First, we need to be mastered by the Story by reading the Bible so deeply that its story becomes our story. If we let that story become our story, we will inhabit the Bible’s very own story. Let me remind us that it is not simply this story that masters us, but the God of that story. By indwelling the story of the Bible, we indwell the God who tells that story.
Second, together as God’s people we are to so inhabit the Story that we can discern how to live in our world. Our calling is to live out the ageless Story in our world. To do this we have to bring back the Spirit of God into our interpretation of the Bible. We read the Bible with all the tools of history and language that we can muster, but a proper reading of the Bible is attended by the Spirit, who will transform us, guide us, and give us discernment to know how to live in our world.
What Now?
Reading the Bible as Story teaches us to look forward by looking to our past. It teaches us to go back to that story so we know how to go forward in our world. We must not be afraid of where God will lead us as we live out this story today, just as David and Isaiah and Jesus and Paul and Peter were unafraid where God might lead them. We cannot think that we will find security by going back and staying in the past. We cannot think that our task is complete once we’ve figured what Paul or Peter meant when they spoke the gospel in their world. Instead, we are given a pattern of discernment in the Bible, a pattern that flows directly out of the Story, to listen to what God said in that world so we can know what God is saying to us through our world. So we can know what God wants us to say about that story to our world—in our world’s ways.
If the Bible does anything for us as we read it as Story, it gives us the confidence to face the future with the good news about Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit. God’s Spirit, the Story tells us, is with us to guide us and to give us discernment.
The story of the Bible is not only the story of our past, it is the story for our future.
AFTER WORDS
I teach the Bible, and as my friend and former colleague Brad Nassif and I often remind ourselves, not only do we teach the Bible but this is our job. I could not have dreamed of a better job or of a better opportunity than having former colleagues like Brad—such as Boaz Johnson, Joel Willitts, Ginny Olson, and Jim Dekker. Now that I’m at Northern Seminary, I get to add new colleagues’ names who have discussed this topic with me: David Fitch, Cherith Fee Nordling, Geoff Hosclaw, Jason Gile, and Bill Shiel. I give thanks for my former graduate assistant, Tara Beth Leach, for modeling the new voice of Junia in her teaching and preaching in Pasadena.
This teaching kind of life has given me many good friends, fellow Bible readers who teach me and probe me. Those who have read parts of this book or who have listened to me talk about it, besides the wonderful crowd we had at the National Pastors Convention in San Diego in February 2008, include my longtime friend Joe Modica and his colleague Dwight Peterson at Eastern University, where I was invited one evening for a public conversation about the contents of this book. Their questions pushed me to reshape parts of this book.
I wish to mention others who, through conversation or reading some or all of this manuscript, have helped me shape my thoughts more accurately: Norton Herbst and Jason Malec, both at North Point in Atlanta; J. R. Briggs, Roseanne Sension, Nancy Beach at Willow Creek Community Church; Nancy Ortberg, Cheryl Hatch, Doreen and Mark Olson, Julie Clawson, Kent and Phyllis Palmer, Peter Chang and Kathy Khang, Greg Clark, and Alice Shirey.
John Raymond of Zondervan is not only my editor, but his father was my college basketball coach; John himself was our “manager” as a teenager, and he has been a friend to me and Kris and our kids for decades. I am grateful for John. In a strange turn of fate, I have ceased reading his papers and he is now reading mine! I am grateful to my agent, Greg Daniel of the Daniel Literary Group, for his wisdom and advice on this manuscript. Both John and Greg made this a much better book. An earlier version of the appendix on Junia was edited and improved by Patton Dodd.
Kris refers to books like this one as my “readable” books. She doesn’t read my “unreadable” ones, but books like this one are important to her. She read every chapter, made detailed comments at times, and urged me time and time again to make the book better. She began to refer to one of the chapters in this book as “The Boring Chapter,” and so we gave that chapter her words. Without her you might not be holding this book in your hand. Kris has been my best friend and loving wife for more than thirty years. Proverbs 31 doesn’t even come close to describing her.
Kris and I chose to dedicate this book to our friend and my former student Cheryl Hatch. Let me put it this way: even if you try to clip the wings or silence the voice of a blue parakeet, somehow her glory and her gifts find a way.
SCOT MCKNIGHT
BIBLE VERSIONS
In addition to the NIV, these Bible versions are quoted in this book:
Scripture quotations marked CEB are taken from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible Committee.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESV® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®. Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. HCSB® is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.
The Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible. Copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked RSV are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked TNIV are taken from the Holy Bible, Today’s New International® Version TNIV®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society.® Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide. “TNIV” and “Today’s New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society®.
