Understanding God’s Word – a developmental perspective

1. Understanding God’s Word – a developmental perspective D. Graham Stacey, PhD Loma Linda University 2011

2. a scriptural reflection…. • Jeremiah 7: 1-8 • “This is the temple of the Lord….trusting in deceptive words that are worthless” • Simply trusting in one’s historical or claimed identity as evidence of God’s special blessing is not sufficient • It is time to reflect more deeply on the relevancy and impact of your relationship with God

3. questions for reflection… • How do God’s people maintain a relevant message in an ever changing world? • Is there any way to assimilate new information? • How does God’s Word retain its authority in a time and context so removed from its origins? • How do we apply the eternal principles of God’s Word? • It is possible or necessary to change one’s understanding on what God’s Word means?

4. not a new challenge… • Gregory J. Riley, ‘The River of God.’ Harper (2001)- a genealogy of the development of Christian belief- dynamic, evolving, multiple sources of development • Ethics, morality and social justice (slavery, apartheid) • Faith and science [traditional understanding and new information] (age of the earth)

5. maybe too simplistic… How do we as believers? • assimilate new information (consider new ideas)? • accommodate changes to established schemas or paradigms (change our minds)? • maintain equilibrium during the process (proceed with enough grace as to do no harm to God’s children)?

6. a personal view… “Any condemnation, rejection and or mistreatment of people……based on individual characteristics (specifically those over which they have no control)..…is unjust, immoral and antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ?”

7. ‘Respect for and acceptance of all of God’s children, irrespective of any issue of diversity, is the faithful expression of the love and justice of God, and in harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ.’

8. “…faith communities, contrary to their central teachings, were active or silent supporters of apartheid…in large measure churches…gave support, symbolic and practical, to the violent state machine.” Alex Boraine “The Seventh-day Adventist Church was one of those communities.” “Despite recognition of the ‘difficulties’ apartheid caused the Seventh-day Adventist church, condemnation of apartheid itself is entirely absent from the South African Seventh-day Adventist literature of the time.” Jeff Crocombe “…the Adventist church was always far ahead of the government of the day in applying racial segregation in the church, and far behind when it comes to scrapping racially discriminatory measures.” du Preez an du Pre “Jasper’s typology of guilt … enables us all to discern our common humanity before God, and therefore our shared need for transformation.“ John de Gruchy Cited from Jeff Crocombe, ‘The Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Africa – race relations and apartheid.’ 2007

9. The nature of revelation and inspiration…

10. a practical reality… • most Christians agree on what the scriptures say – few agree on what the scriptures mean • most Christians share certain cardinal doctrines – but teach a wide variety of beliefs on all matters Religious Tolerance.org

11. inspiration… Literal • emphasis on verbal authority & inerrancy • history and or context of secondary relevance • focus on applications

12. Contextual emphasis on principles history and or context are relevant focus on meaning

13. ‘Selective’ literal/contextual… • considered essential to community preservation • literal application required for ‘truth’ • protection of Scriptural authority • considered as fundamental to the maintenance of the Christian world-view

14. ways of discerning truth… fundamentalist methodology focus on the literal application assimilate the information discount the context reject or fail to accommodate any continuing revelation declare the truth as ‘absolute’

15. meaning methodology focus on meaning (principles) allow the context to inform the meaning accept the literal interpretation as the ‘optimal’ truth the original readers could assimilate accommodate God’s continuing revelation

16. ‘what happens in real-life’ methodology assimilate the literal understanding discount the context declare ‘absolute’ truth gradually modify / abandon positions under influence of God’s continuing revelations

17. stages in religious accommodation…Andrew Dickson White (1898) • a new belief system develops in conflict with established beliefs • official institutions ignore the development • a growing number of followers start to disagree • statements are issued to condemn the development – citing Biblical passages as justification • support continues to grow • statements intensify - suggesting the proposal negates the entire Christian message or attacks fundamental Christian principles

18. continued… • followers and public support continues to grow • institutions begin to ignore the development, and sometimes ignore the Biblical passages that once supported the idea • years (decades or centuries) later institutions may incorporate the deviant development into the belief structure Andrew Dickson White (1898) ‘A history of the warfare of science with theology in Christendom.’

19. Cognitive Dissonance – must be resolved… Cognitive DissonanceMartin Seligman 1) modify the belief to fit the evidence (early Adventists and the second advent) 2) maintain the belief despite the evidence (sexual orientation) 3) abandon the field of dispute altogether (age of the earth)

20. methods of resolution… The literal readings of the text supporting the belief are: • ignored (geocentric solar system) • obscured in translation (slave v/s servant) • re-interpreted (marital relationships) • selectively contextualized (holiness code)

21. examples of accommodation… • racial integration (‘mixing the seed’) • role of women in the church • God’s punishment on Jews (holocaust) • slavery / apartheid • generation transferability of sin • doctrinal beliefs (Satan / Trinity / exclusive monotheism)

22. once hotly debated – now settled… • food offered to idols • equality in Christ (Jew nor Greek) • geocentric solar system • earning interest on investments • scientific examples (vacuum, lightning rod) • medical examples (anesthetics during childbirth, childhood inoculations, birthcontrol)

23. If you have been to a physician, been diagnosed with a particular disorder, prescribed a medication, and accepted the recommended treatment, you have: • assimilated God’s continuing revelation about health and healing • accommodated the ‘biological’ explanation of disease • accommodated the scientific method as one means of communicating God’s continuing revelations • modified your understanding of scripture re. disease • moved beyond the fatalistic explanation that God / Satan control all health and disease disbursement

24. A suggested way forward…

25. “Originalists contend that the constitution has a clear, fixed meaning. But the framers argued vehemently about its meaning. For them, it was a set of principles, not a code of laws. A code of laws says you have to stop at a red light; a constitution has broad principles that are unchanging but that must accommodate each new generation and circumstance.” Richard Stengel, ‘One Document under Siege,’ Time, July 4, 2011

26. a helpful frame of reference… Genetic epistemology (Jean Piaget, 1896-1980) • Schemas – categories of knowledge that help us interpret and understand the world • Assimilation – the process of taking in new information into a previously existing schema • Accommodation – changing or altering our existing schemas in light of new information • Equilibration – striking a balance between assimilation and accommodation

27. Christian Ethics an integration of authority and relevance Meta-ethic(“we love because God first loved us..” 1 John 4:19) First Principle(love for God & neighbor) Principles(compassion, love, respect, honesty, faithfulness, forgiveness, mercy, humility, service) Rules(ten commandments / inspired instruction) Applications(interpersonal relationships [marriage, family] community relationships [social, professional] personal standards [attitudes, behaviours], community standards [social attitudes, practices], church life [worship style, relationship to community] )

28. Christian Ethics an integration of authority and relevance Meta-ethic(“we love because God first loved us..” 1 John 4:19) First Principle(“love for God and neighbor”) Principles(compassion, love, respect, honesty, faithfulness, mercy, humility, justice, equality, community, fidelity, service) Rules(ten commandments / inspired instruction) ApplicationsHOW SHOULD I LIVE?

29. summary…. • assimilate and accommodate God’s continuing revelations • acknowledge and embrace the reality of God’s process • develop a spirit of community that permits and encourages equilibrium while new revelations are assimilated and accommodated • at times of transition (always?), focus on the higher-order eternal principles in God’s Word • cautiously and conscientiously review the temporal applications using the eternal principles to guide the application of the new revelations

30. Let’s continue the dialogue