recent reading

I.

I read Echoing Silence, ed. by Robert Inchausti. Excerpts from Thomas Merton's writings that relate to the 'vocation of writing.'

p. 140 -- the linguist Brice Parain "sees the problem of language as ultimately a metaphysical problem....can language make sense if there is no God? In other words, what is the point of talking about truth and falsity if there is no God?" Without God, language is just a series of arbitrary noises.

p. 86 -- "The Christian's vision of the world ought, by its very nature, to have in it something of poetic inspiration. Our faith ought to be capable of filling our hearts with a wonder and a wisdom which see beyond the surface of things and events, and grasp something of the inner and sacred meaning of the cosmos...which sings the praises of its Creator and Redeemer."

p. 56 -- "If there is no silence beyond and within the many words of doctrine, there is no religion, only a religious ideology... Where this silence is lacking, where there are only the 'many words' and not the One word, then there is much bustle and activity, but no peace, no deep thought, no understanding, no inner quiet."


p. 74 -- "We need to learn to write disciplined prose..." but first we have "the duty of writing nonsense. We have to learn the knack of free association, to let loose what is hidden in our depths...to release the face that is sweating under the mask and let it sweat out in the open for a change."


II.

I read the book Tell Me a Story by Daniel Taylor. It's about how stories shape our lives; and about how we can rewrite the story of our lives.

p. 129 -- "Good stories often tell us things that never happened, but they never tell us lies."

p. 79 -- a quote from Alfred North Whitehead: "Religions commit suicide when the find their inspiration in dogmas. The inspiration of religion lies in history."

I love this line from a chapter of 'finding a plot.' Taylor writes, "Although it's embarrassing to admit, I had a happy childhood." (p.62)

p. 28 -- Here's a good thought for Christian education or for parents: "It is crucial that we surround children, and ourselves, with healthy stories."


III.

I read the bound-in-book-form lecture: "The Westminster Tanner-McMurrin Lectures on the History and Philosophy of Religion at Westminster College. The lecture was given by Paul van Buren, entitled, "The Change in the Church's Understanding of the Jewish People." (given on Feb. 15, 1990)

Paul van Buren has had a great influence on the way I think about Jewish religion. I read his three-volume work on A Theology of the Jewish-Christian Reality back in the 1980s. I remember sitting by a camp fire in one of Indiana's State parks where we were camping--and reading van Buren.

I like this statement from his lecture about asking what the Bible really says: "Having never met a Bible with lips, I find I have to hear from the mouths of particular Jews or particular Christians what they think the Bible says." He goes on: "I see no way around the fact that a story is always someone's story, told for some purpose, which is another way of saying that no community can have a sacred scripture that is not selectively read and particularly interpreted." This is an important point. The Bible doesn't really "say" anything until we give our interpretation of what is says. All interpretations are relative. That's why we all must approach the Bible humbly and listen to other opinions humbly. If God actually leaned down and whispered into our ears his exact words and thoughts, we would not have denominations because we would all hear the same thing. But it doesn't work that way. All theologies are relative. They are human works.


IV.

I've also read Post-Holocaust Christianity: Paul van Buren's Theology of the Jewish-Christian Reality by James H. Wallis.(Univ. Press of America)

In this book, Wallis gives an assessment of van Buren's theology.

I began going to the Jewish-Christian Dialogue seminars at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis back in the 80s. I probably went for 10 years in a row. Both Jewish and Christian scholars spoke at these events. It opened up my mind to all kinds of Biblical issues that I have never been able to shake.

There are various approaches. The traditional: the church has replaced the Jews as God's people; we are the New Israel. Jews must become Christians. Or the 'Two Covenant' approach: God made a covenant with the Jews. It has never been revoked. Then a new covenant with Gentiles. And now there are still two covenants in tack. It's like two train tracks that are parallel. Or the 'One Covenant' approach: There is only one Covenant God has made. It began with Abraham. It was renewed with David, etc. In the fullness of time God brought Gentiles into this covenant with the Jews. Therefore, both Jews and Christians are part of the same covenant, which has two sets of rules: one for Jews, and one for Gentiles/Christians.

Of course this Jewish/Christian dialogue gets into issues like the meaning of Torah (Law), how to interpret Paul's writings; how to understand the mission of Jesus; the meaning of grace and salvation; what Judaism was like in the first century. What John's gospel and the book of Acts mean by the phrase "the Jews." Etc.

There have been many "post-holocaust" theologies written. The Holocaust was a decisive event for the church. The church's anti-Judaism that helped bring about the Nazi massacres is a fact of history that cannot be ignored. This atrocious event has mandated that the church take a new look at its theology and repent of its anti-Jewish attitudes, words, and theology.

And all of this plays into current political ideologies regarding the State of Israel in modern times.

I'm currently reading a couple of other books on Jewish themes. As a Christian I have found that the more I study Judaism (historical and current), the closer I get to Jesus. The Jewishness of Jesus is a fact that cannot help but challenge our thinking.

God came to us in a rabbi.

Shalom.