APPENDIX 1
A DISCERNMENT QUIZ 1
This quiz was an assignment asked of me by Skye Jethani, the editor of Leadership Journal. Our initial conversation at a coffee shop generated so many ideas, we could not contain them all in one quiz. So we drafted a quiz to see if we could get a conversation going about how we read the Bible and how we “apply” the Bible. For most questions we sensed we could have had ten or more different answers, and scaling our answers proved especially difficult. That quiz also gave some labels connected to scores that generated more controversy than was intended.
I have one desire with this quiz: we need to talk more about how we are reading the Bible. Instruments like this are one way of getting us to rethink how we read the Bible. I’ve eliminated the labels in this edition of the quiz.
On a scale of 1–5, mark the answer that best fits your approach to reading the Bible. If, for example, you fall between response 1 and response 3, give yourself a 2; or between 3 and 5, give yourself a 4. Place your score in the space after the colon. Maybe you want to rewrite the whole question; go ahead. Choose, in other words, the answer that is closest to your own view. What interests me most is getting you and others into a conversation about how we read and apply the Bible.
A. The Bible is: _____
1. God’s inspired words in confluence with the authors (genuine dual authorship).
3. God’s inspired words that arise out of a community and then are written down by an author (less author, more community).
5. Words of an author who speaks out of a community’s tradition, but which sacramentally lead us to God.
B. The Bible is: _____
1. God’s exact wor
ds for all time.
3. God’s message (instead of exact words) for all time.
5. God’s words and message for that time but need interpretation and contextualization to be lived today.
C. The Bible’s words are: _____
1. Inerrant on everything.
3. Inerrant only on matters of faith and practice.
5. Not defined by inerrancy or errancy, which are modernistic categories.
D. The commands in the Old Testament to destroy a village, including women and children, are: _____
1. Justifiable judgment against sinful, pagan, immoral peoples.
3. God’s ways in the days of the judges (etc.); they are primitive words but people’s understanding as divine words for that day.
5. A barbaric form of war in a primitive society and I wish they weren’t in the Bible.
E. The story of Hosea (the prophet) and Gomer (his wife) is: _____
1. A graphic reality that speaks of God’s faithfulness and Israel’s infidelity.
3. A parable (since, for example, God would never ask a prophet to marry a prostitute).
5. An unfortunate image of an ancient prophet that stereotypes women and too easily justifies violence against women.
F. The command of Jesus to wash feet is: _____
1. To be taken literally, despite near universal neglect in the church.
3. A first-century observance to be practiced today in other ways.
5. An ancient custom with no real implication for our world.
G. The gift of prophecy is: _____
1. Timeless, despite lack of attention in the church today.
3. An ancient form of communication that is seen today in proclaiming scriptural truths.
5. No longer needed and dramatically different from today’s preaching.
H. Prohibitions of homosexuality in the Bible are: _____
1. Permanent prohibitions reflecting God’s will.
3. Culturally shaped, still normative, but demanding greater sensitivity today.
5. A purity-code violation that has been eliminated by Christ.
I. The unity of the Bible is: _____
1. God’s systematic truth that can be discerned by careful study of the Bible.
3. The gospel call to living by faith that is expressed in a variety of ways by different authors in the Bible.
5. Not found by imposing on the integrity of each author in the Bible to conform to overarching systems; the unity is in the God who speaks to us today through the Word.
J. The Holy Spirit’s role in interpretation is: _____
1. To guide the individual regardless of what others say.
3. To guide the individual in tandem/conversation with the church.
5. To guide the community that can instruct the individual.
K. The injunctions on women in 1 Timothy 2:9–15 are: _____
1. Timeless truths and normative for today.
3. Culturally shaped but, with proper interpretation and transfer, for today; e.g., we can learn from how Paul addressed a situation with uninstructed women in Ephesus.
5. Needed for early Christians, bound in the first century, but not for today.
L. Careful interpretation of the Bible is: _____
1. Objective, rational, universal, timeless.
3. Dialectical, relational, culturally shaped, timely.
5. Subjective, personal, culturally bound, time specific.
M. The context for reading the Bible is: _____
1. The individual’s sole responsibility.
3. The individual in conversation with, and respect for, church traditions.
5. The confessional statement of one’s community of faith.
N. Discerning the historical context of a passage is: _____
1. Unimportant since God speaks to me directly.
3. Often or sometimes significant in order to grasp meaning.
5. Necessary and dangerous to avoid in reading the Bible.
O. The Bible: _____
1. Can be examined and understood without bias.
3. Can be understood but with bias.
5. Can be only partially understood by a reader with bias.
P. Capital punishment: _____
1. Should be practiced today because the Bible teaches it.
3. Should be examined carefully to determine if it is the best option today; some instances of capital punishment in the Bible are no longer advisable.
