Friday, June 19, 2009

What colour is the equator?

A strange question. It is in the book that I am currently reading with my son. The authors ask the question just to make the point that often when reading the Bible we can be asking silly or at least trivial or insignificant questions.

One thing one (hopefully) learns after years of scientific research is that asking the right questions is crucial to progress in increasing knowledge and understanding.

The questions a modern (or post-modern) reader may be asking of the Biblical text may be completely different from an ancient Israelite in exile in Babylon or an early Christian meeting secretly in a house church in Rome.
Furthermore, modern readers tend to demand answers to their questions on their terms.

1 comment:

  1. All very true, though it doesn't lessen the fact that masses of people will continue to demand answers to their questions on their terms. It his realization that makes it hard for me to sometimes engage people about these things, what is the point?

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