The%20Canon/Authority%20Question

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The Canon/Authority Question
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Books that had been proven to be useful for
worship and meaningful for understanding our
relationship to God.

• Dr. Martin Luther Kings Bible

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Books to live by
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• Ode of Solomon 10
• 1. The Lord has directed my mouth by His Word,
  and has opened my heart by His Light.
• 2. And He has caused to dwell in me His immortal
  life, and permitted me to proclaim the fruit of
  His peace.
• 3. To convert the lives of those who desire to
  come to Him, and to lead those who are captive
  into freedom.
• 4. I took courage and became strong and captured
  the world, and the captivity became mine for the
  glory of the Most High, and of God my Father.
• 5. And the Gentiles who had been dispersed were
  gathered together, but I was not defiled by my
  love for them, because they had praised me in
  high places.
• 6. And the traces of light were set upon their
  heart, and they walked according to my life and
  were saved, and they became my people for ever
  and ever.
• Hallelujah.

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Gospel of Thomas

• 77. Jesus said, "I am the light that is over all
  things. I am all from me all came forth, and to
  me all attained.
• Split a piece of wood I am there.
• Lift up the stone, and you will find me there."
• 114. Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary leave
  us, for females don't deserve life. Jesus said,
  "Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that
  she too may become a living spirit resembling you
  males. For every female who makes herself male
  will enter the kingdom of Heaven."

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Principles of Biblical Interpretation Session Two
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Last Weeks Principles

• 1. Understand that the text that we have is the
  product of many interpreters. There is no
  understanding without interpretation. Good
  interpretation requires many readers
• 2. Good, on going, historical research into the
  language, customs and culture or the Bible
  informs informs the translation we use and should
  be used to inform our interpretation.

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4. Goal Fusion of Horizons
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A common misstepMissing the forest for the trees

• Prosperity Theology?Deuteronomy 818 "But you
  shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He
  who is giving you power to make wealth, that He
  may confirm His covenant which He swore to your
  fathers, as it is this day".?Malachi 310 "'Bring
  the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that
  there may be food in My house, and test Me now in
  this,' says the LORD of hosts, 'if I will not
  open for you the windows of heaven and pour out
  for you a blessing until it overflows.'" John
  1010 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal,
  and to kill, and to destroy I am come that they
  might have life, and that they might have it more
  abundantly."

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A common misstepMissing the forest for the trees

• Prosperity Theology The more I studied the
  Bible, however, I had to admit that the
  prosperity message did not line up with the tenor
  of Scripture. My heart was crushed to think that
  I led so many people astray. I was appalled that
  I could have been so wrong, and I was deeply
  grateful that God had not struck me dead as a
  false prophet! Jim Bakker in I Was Wrong.

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• God will reward signs of faith with health and
  wealth
• Matthew 21 22 Whatever you ask for in prayer
  with faith, you will receive.
• Mark 1122-24 Jesus answered them, Have faith
  in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this
  mountain, Be taken up and thrown into the sea,
  and if you do not doubt in your heart, but
  believe that what you say will come to pass, it
  will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you
  ask for in prayer, believe that you have
  received it, and it will be yours.

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• "For I know the plans I have for you, declares
  the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm
  you, plans to give you a hope and a future.
  Jeremiah 2911
• I can do all things through him who strengthens
  me. Philippians 413
• God wants us to prosper financially, to have
  plenty of money, to fulfill the destiny He has
  laid out for us.

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Mennonites in the USA

• 109,000 members
• 939 congregations.

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What sign posts, compasses, maps . do we use to
help find out way?
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What texts or lenses do we use to look at the
arch of the Narrative?
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Jo-Anns Limited List

• Genesis 121-3 Promise to Abraham
• Deuteronomy (the whole book)
• Sermon on the Mount
• The Lords Prayer

• Isaiahs Suffering Servant Psalms (Eg. chapter
  53)
• Philippians 26-11 The Christ Hymn
• The Life of Jesus

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Seeing the Forest for the Trees

• Understand the context for which it was written.
• Recognize to whom a particular book or passage is
  addressed.
• .

