Reading the Bible in Postmodern Contexts

and Concepts Joshva RajaSession 6.

Reading list Richard Bauckham Bible and Mission: Christian

Witness in a Postmodern World. Cumbria: Paternoster Press. 2003. pp.83-110 J Richard Middleton & Brian J W Trugh is

Stranger…pp.85-142. The Bible and Culture Collective (George Aichele

et el) The Postmodern Bible. Yale University Press. 1997. A K M Adam Postmodern Interpretation of the

Bible: A Reader Chalice Press, 2000. David Jobling, Tina Pippin, Ronald Schleifer (ed)

The Postmodern Bible Reader Oxford: Blackwell, 2001.

Interpreting the Bible from God’s viewpoint

Bible – The Word of God = Logos?

Bible

Logos

Historical Question

Bible

HistoryReality

Structuralists Universal Meaning

Meaning within the Structure

Universal Structure and meaning

Postmodern reading

Text

Meanings with people not with text

texts

texts

Bible and MissionRichard Bauckham (sub title -

Christian Witness in the Postmodern World)

9/11 as clash between Global economic liberalism and the Fundamentalism

God is universal Religion is particular?

Bible embodies a movement from particular to Universal

Mission as HermeneuticsParticular to Universal a. temporal

from creation to eschatological –Mission is a movement into a future b. spatial from one place to another place – mission is a movement into new horizons c. people from person to person and from people to people – mission is a movement to new people. (Bauckham)

ExamplesParable of the Seed – Mark 4:26-29 –

Growing from seed to harvest – eschatological

Parable of the Mustard seed – Mark 4:30-33

From one to Many – Abraham From Israel to all nations To all by the way of least

Theologies in the Bible!Adonai/Elohim a Universal God or

God of Israel De 4:35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.

De 4:39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.

God diversifies and includes all? Isa 19:19Isa 19:25 The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.

God is God of particular as well

Movements and Counter movements in Bible

Temple and Tent MovementsPriesthood to Anti-priest movementsMonarchy to Counter movementsJerusalem centred to Samaria and

North

Sin in the BibleCentralisationPower orientationSelf centredMaterialismHomogenisingAbsolutizingJudgingNot responding

Postmodern SpiritualityPaul Heelas and Linda Woodhead,

The Spiritual revolution,‘Life as’ Spirituality to ‘subjective-life’

spiritualityLife as (wife, daughter, teacher and

so on)Subjective life not lived for others’

expectations but to lived to satisfy one’s own self’s needs, desires, relationships…

Antitotalizing Biblical Metanarrative

J Richard Middleton and B J WalshBiblical Narrative (p88ff) – Christian

story works against totalization!Two main cases are: 1. Radical

sensitivity to suffering that pervades the biblical narrative from the exodus to the cross 2.God’s overarching creational intent that delegitimates any narrow partisan use of the story

Atitotalising Mission of JesusBe Holy as I am holy (Lev 19:2)Be merciful as I am Merciful (Lk 6:36)Jesus says love your enemies (Mt

5:43-44)Jesus declared temple as a den of

robbers (Mt 11:17)Jesus movement as counter

movement culmination at the cross

Global Issues and Mission response

Progress attitude – Ecological disaster – Mission response is to develop an Ecological awareness through a theological importance (Ecotheology as Mission response?)

Modernization, liberalzation and human attainment elminate poverty – no mind to share resources – a theology of liberation of the poor! – Let my people go! - Making poverty as History – A Mission response?

Global Issues and Mission 2 Modernisation enable people to murder Female

foeticide through scanners – Abuse of Women are prevalent in the Modernised society – Mission is to provide space for women to raise their voices – feminist theology helps?! As mission?

Modernised people are to supposed to respect their own and other’s human dignity but now more distinctions, more discrimination, more exploitation in the name of colour, race, caste and so on… rationally justified at times – Black theologies and Dalit theologies as expression of mission today

Global Issues and Mission 3 Modernised religion is supposed to

establish a better understanding between religions but brought clashes of civilisations and religions and raised fundamentalists – Dialogue between different cultural and religious communities as mission

Technology and Media are agents of Modernisation and human development but they help people to conduct war from rooms and kill people’s lives as a cowboy game! – Prophetic engagement with the use of media and technology as mission

Global issues and Mission Neo-Liberalism has made life as a package and

product to be sold and purchased – Life has become less than money – It has become the only sole narrative of the world – Alternative communities and Alternative world orders such as World Social forum and their voices as mission?!

Non-proactive Invovlement and ignorance of these issues within the churches alienates them from doing mission in the contemporary world – discussing non-real issues as primary issues can distract our attention to ignore threatening issues stated above