ACNS - The Bible in the Life of the Church

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

> ACNS - The Bible in the Life of the Church

Posted On : November 22, 2010 4:45 PM | Posted By : Admin ACO

ACNS: http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2010/11/22/ACNS4752

> Related Categories: ACO - Theological

?Our personal stories indicate our experience of
the transformative power of the biblical text.?

Gathering in Salt Rock, Durban, South Africa,
15-18 November 2010, members of the Steering
Group of The Bible in the Life of the Church
project  were encouraged to hear about the work
accomplished so far in regional  groups and
enjoyed making plans for the next phase.

During 2010, regional and user groups linked to
this project have explored how we, as Anglicans,
read the Bible, using the Fifth Mark of Mission
of the Anglican Communion as our starting point.
The Fifth Mark, which commits Anglicans ?to
strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and
sustain and renew the life of the earth?, was
chosen as our initial case study because it
relates to a major concern in our world today. It
is also a topic for which, at least until
recently, biblical resources have not been sufficiently explored.

The wealth of responses received by the Steering
Group indicated the rich variety of ways
Anglicans engage with the Bible, but also made
clear the common experience of Anglicans that the
Bible is a source of ?transformative power.? A
reading group in Sudan noted how the Bible
indicates that ?humans are meant to have a
genuine relationship with animals.? In East
Africa the regional group reflected how ?human
beings cannot be saved anywhere apart from the
world in which they live.?  This same group
acknowledged that there were insights to be
gained from East African primal religions in
relation to care for the environment, and it was
helpful  to  be aware of different ways  of
respecting and cooperating with the stewardship
of the natural world.  In the United States and
Canada some participants vocalised the challenge,
?How do we read scripture for and from within a
common life that is meaningfully witnessing to
the goodness of creation or God?s love for all
creatures??  The perspectives of readers in Cuba
suggested that, ?We have to change our
anthropological perspective of seeing ourselves
as superior beings in God?s creation? and become
a responsible constituent element in the creative process.?

From Australia it was noted that ecological

action is seen in the light of Christian belief
about the ?new creation?, though it was also
acknowledged that Australian Anglicans can
struggle to use the Bible in working with the
Fifth Mark of Mission. The United Kingdom
regional group commented that the relevance of
the topic chosen ? environmental concerns ? had
given energy to this process of exploring
biblical interpretation in the life of Anglican
Churches. In meetings of  the Southern Africa
regional group the different ways of translating
the Hebrew verbs ?radah? and ?kabash? (often
rendered as ?have dominion? and ?subdue?) had
provided a lively subject of discussion. Reading
groups in South-East Asia, Jamaica, Papua New
Guinea and Ireland have also begun to be involved
with the project, although they were not yet at a point to provide a 
report.

As well as insights gained into this specific
case study, a number of key threads had emerged
about the process of biblical interpretation
itself. The importance of taking ?context?
seriously in our engagement with the Bible was
widely appreciated.  This contextual dimension is
written into the Bible itself,  as the Bible ?is
a book full of memories that reflect the faith of
a people, their walking in dialogue and relation
with God, their interpretation of the events of
their lives and history in the light of faith and
spirituality?. It was noted that indigenous
peoples have specific gifts to offer in
?acknowledging a necessary complexity that
implies an interpretive humility?. The reality
that for many Anglicans the primary place where
they encountered scripture was in liturgy was
acknowledged, and it was recognised that this
liturgical and community context rightly played
an important role in Anglican interpretation of
the Bible. The ambiguous role of the Apocrypha in
Anglican understanding of the canon of scripture
was observed, as was also the difficulty of
engaging young lay people in the process of
biblical interpretation. The importance of
reading the Bible ?through the eyes of others?
was a challenge that Anglicans needed to explore.

As the Steering Group reflected on the varied
reports they had received they also noted a
number of ?gaps? that were apparent. These
included: between what we say and what we
do;  between the particular and the whole within
scripture;  between insights from scripture and
insights from other sources; between pedagogical
methodologies; between different interpretive
horizons; between our relationship to the rock
from which we were hewn and our sense of being on
a journey now; between different reading
communities; between liturgy and study.  In the
case of some of these gaps it is the task of the
Church to ?bridge? them, in the case of others it
is the role of an individual reader.

The Steering Group also listened with interest to
a presentation by its Chair, Archbishop David
Moxon, in which he shared the experience of the
process of ?Hui? through which the Anglican
Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
had, over a period of years, sought to have a
respectful discussion about Christian ethics and
human sexuality from a biblical perspective, in a
context of deep prayer , drawing in all three
tikanga, and the range of theological views
expressed by Anglicans in this Province.

Seeking to take forward its remit in 2011 and
2012 the Steering Group proposed that as the next
topic (case study) regional and user groups might
focus on the Fourth Mark of Mission (?To seek to
transform unjust structures of society?), and
suggested a range of biblical texts to help
groups explore this ? one selection focusing on
economic issues and the other on  gender justice.
In the course of their work groups would be
encouraged to reflect on some of the
interpretative insights that had emerged in the
course of the earlier topic relating to
creation/environment.  To assist with this
process we are preparing a list of principles and
strategies that groups will be encouraged to take account of.

The Steering Group also began to consider various
products which might emerge from its work, to
allow the wider Anglican Communion to share in
its fruits. Among these is a course for Lent
2012, which we will aim to have available from
September 2011, and which will encourage
Anglicans throughout the world to explore various
dimensions of biblical engagement with the Fifth
Mark of Mission.  We also plan to publish during
2011 a short booklet setting out key and historic
Anglican statements on scripture.

The Steering Group will meet again in May 2012.

For more information on the work of The Bible in
the Life of the Church Project visit the website
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/ministry/theological/bible/index.cfm
(The website will be gradually updated with
material from this Steering Group meeting over
the next few weeks), or email the Project Manager
Stephen Lyon at stephenplyon@gmail.com

NB: Comments in inverted commas indicate direct
quotations from the reports of the individual regional and user 
groups.