6 comments
Denis,
In the past you've mentioned that The Message isn't your favorite translation. This seems understandable for someone with a Masters of Theology (congrats to you, by the way!) but for some of us Eugene Peterson has been a great grace. I especially love his short essays that open each book with valuable contextual insight. Recently I revisited Revelation for the first time since my early days of belief in the 70's and actually enjoyed it after Peterson's introduction: "...if we persist through the initial confusion and read on, we begin to pick up the rhythms...and find ourselves enlisted as participants in a multidimensional act of Christian worship."
After an upbringing by a woman who would have shamed the Pharisees themselves, I found grace but sadly ended up in a fundamentalist church with a controlling pastor due to their sponsorship of the college Bible group I encountered upon my first registration period. Nearly every sermon ended with rants against long hair and rock 'n' roll with the pastor's eyes locked on mine as best he could through my long hair. When I left the church a few years later upon making friends with the Inter-Varsity crowd who gathered at a more grace-filled church, the old pastor told me he was thankful there was at least a place in town for people like me who couldn't really live up to the standards of a truly called church...or words to that effect. Of course they firmly believed that any translation other than King James fell under the judgment of the last verses of Revelation, warning against adding or taking away from the words of the prophecy. Even then this seemed suspicious to me since the KJV was a translation itself and not the original Greek or Hebrew. They're probably using the Message as a sign of the last times!
May God continue to bless the efforts of your ministry with Margie. The recent topic of how we tend to focus on the fall & redemption while forgetting creation & restoration was very timely for me. Wish I was closer to Rochester so I could hear the full presentation.
Oh yeah, one last humorous (or sad?) note: Years ago I was working the reception desk of a major oil company in Dallas, and our visitor badges eventually became numbered in the 600's. Every time I attempted to give a visitor a badge with 666 printed on it they would throw it back and refuse to wear it! Just another day in the Bible Belt, I suppose...even for the oil tycoons.
keepfishing:
Quite correct, this would make a good lunch discussion, at L'Abri or anywhere else a group of Christians are eating together. And I agree on the design--they are arrestingly beautiful.
Arthur:
I may have overstated my reaction to The Message. It is not the Bible I am most drawn to for regular reading, but I regularly check how it expresses the texts I am reflecting on. Peterson has had a rich service to the church in his writing over the years.
Your pilgrimage is interesting, and has a familiar ring (in some sad ways). The fundamentalists I left still use the KJV, the Scofield notes variety, and in some cases when I've visited Bible studies are little more than following the notes, so the same tired ideas are endlessly recycled.
Thanks for your encouragement, your kind greetings, and the humorous story. I'm still waiting for readers to tell me about buying a watch, but if I were an oilman I'd gladly accept a name badge numbered 666.
Oh yes, been there, done that, too, Denis. What a relief to have moved on. And, hey, buy the watch; it would probably lead to some interesting conversations like the one Margie related in a recent blog post.
Thanks for your ministry. Good food for thought especially for us who grew up in the fundalmentalist realm who are trying to figure out what "being in the world, but not of it" looks like.
PW:
Ah, yes, the conversations. That would be good.
Except for the ones with my relatives who would see the watch with jaundiced eyes--on the other hand, they've already given up on me, so not much would change.
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