lion&lamb: Back Issue

Introduction: The Bible and Contemporary Society
Derek Poole

A Moving Experience
Ruth Hutchinson

From the Director
David Porter

Letting the Bible Speak
Graham Redding

Hagar and the God Who Sees
Fran Porter

Faith and Practice...David McClurg
Ruth Hutchinson

Wilson on Suffering
Alan Wilson

God's Prejudice Reduction Training
David Porter

How Will We Vote?
Stephen Cave

Book Reviews
Alwyn Thomson

And Finally...

< Past Issues Archive

THE BIBLE AND CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
The ancient and contemporary methods of reading and studying the Bible are a witness to the Church’s perpetual attempt to discern the ‘revelation’ of God to the world. This is why the Scriptures remain authoriative in the Christian tradition and the unique touchstone for all matters of faith and practice. The reading of the Bible continues as an essential discipline in the lives of Christian disciples and its authentic use is the primary concern of this issue of Lion & Lamb.

Historically, for Christians how we read the Bible is as important as that we read it. The faith community has rarely assumed that by just placing a Bible in a person’s hand they will know how to read it or will automatically know what they are reading. As Eugene Peterson warns, “Just having print on the page and knowing how to distinguish nouns from verbs is not enough. Reading the Bible can get you into a lot of trouble. Few things are more important in the Christian community than reading the Scriptures rightly. The holy Scriptures carry immense authority. Read wrongly, they can ignite war, legitimise abuse, sanction hate, and cultivate arrogance.” This of course has an uncanny resonance with the use and abuse of Scripture in the churches, homes and gable walls of Northern Ireland.

Peterson’s emphasis on a right reading of the Bible does not mean an absolute understanding or flawless interpretation. A right reading of the text implies a right attitude - what the Apostle Paul describes as ‘rightly handling the word of truth’ (2 Tim 2:15). In other words, a commitment to integrity is the integration of disciplined minds, devout hearts and obedient living. Also, a right reading of the Scriptures transcends the privatised interpretations of the individual. The Church is a hermeneutical community whose collective wisdom and experience informs the meaning of the text in every time and place. Again, as Paul proclaims, the ‘breadth and length and height and depth’ of the knowledge and love of God is comprehended ‘with all the saints’ (Eph 3: 18 –19).

In this edition of our magazine we explore the use of the Bible in contemporary society, conscious of the challenges that Christians face in an age that has devastated the notion that any objective truth can be found in any form of literature. We are concerned to show practically how the many genres found in the Bible, which reflect different cultural and sociological frameworks, all embody the essence of the gospel. And how the pluralist context in which the Bible is now interpreted is not just a threat to Biblical authority but an opportunity to explore the full range and richness of Biblical revelation. The theme is also our small attempt to contribute to the faith affirmation, that God continues to speak in history through holy Scripture, interpreted with integrity and lived incarnationally in the life of the Church.

Derek Poole - Editor

ECONI WELCOMES the submission of unsolicited articles, but does not guarantee publication, and manuscripts cannot be returned. Opinions expressed in the magazine are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ECONI. Permission to reprint any original article in Lion & Lamb should be sought from the Editor.

Editor Derek Poole
Asst Editor Ruth Hutchinson
Design Colin Maguire
Cover Spring Graphics