.

“The Bible becomes a confusing mess when we expect it to function as a rulebook for faith. But when we allow the Bible to determine our expectations, we see that Wisdom, not answers, is the Bible’s true subject matter,” writes Enns. This distinction, he points out, is important because when we come to the Bible expecting it to be a textbook intended by God to give us unwavering certainty about our faith, we are actually creating problems for ourselves. The Bible, in other words, really isn’t the problem; having the wrong expectation is what interferes with our reading.

Rather than considering the Bible as an ancient book weighed down with problems, flaws, and contradictions that must be defended by modern readers, Enns offers a vision of the holy scriptures as an inspired and empowering resource to help us better understand how to live as a person of faith today.

How the Bible Actually Works makes clear that there is no one right way to read the Bible. Moving us beyond the damaging idea that “being right” is the most important measure of faith, Enns’s freeing approach to Bible study helps us to instead focus on pursuing enlightenment and building our relationship with God—which is exactly what the Bible was designed to do.

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How the Bible ACTUALLY Works | God is Grey

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Amazon Link

The Bible Tells Me So:

Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us

Unable to Read It

by Peter Enns

September 9, 2014

The controversial Bible scholar and author of The Evolution of Adam recounts his transformative spiritual journey in which he discovered a new, more honest way to love and appreciate God’s Word.

Trained as an evangelical Bible scholar, Peter Enns loved the Scriptures and shared his devotion, teaching at Westminster Theological Seminary. But the further he studied the Bible, the more he found himself confronted by questions that could neither be answered within the rigid framework of his religious instruction or accepted among the conservative evangelical community.

Rejecting the increasingly complicated intellectual games used by conservative Christians to “protect” the Bible, Enns was conflicted. Is this what God really requires? How could God’s plan for divine inspiration mean ignoring what is really written in the Bible? These questions eventually cost Enns his job—but they also opened a new spiritual path for him to follow.

The Bible Tells Me So chronicles Enns’s spiritual odyssey, how he came to see beyond restrictive doctrine and learned to embrace God’s Word as it is actually written. As he explores questions progressive evangelical readers of Scripture commonly face yet fear voicing, Enns reveals that they are the very questions that God wants us to consider—the essence of our spiritual study.

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Amazon Link

 Genesis for Normal People:

A Guide to the Most Controversial, Misunderstood,

and Abused Book of the Bible (Second Edition w/ Study Guide)

by Authors Peter Enns and Jared Byas

September 18, 2019 

BOOK BLURB

Given the fever-pitched controversies about evolution, Adam and Eve, and scientific evidence for the Flood, the average person might feel intimidated by the book of Genesis. But behind the heady debates is a terrific story-one that anyone can understand, and one that has gripped people for ages.

If you are not a Bible scholar but want to be able to read Genesis and understand its big picture, this brief, witty book is the guide you've been waiting for. Clear summaries and thought-provoking questions provide direction for personal reflection and group discussion.

Peter Enns, a Biblical Studies professor, and Jared Byas, an Old Testament professor, summarize the book's key themes and help us see Genesis as an ancient story, one with continued relevance for human experience today. Genesis for Normal People illuminates the characters that fill the book of Genesis, causing us to resonate with their choices and struggles even as we marvel at their distant world.

And that's what you'll find here-not scientific proof texts or simple moral tales, but a distant world made available, and a story that is often strange, sometimes dangerous, and always filled with rich possibilities. 

WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT GENESIS FOR NORMAL PEOPLE

“This book is a welcome antidote to the mystification about the book of Genesis that goes around. It is accessible for readers who want to take the plunge into this old text. It is gentle in leading readers to a critical sense of the text in response to a “late” trauma in Israel [The Exile]. It is imaginative in its articulation of a book that might otherwise be off-putting. The convergence of accessibility, gentleness, and imagination make this a very fine read.”– Walter Brueggemann, Professor Emeritus, Columbia Theological Seminary

“Genesis for Normal People is the perfect starting point for Christians who want to read the book of Genesis more faithfully and honestly. Enns and Byas break down the history, genre, culture, and context of this fascinating book of the Bible, so that “normal people”—you know, those who can’t read ancient Hebrew—can get a better sense of its purpose, meaning and relevance. The authors manage to simplify without dumbing down, challenge without confusing, and dig for deep truth without compromising their intellectual integrity. A must–read for anyone who care enough about the Bible to want to read and understand it on its own terms.”– Rachel Held Evans, author of A Year of Biblical Womanhood

“The stories in the book of Genesis are among the most well known in the Bible—so much so that it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that Genesis is an ancient document from a cultural setting very different from our own. Enns and Byas have provided a highly readable volume that reminds readers of its reality while explaining the meaning and significance of Genesis in light of its ancient context. An ideal book for individual and study groups interested in understanding Genesis on its own terms.”– John R. Franke, General Coordinator for The Gospel and Our Culture Network

“Evangelical Old Testament scholarship has come of age and is now coming out from behind the shadows of suppression and secrecy. No one represents this fresh coming of age more than Peter Enns, who, with co-author Jared Byas, makes available to any Bible reader a fresh engagement with Genesis—readable, responsible, and recognizably fresh.”– Scot McKnight, Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary

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