Mike Cope has a recent series of interesting posts about the Bible. These are the kind of details that, I think, are typically not considered or ignored or glossed over by most of us most of the time. They shouldn't be. The B-I-B-L-E #1 - The Bible has to be Interpreted The B-I-B-L-E #2 - People Wrote the Bible The B-I-B-L-E #3 - the Bible wasn't written to me The B-I-B-L-E #4 - the Bible didn't come rolling off the presses as a single volume
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re: The B - I - B - L - E
Morning Jonathan. Interesting blog. I assume Pastor Mike is a Church of Christ pastor. Coming from a different Christian background (Baptist and now Lutheran) all these shocking Bible "discoveries" by Pastor Mike are covered in Lutheran confirmation classes in middle school. One thing he misses is that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Quite a bit of time and effort goes into nit picking when the real message is faith in Christ Jesus. His death for the forgiveness of our sins and his resurrection that guarantees life enternal with God through our faith. Quite simple. I'll find a copy of Luther's catechism. You might find it an interesting read.
re: The B - I - B - L - E
Yep, Mike Cope is a fairly famous church of Christ minister. He's probably the most well-known face of the more progressive/liberal wing of the churches of Christ. Therefore, he's liked by many and disliked by many.And you're right...in the general context of Biblical interpretation the points he raises in the post would likely cause you to say, "duh!" However, in the context of the churches of Christ, slogans like "speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent" and "command, example, or necessary inference" (as sources of authority) have generally been the norm with, perhaps, not much consideration given to the role of culture in interpretation, for example. We tend to think of the scriptures as written directly by God and directly to us...instead of being written by men, as they were inspired by God, to people at a specific time in a specific culture to address specific purposes. It seems that picking nits has been our specialty. So, growing up in that background, the first time you hear about some of concepts Cope highlights it can be a surprise. Inspiration of the scriptures by God is a given. On the continutation of theological perspective, the churches of Christ (either the progressive or traditional camp) are Biblical literalists.Of course, these are sweeping generalizations about the churches of Christ, and one person's nit is another person's salvation issue. Cope would probably be considered a leader of the movement within the c of c to focus on the real message and not the nits.