Lutherans Read the Bible Lutherans, Read the Bible!

1. Lutherans Read the BibleLutherans, Read the Bible!

2. “It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces.” “In the sweat of thy [own] face shalt thou eat bread.” Gen 3:19 “But let us not judge that we be not judged.” Matt 7:1

3. “’Woe unto the world because of offenses! For it must needs that that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.’ If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him?”

4. “We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop….And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will go to the Promised Land.”

5. Book of Faith Lutherans, read the Bible!

6. The “Word of God” in the ELCA Constitution • Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate 2.02 a.

7. The “Word of God” in the ELCA Constitution • The proclamation of God’s message to us as both Law and Gospel is the Word of God, revealing judgment and mercy through word and deed. 2.02 b.

8. The “Word of God” in the ELCA Constitution • The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the written Word of God. Through them God’s Spirit speaks to us to create and sustain Christian faith and fellowship for service in the world (causative authority). 2.02 c.

9. Authoritative Source and Norm • This church accepts the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life (normative authority). 2.03

10. Books that made the canon • Authors of these books were guided by the Spirit • They reflected commonly held ideas about God • These books were widely accepted throughout the believing community

11. A Lutheran Hermeneutic • Similar in many ways to the hermeneutic of other Christians • Lutherans locate the basis of the Scriptures’ authority in the evangelical center of the Scriptures, its Gospel proclamation.

12. The Nature of Biblical Authority • The gospel gives the Scriptures their authority (material principle) • Canon within the canon • Authority (exousia) in Matt 9:6 (authority and forgiveness) or 28:18-20 (authority and mission).

13. Exodus to Jesus Paradigm • Canon within the canon for African American sisters and brothers • “In the stories of liberation in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the actions and teachings of Jesus, African-American Christians assert the special concern God has always had for the oppressed of the world”

14. “Rightousness” • Judah and his three sons • Er—Tamar • Onan—Tamar (Levirate marriage) • Shelah? • Judah and Tamar

15. Judah and Tamar • Tamar becomes pregnant • Threatened with execution • She shows Judah his signet ring • Judah: She is more righteous than I! • She was faithful to her obligation to Er

16. Gen 15:1-6 • Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness • Abram’s faith was what was expected of him in the divine-human relationship—hence he was righteous

17. Gen 15:1-6 • Abram believed the LORD; aye, Abram counted the LORD as righteous • The LORD lived up to the obligations of the divine-human relationship—hence the LORD was righteous

18. Righteousness and the Ten Commandments • The 6th commandment: You shall not commit adultery = a man sleeping with the wife of another man • Other ethical challenges in regard to sexuality: we are to live righteously

19. What the Bible Meant Back Then?What the Bible Might Mean Today?

20. The Methodist Quadrilateral • What the Bible says • What tradition says • What modern knowledge says • What personal experience says

21. Amos • Advocate of social justice • Did not let his message be controlled by the king • “The end has come upon my people Israel” • “Prepare to meet your God, Israel”

22. The Ending of the Book of Amos 9:11-15 • Restoration of Davidic dynasty • Abundant crops • Israel will rebuild its cities • Exile will never happen again • If you want to be a prophet, remember that God’s final word to God’s people is “Yes.”

23. Ezekiel: God is faithful and free • God promised Nebuchadnezzar victory over the Phoenician city of Tyre ch. 26 • OK, I did not give you Tyre; I will give you Egypt instead 29:17-19 • Faithful to promise to Nebuchadnezzar; free to adapt it to changed political and historical circumstances

24. Ezekiel’s final vision • A New Temple • God lives in this temple forever • East gate locked forever

25. The Stream from the Temple • Trees that bear fruit in every month • Leaves good for healing • Fish abound in Dead Sea

26. What it might mean • People of Dead Sea Scrolls • Expected God to come tomorrow, if not today • Hoped to be the first to see the fish jump

27. Rev 22:1-5 • River of water of life • Throne of God • Throne of the lamb

28. Ezekiel and John’s Gospel • The body of Jesus is the temple • When Jesus hung on the cross, he did so as God’s temple • Hunger, want, illness and death are no longer inevitable • There is nothing that can’t be changed

29. These Bibles Must be Read With Extreme Care

30. No Easy Answers • Easy answers are an insult to those who come asking • Prayer and hard work, risk, dialogue with the text and the Christian community • The authority of Scripture and the basis for that authority in the Bible’s central, clear, and saving message • The limits of Scripture…and the limits of its interpreters

31. Lutherans Read the BibleLutherans, Read the Bible!