Step Number Two
September 11 Therefore, all who are mature, let’s have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that to you as well; Philippians 3:15 NASB
Will reveal – Our previous investigation of this verse challenged us to be tolerant and patient. That’s not easy to do in a world where religions often demand theological conformity. But conformity hasn’t been part of biblical history since the beginning. Conformity is the death of creativity and a mockery of God’s image in Man. Consensus isn’t conformity because consensus requires prior disagreement and subsequent alignment. You can’t dictate consensus. You can dictate conformity.
Peter Enns makes some important observations about the idea of flexibility in the Bible. In his book, The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending the Bible Has Made Us Unable to Read It, he writes:
Seeing God as a character in the story who can be talked to, reasoned with, shows regret, finds out things, and changes his mind can be troubling because it doesn’t sound very much like the sovereign signal-caller of the universe. . . . But this ungodlike God of the Bible gets at the very heart of both Jewish and Christian beliefs about God. This God doesn’t keep his distance but embraces human experience and becomes part of the human story. He is “on the scene” with bracing regularity.[1]
The Bible “partners” with us (so to speak), modeling for us our walk with God in discovering greater depth and maturity on our journey of faith, not by telling us what to do at each step, but by showing us a journey of hills and valleys, straight lines and difficult curves, of new discoveries and insights, of movement and change—with God by our side every step of the way.[2]
Debating the Bible, especially Torah, and coming up with creative readings to address changing times was a mark of faithful Judaism. . . . Remaining faithful to the Bible here and now meant having to be flexible.[3]
If we realize that the Bible is a personal and corporate record of the experience of God’s interaction with human beings, interpreted by those who experienced this involvement, then we will understand that the Bible is not a theological handbook filled with timeless instructions demanding conformity. It is a creative recounting of experiences with the goal of convincing readers that God is personally involved in everyday life. Paul calls this having the same way of living, brought about by progressive changes in thought and behavior. This is a far cry from creeds or statements of faith, fossilized declarations wedded to particular times and cultures. Maybe we should keep that in mind as part of our “attitude.”
Topical Index: attitude, phronéō, common mind, Peter Enns, Philippians 3:15
[1] Peter Enns, The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending the Bible Has Made Us Unable to Read It, p. 158.
[2] Ibid, pp. 163-164.
[3] Ibid, p. 174.
Yes… and amen! A creative recounting of experiences with the goal of proclaiming— testifying— that God is personally involved in everyday life! Emet! (And particularly… he is personally involved in the everyday life experiences of inexplicable tragedy… thanks be to God!)
My soul weeps because of grief;
strengthen me according to your word. (Psalm 119:28)
Jesus wept. (John 11:35)
And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes,
and death will not exist any longer,
and mourning or wailing or pain will not exist any longer.
The former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:24)
“Our previous investigation of this verse challenged us to be tolerant and patient. That’s not easy to do in a world where religions often demand theological conformity. But conformity hasn’t been part of biblical history since the beginning. Conformity is the death of creativity and a mockery of God’s image in Man. Consensus isn’t conformity because consensus requires prior disagreement and subsequent alignment. You can’t dictate consensus. You can dictate conformity.”
“If we realize that the Bible is a personal and corporate record of the experience of God’s interaction with human beings, interpreted by those who experienced this involvement, then we will understand that the Bible is not a theological handbook filled with timeless instructions demanding conformity. It is a creative recounting of experiences with the goal of convincing readers that God is personally involved in everyday life. Paul calls this having the same way of living, brought about by progressive changes in thought and behavior. This is a far cry from creeds or statements of faith, fossilized declarations wedded to particular times and cultures. Maybe we should keep that in mind as part of our “attitude.””
Skip, your intro and conclusion say it all, there is nothing to add. This is primarily why there is so much discord between denominations. The Greek thinking of absolutes and there can only be one right answer. This is what makes it so difficult for those of us with ” progressive changes in thought and behavior ” have a difficult time finding fellowship in a community, even when not judging the community of its ways.