The Word of God for the People of God: An Entryway to the Theological Interpretation of Scripture by J. Todd Billings

Author:J. Todd Billings
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2010-01-25T11:57:00+00:00

Discerning the Spirit, Part I: The Insufficiency of Direct Appeals to "Experience" as a Criterion for Discerning the Spirit's Work in Scripture

While nearly 8o percent of Americans profess to be Christians, fewer than 40 percent of them attend worship services weekly.26 In the face of so much nominal Christianity, American pastors, church leaders, and other religious professionals can frequently become obsessed with framing the gospel in a way that reflects and confirms the experience of the hearers. Like advertisers, church and parachurch groups begin to "repackage" the gospel in a way that makes it attractive to potential consumers. In this context, the goal of Scripture interpretation is to make it "relevant": that is, to take away the rough edges that may conflict with shared American experience and to make it appear useful for people who want a "value-added" life. God's word through Scripture functions to support preestablished goals: to be successful, comfortable, and healthy. The real criterion, then, for discerning a proper interpretation from an aberrant one is whether it functions to help religious consumers become successful, comfortable, and healthy. It doesn't take much time browsing the aisles of a Christian bookstore to discover that this is a mainstream approach to the use of Scripture in many American circles, not a small sideshow.27

Some advocates of an approach to biblical interpretation that places relevance as the central criterion claim that they are simply seeking to contextualize the message of the gospel. Broadly speaking, "contextualization" is a term used to speak about the process by which the gospel is communicated, received, and lived in the particularity of a specific cultural context.28 As such, the indigenizing work of the Spirit may lead to a contextualization of the gospel and scriptural interpretation in a particular cultural context, as I have explored above. But does a concern to contextualize the gospel mean that any effort to make the gospel relevant to a culture's shared experience is a participation in the Spirit's work?

Ultimately, I think that the answer is "no." There are at least two reasons for this. First of all, if we see our scriptural interpretation as part of the work of the Spirit, then we must recognize the way the Spirit's specified work rooted in Christ involves a contradiction of the values present in all cultures, even broadly shared American values such as being successful, comfortable, and healthy. While we may be eager to use the Bible in a way that relieves us of stress and helps lead us to financial security, the Spirit uses Scripture to bear witness to the cross-formed path of following Jesus Christ. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus not only says, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens"; he also says, "Take up your cross and follow me," losingyour life for Christ's sake (Matt. 11:28, 16:24-25). The Spirit does speak words of comfort through Scripture; but it is not "comfort" as defined by upper- or middle-class American values. The Spirit offers comfort in testifying that we belong to Christ and are members of his body as we follow Christ's cross-formed path.

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