Lutherans Read the Bible Lutherans, Read the Bible!

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Lutherans Read the BibleLutherans, Read the
Bible!
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It may seem strange that any men should dare
to ask a just Gods assistance in wringing their
bread from the sweat of other mens faces. In
the sweat of thy own face shalt thou eat
bread. Gen 319 But let us not judge that we
be not judged. Matt 71
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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?
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Weve got some difficult days ahead. But it
doesnt matter with me now, because Ive been to
the mountaintop.And Ive looked over. And Ive
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.
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Book of Faith Lutherans, read the
Bible!
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The Word of God in the ELCA Constitution

• Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate 2.02 a.

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The Word of God in the ELCA Constitution

• The proclamation of Gods message to us as both
  Law and Gospel is the Word of God, revealing
  judgment and mercy through word and deed. 2.02
  b.

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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 Gods Spirit speaks to us to create and
  sustain Christian faith and fellowship for
  service in the world (causative authority). 2.02
  c.

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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

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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

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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.

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The Nature of Biblical Authority

• The gospel gives the Scriptures their authority
  (material principle)
• Canon within the canon
• Authority (exousia) in Matt 96 (authority and
  forgiveness) or 2818-20 (authority and mission).

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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

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Rightousness

• Judah and his three sons
• ErTamar
• OnanTamar (Levirate marriage)
• Shelah?
• Judah and Tamar

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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

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Gen 151-6

• Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD reckoned it
  to him as righteousness
• Abrams faith was what was expected of him in the
  divine-human relationshiphence he was righteous

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Gen 151-6

• Abram believed the LORD aye, Abram counted the
  LORD as righteous
• The LORD lived up to the obligations of the
  divine-human relationshiphence the LORD was
  righteous

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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

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What the Bible Meant Back Then?What the Bible
Might Mean Today?
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The Methodist Quadrilateral

• What the Bible says
• What tradition says
• What modern knowledge says
• What personal experience says

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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

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The Ending of the Book of Amos 911-15

• 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 Gods
  final word to Gods people is Yes.

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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 2917-19
• Faithful to promise to Nebuchadnezzar free to
  adapt it to changed political and historical
  circumstances

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Ezekiels final vision

• A New Temple
• God lives in this temple forever
• East gate locked forever

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The Stream from the Temple

• Trees that bear fruit in every month
• Leaves good for healing
• Fish abound in Dead Sea

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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

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Rev 221-5

• River of water of life
• Throne of God
• Throne of the lamb

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Ezekiel and Johns Gospel

• The body of Jesus is the temple
• When Jesus hung on the cross, he did so as Gods
  temple
• Hunger, want, illness and death are no longer
  inevitable
• There is nothing that cant be changed

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These Bibles Must be Read With Extreme Care
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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 Bibles central, clear, and
  saving message
• The limits of Scriptureand the limits of its
  interpreters

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Lutherans Read the BibleLutherans, Read the
Bible!
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