5. As delineated in the Bible pertains to ancient Israel; such practices are no longer useful and should be universally banned.
Q. Tattoos: _____
1. Are forbidden because of Leviticus 19:28.
3. Are forbidden in Leviticus as idolatrous marks, which we know from study of the ancient Near East.
5. Are permissible, because the purity codes are not for Christians today.
R. The requirement of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:29) not to eat any meat improperly killed (strangled instead of having the blood drained properly): _____
1. Is a permanent commandment for all Christians today.
3. Is for Jewish Christians only.
5. Is a temporary custom for first-century Jewish Christians and is no longer a concern for Christians.
S. Adultery: _____
1. Deserves the death penalty, as stated in the Old Testament.
3. Was not punished by death when Jesus confronted it, and therefore death is not a Christian punishment.
5. Adultery and divorce were governed by Old Testament laws from a primitive culture, very different from our own; just as these concepts developed within Bible times, our understanding of proper punishment has been improved.
T. Sabbath: _____
1. Was never eliminated by New Testament writers and should be practiced by Christians (on Saturday).
3. Developed into a Sunday worship observance for Christians, and Christians should not work on that day.
5. Turned into Sunday for Christians, who need to worship together (on the weekend, at least) and can work if they think they need to.
APPENDIX 2
IMAGES OF JESUS1
This test is not produced by or for North Park University, and its questions should not be taken to imply any views of North Park University. Obviously, in a test of this type there are no “correct” answers. This test should be taken at the beginning of a semester and again at the end of the semester to assess change in image of Jesus and image of self.
Note: Your professor will never know who answered what on this test.
PART 1: What Do You Think of Jesus?
Please answer each question with a “yes” (Y) or “no” (N). Work quickly and do not think too long about the exact meaning of the questions. Please answer this part 1 for what you think about Jesus.
1. Does his mood often go up and down? Y N
2. Is he a talkative person? Y N
3. Would being in debt worry him? Y N
4. Is he rather lively? Y N
5. Was he ever greedy by helping himself to more than his share of anything? Y N
6. Would he take drugs that may have strange or dangerous effects? Y N
7. Has he ever blamed someone for doing something he knew was really his fault? Y N
8. Does he prefer to go his own way rather than act by the rules? Y N
9. Does he often feel “fed-up”? Y N
10. Has he ever taken anything (even a pin or button) that belonged to someone else? Y N
11. Would he call himself a nervous person? Y N
12. Does he think marriage is old-fashioned and should be done away with? Y N
13. Can he easily get some life into a rather dull party? Y N
14. Is he a worrier? Y N
15. Does he tend to keep in the background on social occasions? Y N
16. Does it worry him if he knows there are mistakes in his work? Y N
17. Has he ever cheated at a game? Y N
18. Does he suffer from “nerves”? Y N
19. Has he ever taken advantage of someone? Y N
20. Is he mostly quiet when he is with other people? Y N
21. Does he often feel lonely? Y N
22. Does he think it is better to follow society’s rules than go his own way? Y N
23. Do other people think of him as being very lively? Y N
24. Does he always practice what he preaches? Y N
PART 2: Who Are You?
25. Which sex are you?
Female Male
26. What is your age?
18–19 20–21 22–23 24–25 older than 25
27. Which school year are you in?
Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior
28. Are you taking this BTS course to fulfill General Education requirements?
Yes No
29. Which denomination do you belong to?
Covenant Roman Catholic Evangelical Pentecostal-Charismatic Mainline Protestant
30. Do you go to church . . .
weekly at least once a month sometimes once or twice per year never
PART 3: What Do You Think About Yourself?
[Do not look at your answers to questions 1–24.]
31. Does your mood often go up and down? Y N
32. Are you a talkative person? Y N
33. Would being in debt worry you? Y N
34. Are you rather lively? Y N
35. Were you ever greedy by helping yourself to more than your share of anything? Y N
36. Would you take drugs which may have strange or dangerous effects? Y N
37. Have you ever blamed someone for doing something you knew was really your fault? Y N
38. Do you prefer to go your own way rather than act by the rules? Y N
39. Do you often feel “fed-up”? Y N
40. Have you ever taken anything (even a pin or button) that belonged to someone else? Y N
41. Would you call yourself a nervous person? Y N
The Blue Parakeet, 2nd Page 26