Tag Archives: Bible interpretation

So how’s your list of widows coming?

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Continuing yesterday’s discussion (thanks for the comments!), I want to give a good example of how our conversations are shaped by our current situation. Churches of Christ are part of the stream of belief that is called the Restoration Movement. The Restoration Movement flourished in the United States in the 19th century, and many of the doctrines that we hold were shaped around what was and wasn’t practiced in churches in general at that time (particularly Presbyterian and Baptist).

I know that idea is distasteful to many, which is why I want to offer an example. My colleague, Steve Ridgell, is doing a series of blog posts on gender roles in churches of Christ. Yesterday he brought something that is rarely discussed: the list of widows, as described in 1 Timothy 5.

“Honor widows who are truly widows.” (1 Timothy 5:3)
“Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband, and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work.” (1 Timothy 5:9–10)
“If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it may care for those who are really widows.” (1 Timothy 5:16)

So there was to be a list of widows that would be honored and cared for by the church. (Context shows that this care includes financial support) These women were to be active in the church, and there seems to be an implication that they will be expected to continue to serve. Seemingly, according to verse 12, they made some sort of pledge of devotion to the church.

Do you know of any congregation that does this? Do you know of any congregation that has seriously discussed how to fulfill this?

My thought is that we are quick to dismiss this passage because it hasn’t been a part of our practice nor that of churches around us. We may talk about it out of curiosity, but few seek to practice it in any way, despite it meeting all of the standards that command-example-inference hermeneutics would demand.

Some would argue that the lack of clarity on the exact practice is what limits us, but shouldn’t that merely be a call for further study and investigation as to what Paul is talking about?

We don’t practice it because nobody practices it. Which means our beliefs come less from the Word than from the beliefs of those around us.

Or am I missing something?

photo by Ariadna on www.morguefile.com

How should we then read

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Today is sort of a brainstorming day. I want to throw out some thoughts about reading and interpreting the Bible, hoping that you will be able to help me process some of these. Here goes…

  • We are too focused on individualized Bible study. We have lost the sense of community in Bible study. We expect every man to be able to sit down with his Bible and interpret it correctly. That’s not the imagery I see from the Bible. People heard the Word read aloud, then they interacted with one another to come to an understanding of what it means. (Maybe forums like this help us do some of that)
  • We are too individualistic in our application of texts. We focus our reading on what it says to ME, what it means to ME, how it applies to ME. We lose that sense of connection to the body of Christ. We lose our connection to the church throughout history.
  • We need to recapture “big picture” Bible reading. Texts should be read not only as they fit into their immediate context, but as a part of the continuing flow of the Bible.
  • We need to rethink how we read different parts of the Bible. Poetry is there not just to communicate ideas in memorable ways, but because of how poetry affects the whole man. Visionary literature is visionary to capture the imagination. Narrative exists not just to teach faith lessons, but to help us under OUR story. (How in the world did we ever come to think of the Old Testament as a “constitution” for God’s people? Seriously… what percentage of the Hebrew/Aramaic scriptures are dedicated to the giving of laws?)
  • We need to move beyond the idea that Bible study should be a simple endeavor. The Bible doesn’t make that claim. Some of our problems come from wanting to boil interpretative principles down to simplistic sayings that can be expressed in 25 words or less.

OK, a few thoughts for a Monday morning. Feel free to reflect on those, add some of your own, or suggest resources for study.

photo by Marian Trinidad