Tag: Kenneth Bailey
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Paul thru Mediterranean Eyes– a Review Part One (Ben Witherington)
The Bible and Culture: Paul thru Mediterranean Eyes– a Review Part One (Ben Witherington) What follows in the next ten days, is my extended review and critique of Ken Bailey’s latest book, which won a Christianity Today book award this past year. I have appreciated many of Ken’s interesting insights and perspectives over the years,…
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The Rev. Dr. Kenneth E. Bailey: Jesus, the Oppressed, and the Oppressors
"Friend of Trinity Dr. Ken Bailey stops by and shares his work on the stories of Jesus in Jericho in Luke 18 and 19. Here, Jesus ministers to a blind man and the vertically challenged Zacchaeus. Dr. Bailey argues that these parables are meant to be read together, and the result is a Jesus whose…
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Jesus as Rabbi: Ken Bailey vs. Tom Wright
What was the nature of Jesus' preparation for ministry? Was Jesus a rabbi who received intensive training in a learning community, or was he a prophet who told compelling stories over and over that were burned into the memories of his hearers? Kenneth Bailey writes: In Jesus’ day, across the villages of Galilee and Judea,…
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Sins of Interpretation #7: Electrical Shock Theory
The final of Kenneth Bailey's Sins of Biblical interpretation, as presented in Interpreting the Bible, is what he calls the Electrical Shock Theory. If I were naming it, I'd probably call it the Free Association Theory. Bailey clarifies that reading the Bible for inspirational and devotional purposes is entirely appropriate. All of us should. But…
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Sins of Interpretation #6: Changing the Ground Rules
The sixth sin of biblical interpretation in Kenneth Bailey's Interpreting the Bible is the sin of Changing the Ground Rules. Today, when we think of historical description, we equate accurate history with precision in the facts of recorded events. This was not the case with Middle Eastern accounts of history. Indeed, it has not been…
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Sins of Interpretation #5: Colored Glasses Theory
Today we visit Kenneth Bailey’s fifth sin of biblical interpretation as presented in Interpreting the Bible. He calls it the Colored Glasses Theory. Bailey reminds us that we are each shaped by our culture and context. How we read the Bible is influenced by the sermons we’ve heard, Bible translations we’ve used, what our parents…
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Sins of Interpretation #4: Mathemitazation of Scripture
The fourth of Bailey’s interpretation, “sins,” in Interpreting the Bible is the mathemitazation of Scripture. Bailey is referring to a dehistoricizing and decontextualization of Scripture. Passages in Scripture are treated as though they were a set of mathematical formulas. Much like we could translate “two plus two equals four” into any language without any loss…
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Sins of Interpretation #3: Cut and Paste Method
The third sin of interpretation presented by Kenneth Bailey in Interpreting the Bible is what he calls the "Cut and Paste method." As he introduced this method, I expected to hear about Thomas Jefferson's famous effort to edit out of his Bible those portions that dealt with supernatural acts or other issues with which he…