Highlights from Last Week’s Discussion
Mark mentioned sharing what we are doing with some of his friends. This led to a discussion of what makes our gatherings meaningful. I acknowledged the role that I play but what really seemed to matter was first a climate of openness in which people feel comfortable saying whatever is on their mind; a free exchange of ideas on topics that matter. That climate is a presence that all have made possible. Tim observed that we have much more discussion than he had experienced in other bible study groups he had been a part of. Brandon observed that we feel free to raise the questions that matter to us.
We next discussed cultural issues that bible presents to us. As we read these passages in Genesis, it is obvious they reveal a past that we don’t always approve of; most evident were the values in a male dominated patriarchal society. For example, none of us approve of a culture in which men own women as their property. But there is a difference between disapproving the values and condemning the persons who held those values or the book in which they are presented. The question is more critical when that book is the book, The Bible, God’s word. How do we handle that? How would you answer that question. Read on …
The bible itself spans centuries and reveals development. From the very beginning the followers of Jesus looked into their scriptures to understand who Jesus was and why things happened as they did for him. It is equally clear that both the Jewish and Islamic communities don’t select the same passages nor understand them in the same way as Christians do. As Christians we believe that the this development is to be judged in the light of Christ. But it is not a development that ended with the writing of the Christian Scriptures.
In fact, we are still struggling to change the values in our family, our community, our nation, and our church in the light of Christ. Our group has recognized this challenge in the value issues around God and Country; we have recognized it as well in the value issues around our sexual life. The real problem arises because the bible can and is used to argue for competing values. Thus there is a need for an adult understanding, a willingness to grow toward meeting the demands of being at the Level of our Times. Our group is about this challenge. Could you name one value issue in our family, and/or our community, nation, and church that is challenging us in the light of Christ?