Comments on: “Just let it wash over you.” http://www.paradoxica.net/2007/06/28/just-let-it-wash-over-you/ new media developer / urban nomad Sat, 22 Nov 2008 08:01:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Earl http://www.paradoxica.net/2007/06/28/just-let-it-wash-over-you/#comment-6397 Earl Mon, 16 Jul 2007 15:23:07 +0000 http://www.paradoxica.net/2007/06/28/just-let-it-wash-over-you/#comment-6397 Scott, I thought of your post here when I read Scot McKnight's post this morning re. "Eat This Book" by Eugene Peterson: http://www.jesuscreed.org/?p=2569 I'm ordering it... How can I not buy "the best book ever on the Bible"? It will be interesting to see whether Peterson deals with concerns you raise here. Later, Earl Scott, I thought of your post here when I read Scot McKnight’s post this morning re. “Eat This Book” by Eugene Peterson:

http://www.jesuscreed.org/?p=2569

I’m ordering it… How can I not buy “the best book ever on the Bible”? It will be interesting to see whether Peterson deals with concerns you raise here.

Later,

Earl

]]> By: sara http://www.paradoxica.net/2007/06/28/just-let-it-wash-over-you/#comment-6271 sara Fri, 29 Jun 2007 08:23:08 +0000 http://www.paradoxica.net/2007/06/28/just-let-it-wash-over-you/#comment-6271 well, i know that i don't know a thing about a thing, but part of this 'just let it wash over you' business doesn't sound so terrible to me. i know, i know--it leads to bad theology! what about authorship? what about audience? but i think there's something about just reading, for instance, something jesus said: "you have heard that it was said, 'you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' but i say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..." matt. 5:43-44 and yes, letting it wash over you without...i don't know...turning it into an intellectual exercise? creating an idea that has no consequences in our real lives, maybe? i think there's some value in allowing yourself to be affected by the word without rushing to analyze it. i'm not saying there's no time or place for formal exegesis, but...have you ever read the word and just cried? i have. maybe that just illustrates my spiritual and theological immaturity. but it's hard to be moved (for me, at least) in the middle of rigorous study. and when i say "moved," i mean both emotionally affected and moved to action. you already know this, but i'll say it anyway: there are a lot of christians in the world who just have the plain old bible--no sources for historical context--to rely on. there are a lot of christians who aren't even literate, so they don't even have that. i'm not saying we shouldn't make use of our access to historical context or that it doesn't not only greatly enhance but allow us to truly understand the author's intentions and a bunch of other important stuff...it's just that...based on the little i understand about the character of god, i don't think he'd let his word be distributed to millions of people without a theological or textual lifeboat if it didn't, *to an extent*, speak for itself. i mean, isn't it a little culturally elitist to assume that you can't truly access the meaning of the holy book unless you have acces to a bunch of secondary sources and the educational background/intellectual abilities to understand them? i know you know a lot more about all this than i do, and i probably sound really dumb...but i think this is just my knee-jerk reaction to analysis and theology and blahblahblah as a replacement for just doing the d*mn thing. well, i know that i don’t know a thing about a thing, but part of this ‘just let it wash over you’ business doesn’t sound so terrible to me. i know, i know–it leads to bad theology! what about authorship? what about audience? but i think there’s something about just reading, for instance, something jesus said:

“you have heard that it was said, ‘you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ but i say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” matt. 5:43-44

and yes, letting it wash over you without…i don’t know…turning it into an intellectual exercise? creating an idea that has no consequences in our real lives, maybe? i think there’s some value in allowing yourself to be affected by the word without rushing to analyze it. i’m not saying there’s no time or place for formal exegesis, but…have you ever read the word and just cried? i have. maybe that just illustrates my spiritual and theological immaturity. but it’s hard to be moved (for me, at least) in the middle of rigorous study. and when i say “moved,” i mean both emotionally affected and moved to action.

you already know this, but i’ll say it anyway: there are a lot of christians in the world who just have the plain old bible–no sources for historical context–to rely on. there are a lot of christians who aren’t even literate, so they don’t even have that. i’m not saying we shouldn’t make use of our access to historical context or that it doesn’t not only greatly enhance but allow us to truly understand the author’s intentions and a bunch of other important stuff…it’s just that…based on the little i understand about the character of god, i don’t think he’d let his word be distributed to millions of people without a theological or textual lifeboat if it didn’t, *to an extent*, speak for itself. i mean, isn’t it a little culturally elitist to assume that you can’t truly access the meaning of the holy book unless you have acces to a bunch of secondary sources and the educational background/intellectual abilities to understand them?

i know you know a lot more about all this than i do, and i probably sound really dumb…but i think this is just my knee-jerk reaction to analysis and theology and blahblahblah as a replacement for just doing the d*mn thing.

]]>