that he loved the same way a fierce warrior fights
that he loved the same way a skilled musician plays
that he loved the same way a master teacher teaches
that he loved the same way a talented artist creates
that he loved the same way an intelligent scholar studies
If I can't be remembered as intelligent, talented, masterful, skilled, or fierce, then let it be known that I loved
It seems to me that there's plenty of the rest
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
So here it is!
I've not only got it on my blog now, but it's up in my Google Docs as well. Which is awesome, because I am loving Google Docs.
Any way, I have a couple of things to say before the main event:
1) I'm terrible at English. This is my third time in English 101, and it's taken me that long to get it right. Don't expect this to be an earth shattering work.
B) I had a teeny tine word count limit, so I couldn't put all of the things in here that I wanted. I had to cut it down to "Here's what to do," and leave most of the "Here's why you should do it," on the cutting room floor.
Well, any way, here it is...
Defining the Blanks to be Filled
In America, there are few people who are unfamiliar with The Bible. For better or for worse, our nation is saturated with its influences on Western culture. I say for better or for worse, because I must admit that there are adverse effects that the Bible has had on our culture. However, most, if not all of these adversities have sprung from misconceptions brought on by a lack of context. Reading biblical stories out of context changes the meanings and messages that the authors originally intended to communicate. In order to place these stories back into their defining contexts, we must know the author, his intended audience, and the bigger picture that the lessons of the Bible fit into. This is not merely a matter of “filling in the blanks,” it is a matter of figuring out what exactly the blanks are.
If you don’t know the author, then you can’t fully know his message. When the author writes, he writes through a set of assumptions and world views that aren’t necessarily conscious. These assumptions and world views are some of the blanks that we, as responsible students, must define, because if we do not define them we will always read his writings through the lenses of our own schema. Ben Witherington III, renowned theologian and professor at Asbury Theological Seminary says this of such assumptions, “To the extent that each human being is a product of a particular environment, culture, language group, education, and social and religious upbringing, this assumption is manifestly false,” (17). We can begin to understand this author’s schema, the way he views the world around him and the assumptions he makes about it, by learning about his history. You should understand where he’s coming from, where he is when he wrote the work, where he intends to be in the future, and where he actually ends up. His experiences will shape the way that he views the world, just like our experiences shape the way we view the world. The author’s writing styles and literary tools will also influence the way we understand his work. Artistic writing styles, such as poetry and “once upon a time” type stories, do not always necessitate a literal interpretation. It is especially important to know the author’s culture and beliefs, as these will clearly have the most effect on what he says and how he says it.
The same way you know the author, you must know his audience. The author will understand his audience because the author is always tied to his audience in some intimate way. Moses wrote to the Hebrew people, and he was their leader. Paul wrote to the Gentile people, and he shared intimate ties with them through his Roman citizenship, Greek education, and the fact that he was raised in a gentile city outside of Palestine. Such ties between the author and their intended audience are present in nearly every area of the books of the Bible. That understanding of the audience is another blank that we must define. Bruce Metzger, who was a professor emeritus for Princeton Theological Seminary and widely recognized as the leading expert in canonical studies, says, “It is not too much to say that every serious attempt to understand the Scriptures must be historically oriented. Only by being acquainted with the political, social, and religious background of the biblical era can the student understand the allusions to the contemporary culture that the biblical writers assume will be obvious to their readers.” (13). It is important to understand the history of the audience like it is important to understand the history of the author. Where did they come from? Where are they at the time they receive this book or letter? Where do they want to be in their future and where are they actually going to end up? The answers we find to these questions will influence how we interpret the message they were given. More importantly than these, in Metzger’s opinion, is the cultural context and religious beliefs of the day. He says, “Although it is needful for the student of the New Testament to know something of the political and social conditions of Palestinian Judaism outlined in the previous chapter, it is even more necessary to be acquainted with the cultural and religious background of Jesus and his contemporaries,” (43). While it is clear that Metzger wrote this specifically about the New Testament, it is true universally throughout the Bible, and will change the way we view the work at hand.
Once you know the author and his audience, the message is still meaningless unless you fir them and the scripture you are looking at into an even bigger context. The passage of scripture you are looking at needs to be placed into the context of the rest of the author’s writings. Does it blend well with them, or is there inconsistency and conflict? If there is inconsistency, what is it and may there be a reason or purpose for it? What does it reveal about the author’s beliefs? This will change the way we interpret the message even more. Similarly, it is important to place it into the context of the entire Bible, and not just the author’s contribution to it. After all of this is completed and you have in your mind a clear and accurate interpretation of the message that was meant to be conveyed, there is one final and most important question to ask. There is one final blank that has been left undefined. “What does this mean to me?” The world we live in today is most different from the world of the biblical era. How might these differences affect the way we apply the message to our own lives? This question is the most important of all, because unless we apply what we are intended to learn, then the purpose of the message is utterly lost on us.
If a student will follow this short and simple guide, they will come a great deal closer to placing the books of the Bible into their all important context. If their readings lack the proper context, then they will find themselves in lack of the proper meanings and messages, because context is what defines their meaning. It is the responsibility of the student to find out this context, and find out the meaning that it gives these stories and messages.
Works Cited
Metzger, Bruce M. The New Testament: It’s Background, Growth, and Content. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003
Witherington III, Ben. The Paul Quest: The Renewed Search for the Jew of Tarsus.
Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1998
Any way, I have a couple of things to say before the main event:
1) I'm terrible at English. This is my third time in English 101, and it's taken me that long to get it right. Don't expect this to be an earth shattering work.
B) I had a teeny tine word count limit, so I couldn't put all of the things in here that I wanted. I had to cut it down to "Here's what to do," and leave most of the "Here's why you should do it," on the cutting room floor.
