Difference between revisions of "Sermon for February 24, 2008"

Revision as of 13:21, 22 February 2008

I'd like to start this sermon off -- just as we typically start off our Presbyterian worship services -- with a confession. Don't worry, I'm not exactly expecting your assurance of forgiveness.

The confession is this: I'm not a biblical literalist. I value the Bible a great deal, and like the Presbyterian church, I affirm that it is the "unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the church universal" (that's a mouthful), but that doesn't mean I see the bible as an encyclopedia, a history textbook, a road map, or an instruction manual. I know there are many people out there see the bible as all these things, and if they find that perspective useful, I certainly don't think they are "wrong" -- I just don't share their perspective. And I'm not so sure it was the perspective of the ancient Hebrews who first recorded some of the oldest books of the bible, either.

They certainly didn't share our modern obsession with history, observable fact, the scientific method, and objective truth. Genealogy was important to them, because they valued connection and shared heritage (which is not exactly the same as our concept of "history"). They also valued stories, because stories passed down from generation to generation were the primary method of teaching and preserving important moral values.

I think the ancient Hebrews would have found puzzling some of our modern debate over "where the garden of Eden actually was" or "how exactly did Noah build the Ark" or