Peter Gomes was a very eloquent preacher, and a good writer as well. His best-selling book from the 1990s is entitled The Good Book, and there is a good deal to commend about it. He sanctions careful detailed contextual study of the Bible. For instance, he says….p.12—-” “Bible studies tend to follow this route. The Bible is simply the entry into a discussion about more interesting things , usually about oneself. The text is a mere pretext to other... Read more
BEN: With all this talk about the blasphemy of the Spirit, I kept waiting and waiting for you to deal with Jesus’ trial or hearing before Caiaphas and his tearing of his robes. What I find striking about that story, perhaps especially in Mark, is that Jesus admitting that he is the messiah is not the blasphemy. Jews expected a Davidic messianic figure that would be a human being. Claiming to be him might be delusional but it was not... Read more
The word repentance is bandied about both inside and outside Christian circles with hardly any effort to pause and ask what the term means or entails. In this season of Advent, which is meant to be a time of reflection on our faith leading up to Christmas, it would be well to think more seriously about repentance, not least because, many American Christians have much to repent of for their self-centered non-Christian behavior this year, placing so-called rights over... Read more
Meaning is not in the eye of the beholder, though Lord knows, we are all active readers who bring our ideas and assumptions to the reading of the Bible. Here is another ‘spot on’ quote from Peter Gommes’ The Good Book p.26: “A text may have a life of its own, but that life depends upon the author who gave it life, investing it with an intention, a purpose, and a meaning. The text therefore already participates in something other... Read more
Peter Gommes has many good things to say in his bestseller ‘The Good Book’, not least is what he says on p. 12 about how not and how to do Bible study. “Bible studies tend to follow this route. The Bible is simply the entry into a discussion about more interesting things , usually about oneself. The text is a mere pretext to other matters and usually the routine works like this: A verse or passage is given out,... Read more
At least I’m in good company in having to deal with this question over and over again. BW3 Read more
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