Randy Wray’s Blog

I’ve enjoyed the Jim McGuiggan book and offer the following suggestion. The book is basically a collection of inspirational stories / messages. I can’t read more than a couple at a time before my mind starts drifting. It might work best for you, should you decide to read the book, if you read a chapter (they are quite short) or two a day as part of a daily reading regimen.

Awkward moment from last nights mid-week tune-up (the new believers class I teach for a group of seasoned believers). We were reading from Ephesians 4 and one of our class members read verse 8 (a quote from Psalm 68:18) from The Message translation of the Bible. A particular word was used that made me snicker.

I wanted to bust out laughing. I did one of those quick glances to see if anyone else noticed and think I covered up “my indiscretion” with a well-timed cough. Here’s the text from The Message. I shouldn’t have to explain what made me snicker. I may, however, need to explain why it made me snicker.

He climbed the high mountain,
He captured the enemy and seized the booty,
He handed it all out in gifts to the people.

Speaking of . . . . reading . . . . I’ve decided to alter my intended reading list (the one I provided at the start of the year) to include some additional scholarly works from a different stack in my bookshelf. I‚Äôm going to begin with Slaves, Women & Homosexuals, Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis.

Here is an excerpt from the foreword:

What do slaves, women and homosexuals have in common? Most would say their humanity — and not much else. But think about the question again. Here are three groups that in one way of another, at one time or another, have been regarded as less than human. In addition, each of these groups has been at the center of theological reflection and debate in the last two centuries.

Many regard these three groups as hermeneutically equal. What we have learned about interpreting slavery texts in Scripture should be applied to our reading of biblical texts about women and homosexuals. But how do we do this? How does one approach the discussion of each group both biblically and culturally? Is the theological hermeneutics surrounding each group really the same?

Slaves, Women & Homosexuals successfully walks the reader through these hermeneutical mazes. The goal is not only to discuss how these groups are to be seen in the light of Scripture but to make a case for a specific hermeneutical approach to reading relevant scriptural texts. Such an approach may enable us to think through the application of Scripture on an even broader array of topics.