post for 3/27/15

                This week we began discussing world views of the Bible. Obviously, people who experienced colonization, or whose ancestors experienced colonization read and interpret the Bible differently than those who have not. It is possible to experience colonization as a colonizer or as the colonized. Post-colonial interpretation of the Bible is the newest interpretation.

                It is very important to promote other readings of the Bible. It is important to examine other perspectives of the Bible and to learn different perspectives. As a person of European decent it is important to remember that the Europeans where pretty horrible to the rest of the world. It is important that often, the whites where not the first people in an area. The white people often trampled on other cultures and ideas. They often exterminated nonwhite culture. Now, it is time to recognize the beauty and wonder of other cultures. It is time to apologize for the harm. It is time for nonwhite culture to shine. I think that people should be exposed to other nonwhite cultures. It will help people to discover more about themselves and about their beliefs. It is important to remember that for others, the European view is not the right view, it is not the productive view, and it is not the proper view. It is important to accept other’s views in order to fully accept other’s in to the church.

                Next, it is also important to recognize the harms of colonization. It is important to recognize that colonization eradicated peoples and cultures. In order to right this wrong, we must begin to recognize other interpretations. We must bring other cultures in to the fold. And European cultures must recognize the harms that they caused. In order to properly do this, they must listen. In order to truly listen they must observe and reflect on other cultures, including post-colonial interpretations of the Bible.   

                So, the Europeans did horrible things to the people that they concurred and colonized. They destroyed several cultures, or at least suppressed them. It is now time to fix these mistakes. It is time to listen and observe other cultures. It is time to understand that the European interpretation is not the only one. For many people the European interpretation is simply wrong.  It is not productive, it is not helpful and many may even view it as harmful. It is time for the Europeans to recognize other interpretations and to recognize the harms that they caused. 

post for 3/20/15

                This week we discussed debt and the Bible. The Bible instructs the rich to lend to the poor. This commandment can be found in Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Leviticus though the amount of responsibility varies. The Bible speaks exclusively to the rich and not to the poor. In fact, the Bible does not give much voice to the poor. It gives clear and meaningful instructions to the wealthy but does not give a voice to the poor. The Bible does not consider what it was like to be poor in ancient times. It does not consider the life of the poor.

                This is a clear call to the wealthy. The wealthy must help the poor. The Bible is addressed to the wealthy. The Bible does not address not becoming poor; rather it addresses what to do for the poor.  This can be applied to modern day. The Bible demands that the wealthy take care of the poor. In modern day, we must take care of the poor. The rich must support the poor; the wealthy countries must support the poorer countries. The Bible also demands that creditors relieve debt. In our society we should implement this policy. Debt should be relieved periodically. No one should be forced into lifelong debt because they dared to go to college or bought a house or a home. The US government should mandate a limit on all public and private loans.

                This process is necessary. It is often difficult to pull yourself out of poverty if you are always in debt. It may be hard to get more loans, because the person may have bad credit. This could mean that they cannot gain access to housing or necessities because they may not be able to pay.

                There are also several other necessities for the poor that must be addressed. For instance more and more companies are moving to automated pay checks. This means that companies directly deposit money into their employee’s accounts. However, a person must actually have an account. Often, in order to get an account a person must have a permanent address. If a person is homeless they do not have a permanent address.  Also, a person often must have an initial deposit. If a person does not have a job they may not have an initial deposit. There for people who are homeless cannot open accounts. Because they cannot open accounts they cannot get jobs. This creates a never ending cycle of poverty. There are stories and problems like this.

                Poverty and debt is a significant problem that still plaques our society. As a society we must address this problem. We must recognize that everyone has a duty or obligation to take care of their fellow humans. After all, the Bible demands that we take care of each other.

post for 3/6/15

                This week we discussed domestic violence and the Bible.  We read several passages from the Bible that seem to suggest that Domestic violence is approved by God.  In this context it is hard to say that the Bible is authoritative, which makes it hard to say God is authoritative.  Domestic Violence is a terrible crime and should be stopped, but it is also clear that in ancient times, and even in more recent times domestic violence was acceptable and perhaps even favored or the law.

                The Bible seems to justify the crime of domestic violence, and has been used to justify domestic violence in the past. This idea all can be tied to the idea that women are the property of their husbands. A property owner has the right to do as he pleases with his property. Also, women must be submissive, if a wife is not submissive and does not follow the laws the husband must punish her. Therefore, it is a husband’s duty almost to beat his wife into submission.

                Also, we must look at cultural context of the Bible, as we have done for every other topic we have examined. In this particular context domestic violence was approved, accepted and even advocated. However, times have changed. Domestic violence is no longer an acceptable form of interaction. This class has examined the cultural context of the Bible several times and has determined that certain rules are not really applicable any more. This is also true for the laws found in the book of Deuteronomy. Domestic violence is no longer acceptable, though it may have been acceptable then. Also, some scholars have argued that many laws, including those found in Deuteronomy are descriptive of the ancient Israelite culture, they are not necessarily prescriptive for future generations. I think that it is safe to assume that these passages in Deuteronomy are descriptive and are not prescriptive.

                Domestic violence is a terrible terrible crime. There should be safe havens for both men and women to escape the harms of domestic abuse. No one should use the Bible to justify this horrible crime. Also, many parts of the bible are descriptive, they are not prescriptive. Many passages that seemingly justify violence towards a significant other (especially women) , are just that. We must examine the culture that surrounded the writing of the Bible, that culture justified domestic violence largely because it valued women as being nothing more than property. Our culture, recognizes that all people have important value and must be treated with dignity and respect, therefore domestic violence is longer acceptable.