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• 5. Recognition of patterns (meaning is encoded
  but the code is not a secret)
• 6. Keeping the big picture in view (both the book
  and the entire canon)

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Understanding the Book of Deuteronomy

• King Jehu bowing
• Before
• Shalmanesar III

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Getting over the law as a Stumbling Block
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What is the law designed to do?

• Is it the rules and regulations by which a
  society is governed? (See Deut 512-15)
• Or is it a view of righteousness? Does it show
  how laws, customs, principles, should be applied?
  (look at Deut 1016-22)

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Deut 512-15

• 12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,
  as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13 Six
  days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but
  the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your
  God. On it you shall not do any work, neither
  you, nor your son or daughter, nor your
  manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your
  donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien
  within your gates, so that your manservant and
  maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that
  you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your
  God brought you out of there with a mighty hand
  and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your
  God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

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How does one keep the law?
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Deut 1016-22

• 16 Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not
  be stiff-necked any longer. 17 For the LORD your
  God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great
  God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality
  and accepts no bribes. 18 He defends the cause of
  the fatherless and the widow, and loves the
  alien, giving him food and clothing. 19 And you
  are to love those who are aliens, for you
  yourselves were aliens in Egypt. 20 Fear the LORD
  your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take
  your oaths in his name. 21 He is your praise he
  is your God, who performed for you those great
  and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.
  22 Your forefathers who went down into Egypt were
  seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has
  made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

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• Extending righteousness and abundance to those
  excluded by economic and social forces

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What is the greatest threat against keeping the
law? Read Deut 811-20
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• Deut 8 11 Be careful that you do not forget the
  LORD your God, failing to observe his commands,
  his laws and his decrees that I am giving you
  this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are
  satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle
  down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow
  large and your silver and gold increase and all
  you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will
  become proud and you will forget the LORD your
  God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the
  land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast
  and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless
  land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He
  brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave
  you manna to eat in the desert, something your
  fathers had never known, to humble and to test
  you so that in the end it might go well with you.
  17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the
  strength of my hands have produced this wealth
  for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for
  it is he who gives you the ability to produce
  wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he
  swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

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Looking for Patterns

• What is the greatest stumbling block when reading
  the Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings?

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Judges The Refrain

• The people did what was evil in Gods eyes
• Judges 211 37, 12 41 61 106 131
• Each person did what was right in his (or her)
  own eyes
• Judges 176 181 191 2125

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Deuteronomy as a Key Text

• The Shema 64
• The Vision of Justice
• The picture of leadership Chapter 18
• The curses and blessing Chapter 28
• The Renewal of the Covenant Chapter 30

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Table Sequence from Mels Gibsons Passion of the
Christ
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• If we read the Deuteronomic History (Joshua-2
  Kings) as something written by God to us, what
  kind of story is it?

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• If we read it as the story that the Israelites
  tell about itself to God from exile and to
  remember in the future, what sort of story is it?

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Reading Passages in the Gospels as parts of a
Gospel as well as Jesus saying
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• Matt 1810-14 At that time the disciples came to
  Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the
  kingdom of heaven?" ... "Take care that you do
  not despise one of these little ones for, I tell
  you, in heaven their angels continually see the
  face of my Father in heaven. What do you think?
  If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of
  them has gone astray, does he not leave the
  ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of
  the one that went astray? And if he finds it,
  truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than
  over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So
  it is not the will of your Father in heaven that
  one of these little ones should be lost.

• Luke 151-7 Now all the tax collectors and
  sinners were coming near to listen to him. And
  the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and
  saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats
  with them. So he told them this parable "Which
  one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one
  of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the
  wilderness and go after the one that is lost
  until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays
  it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he
  comes home, he calls together his friends and
  neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for
  I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I
  tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over
  one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine
  righteous persons who need no repentance.

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Understanding Jesus words in the context of the
proclamation of the Kingdom

• Matthew 1911-12 But he said to them, Not
  everyone can accept this teaching, but only those
  to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who
  have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs
  who have been made eunuchs by others, and there
  are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for
  the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone
  accept this who can.

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Dont Loose sight of the Kingdom for the
Forests!Read the canon through Jesus.