Biblish

One of my professors, Dr. Sandy Richter, coined this term: "Biblish - biblical words that have been so overused we have forgotten the content that they communicate." Her concern is that we often canonize our own culture into biblical culture. Rather than attempt to understand biblical society, we infer our norms as the norms of Abraham, Moses, David, etc. Additionally, she reminded us that Biblical history is not World history. It is not meant as an exhaustive recount, a claim of all that happened. Rather, it is a specific story told by a select group of authors for a definitive purpose. Hearing all this peaked my interest, so I started thinking about what forms of "biblish" I might be using. What am I talking about without really understanding the socio-context behind the words? The answer to that is surely "a lot", and one that accompanies a lifetime goal to reduce. 

So, do we all need to be theologians to read Scripture? I don't think so. However, ALL of us can increase our prayer surrounding the reading of scripture. The Bible is the Living word; it is text that God continues to speak to us through. But if we do not approach God with reverence and openness, how can we hear Him? Listen to this brief excerpt from John Wesley's thoughts on how to read scripture: "Serious and earnest prayer should be constantly used, before we consult the oracles of God, seeing 'scripture can only be understood through the same Spirit whereby it was given.' Our reading should likewise be closed with prayer, that what we read may be written on our hearts." (read more)

There is a story from my preschool/kindergarten years that my Mom likes to tell. Often I would escape from Sunday School and wander the church halls, apparently looking for something more interesting. Caught, sitting in the hallway and not wanting to go back inside, I said, "I already know everything I need to know about Jesus." Funny, here I am some 35 years later in seminary trying to learn more.

in Christ,

Comments

[Roy]

"Biblish" How true! I would like to hear you expand on this. Francis Schaefer warned of the dangers of having words wrapped in only connotation meaning instead of real meaning. I guess the biggest one today is "spiritual."

God bless,
Roy