Well, any way, here it is...
Defining the Blanks to be Filled
In America, there are few people who are unfamiliar with The Bible. For better or for worse, our nation is saturated with its influences on Western culture. I say for better or for worse, because I must admit that there are adverse effects that the Bible has had on our culture. However, most, if not all of these adversities have sprung from misconceptions brought on by a lack of context. Reading biblical stories out of context changes the meanings and messages that the authors originally intended to communicate. In order to place these stories back into their defining contexts, we must know the author, his intended audience, and the bigger picture that the lessons of the Bible fit into. This is not merely a matter of “filling in the blanks,” it is a matter of figuring out what exactly the blanks are.
If you don’t know the author, then you can’t fully know his message. When the author writes, he writes through a set of assumptions and world views that aren’t necessarily conscious. These assumptions and world views are some of the blanks that we, as responsible students, must define, because if we do not define them we will always read his writings through the lenses of our own schema. Ben Witherington III, renowned theologian and professor at Asbury Theological Seminary says this of such assumptions, “To the extent that each human being is a product of a particular environment, culture, language group, education, and social and religious upbringing, this assumption is manifestly false,” (17). We can begin to understand this author’s schema, the way he views the world around him and the assumptions he makes about it, by learning about his history. You should understand where he’s coming from, where he is when he wrote the work, where he intends to be in the future, and where he actually ends up. His experiences will shape the way that he views the world, just like our experiences shape the way we view the world. The author’s writing styles and literary tools will also influence the way we understand his work. Artistic writing styles, such as poetry and “once upon a time” type stories, do not always necessitate a literal interpretation. It is especially important to know the author’s culture and beliefs, as these will clearly have the most effect on what he says and how he says it.
The same way you know the author, you must know his audience. The author will understand his audience because the author is always tied to his audience in some intimate way. Moses wrote to the Hebrew people, and he was their leader. Paul wrote to the Gentile people, and he shared intimate ties with them through his Roman citizenship, Greek education, and the fact that he was raised in a gentile city outside of Palestine. Such ties between the author and their intended audience are present in nearly every area of the books of the Bible. That understanding of the audience is another blank that we must define. Bruce Metzger, who was a professor emeritus for Princeton Theological Seminary and widely recognized as the leading expert in canonical studies, says, “It is not too much to say that every serious attempt to understand the Scriptures must be historically oriented. Only by being acquainted with the political, social, and religious background of the biblical era can the student understand the allusions to the contemporary culture that the biblical writers assume will be obvious to their readers.” (13). It is important to understand the history of the audience like it is important to understand the history of the author. Where did they come from? Where are they at the time they receive this book or letter? Where do they want to be in their future and where are they actually going to end up? The answers we find to these questions will influence how we interpret the message they were given. More importantly than these, in Metzger’s opinion, is the cultural context and religious beliefs of the day. He says, “Although it is needful for the student of the New Testament to know something of the political and social conditions of Palestinian Judaism outlined in the previous chapter, it is even more necessary to be acquainted with the cultural and religious background of Jesus and his contemporaries,” (43). While it is clear that Metzger wrote this specifically about the New Testament, it is true universally throughout the Bible, and will change the way we view the work at hand.
Once you know the author and his audience, the message is still meaningless unless you fir them and the scripture you are looking at into an even bigger context. The passage of scripture you are looking at needs to be placed into the context of the rest of the author’s writings. Does it blend well with them, or is there inconsistency and conflict? If there is inconsistency, what is it and may there be a reason or purpose for it? What does it reveal about the author’s beliefs? This will change the way we interpret the message even more. Similarly, it is important to place it into the context of the entire Bible, and not just the author’s contribution to it. After all of this is completed and you have in your mind a clear and accurate interpretation of the message that was meant to be conveyed, there is one final and most important question to ask. There is one final blank that has been left undefined. “What does this mean to me?” The world we live in today is most different from the world of the biblical era. How might these differences affect the way we apply the message to our own lives? This question is the most important of all, because unless we apply what we are intended to learn, then the purpose of the message is utterly lost on us.
If a student will follow this short and simple guide, they will come a great deal closer to placing the books of the Bible into their all important context. If their readings lack the proper context, then they will find themselves in lack of the proper meanings and messages, because context is what defines their meaning. It is the responsibility of the student to find out this context, and find out the meaning that it gives these stories and messages.
Works Cited
Metzger, Bruce M. The New Testament: It’s Background, Growth, and Content. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003
Witherington III, Ben. The Paul Quest: The Renewed Search for the Jew of Tarsus.
Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1998
So, I may be a Christian...
But I've got this problem with procrastination.
I have the paper, it's on my jumpdrive, and it will be up on this blogg before I go to sleep tonight.
The only reason I post a blog to tell you that is because now I'm obligated to do it.
^_^
I have the paper, it's on my jumpdrive, and it will be up on this blogg before I go to sleep tonight.
The only reason I post a blog to tell you that is because now I'm obligated to do it.
^_^
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
So, I wrote a paper in English
It's about how to responsibly interperet the Bible. My teacher thinks I'm the most amazing thing ever, and so I cam pretty much do what I want and get away with it, including writing about God if I do it right.
Like, on one of the tests, I didn't know the answer, so I put a sarcastic kind of joke instead. I still got credit for that.
Any way, the highest possibl score was a 110. And I got a 109.
She was handing the papers back and sayd that my paper was excelent and told the other students to read it if they want an example of how it's done.
Like, on one of the tests, I didn't know the answer, so I put a sarcastic kind of joke instead. I still got credit for that.
Any way, the highest possibl score was a 110. And I got a 109.
She was handing the papers back and sayd that my paper was excelent and told the other students to read it if they want an example of how it's done.
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