Scripture Readings Blog
My Friend John Edminster, of 15th Street Meeting, has for some time been making a regular practice of selecting a group of scripture readings each week, usually united by some theme, and sharing them with interested members of 15th Street Meeting and others. A few Friends, under the care and sponsorship of the Ministry and Worship Committee, have been reading from these selections in a small group on Sunday mornings just a few minutes prior to the 11 a.m. worship.
John's selections often bring together passages whose connection, or relevance to a common subject, would not have been obvious otherwise. I personally have been very much helped by the practice of reading and considering the passages he calls to our attention. With his permission, I have now established this blog with the purpose of making the selections available to others. It is possible that I, too, will recommend other passages from time to time.
John tells me that he regularly takes his readings from the Authorised (King James) Version of the Bible, not because he believes that it always provides the best available translation of every passage, but because it’s the translation he knows best, and he loves the majesty of its language. He also says that he tries to present his selections without editorial comment, unless his comment has to do with the translator’s choice of words to render the original idea, and he tries to include passages that illustrate different sides to the issue at hand: the doctrine of damnation alongside that of God’s expressed wish to save everyone, for example, or the doctrine of “an eye for an eye” justice alongside Jesus’ teaching of love for one’s enemy. He says that in his experience wrestling with the “hard sayings” of scripture can often bring unexpected wisdom.
John's selections often bring together passages whose connection, or relevance to a common subject, would not have been obvious otherwise. I personally have been very much helped by the practice of reading and considering the passages he calls to our attention. With his permission, I have now established this blog with the purpose of making the selections available to others. It is possible that I, too, will recommend other passages from time to time.
John tells me that he regularly takes his readings from the Authorised (King James) Version of the Bible, not because he believes that it always provides the best available translation of every passage, but because it’s the translation he knows best, and he loves the majesty of its language. He also says that he tries to present his selections without editorial comment, unless his comment has to do with the translator’s choice of words to render the original idea, and he tries to include passages that illustrate different sides to the issue at hand: the doctrine of damnation alongside that of God’s expressed wish to save everyone, for example, or the doctrine of “an eye for an eye” justice alongside Jesus’ teaching of love for one’s enemy. He says that in his experience wrestling with the “hard sayings” of scripture can often bring unexpected wisdom.
posted by Rich in Brooklyn at 2/07/2005 08:32:00 AM
1 Comments:
Just dropping by.
I can appreciate your f/Friend's comments about wrestling with the hard sayings of scripture. And add that what seems a hard saying last week may not be this one. I think the spirit lives more thru the wresting than the words sometimes.
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