A quick and fun exercise. For each of the biblical commands or statements below, answer: Which of these instructions from Scipture are still in force for us today exactly as they are articulated “on the page”? You have a couple choices:
A. This instruction is still in force completely as stated
B. This instruction is in force only in part or in a modified fashion through an underlying principle
C. This no longer applies today
(hint: don’t forget to note the scripture references!) Have fun.
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___ “God… said to them [Adam and Eve], ‘Be fruitful and increase in number'” (Gen 1.28)
___ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Duet 6.5)
___ “When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce… you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow” (Duet 26.12)
___ “Greet on another with a holy kiss” (1 Cor 16.20)
___ “Women should remain silent in the churches” (1 Cor 14.34)
___ “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman” (Lev 18.22)
___ “Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it” (Lev 18.23)
___ “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28.19)
___ “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (Jn 13.14)
___ “Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish” (Prov 31.6-7)
___ “Praise God with tambourine and dancing… praise him with the clash of cymbals” (Ps 150.4-5)
___ “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh” (1 Pet 2.18)
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If you – like me – hold the Scriptures as God’s story and voice that is our bedrock for life and practice… this can make your head spin, huh? The above text is copied almost verbatim from Slaves, Women, and Homosexuals by William J Webb. The topic is cultural hermeneutics, and I think to be a Jesus-follower or a critic alike – we need to understand this…
technocrati tags: cultural hermenutics theology christian thought William J Webb homosexual
Chris Ridgeway 
Technically I guess all of the should be A, but I’ll let myself wander a little bit from the easy answer.
1. B (we don’t really need an increase in number, but the continuation of the human species is arguably a good thing)
2. A
3. B (Tithing is still a strong suggestion, but we don’t treat it as law. And now we basically give all of the 10% to the Levite)
4. A (I Could use some more lovin’, eh? Actually, I’d hesitate to call this an instruction if by instruction we mean Biblical law since it’s in a letter)
5. C (Brooke’s worship band would have lost a lot of it’s effectiveness if we observed this one. I’d also be iffy calling this one a God-given commandment)
6. A
7. A
8. A
9. A (though I think this might be one of those crazy metaphors)
10. C (It’s a proverb. Written by kings and wisemen. I see Proverbs more as a “Life’s Little Instruction Book” than as the directions on the back of a Monopoly box. Bring on the beer and wine though)
11. C (Psalms is a hymnbook. It’s like reading through Christian rock lyrics to find instruction. The authors and the age might give it a bit more weight, but my point stands)
12. C (It’s a letter again)
It fun that your first thought was sorta that all the answers “should” be A. Why?
Interesting answers. What criteria did you use to evaluate? For instance, you seemed clear on 6 and 7 as sexual mores. But they’re buried in Old Testament law. In the next chapter there are laws regarding not allowing two kinds of cloth woven together. Why are you so sure about these being musts?
You seem to think a little bit about literature type (ie – you referenced “a letter” or the psalms). It seems like you feel a letter has less binding force than perhaps another type of literature. But most of the New Testament is made up of letters. Commands in New Testament letters (and not explicitely elsewhere) include “Carry each other’s burdens”, “for it is by grace you have been saved through faith – and this not of youselves, it is the gift of god” “put on the full armor of God” “preach the word of God – be persistent, whether the time is favorable or not.”
lots more. So would we say that these instructions are binding on Christians?
Well, I said all the answers should be A because I’ve never come accross anything in the Bible that suggested that those commands would have changed.
I chose A for 6 and 7 mostly because I didn’t have much to add about them so I defaulted to my “everything should be A” stance. If there was a question in there about the two types of cloth (which is exactly the example I think of) then I probably wouldn’t have been able to get away with answering 6 and 7.
I used to give the letters in the New Testament the same credibility, but I don’t anymore. They weren’t written as cannon, I don’t know why they have more “binding force” than other non-cannonical letters and gospels or say, a Donal Miller book (or maybe even a Pat Robertson book to which I would lend very little credibility).
Really I’d have a hard time giving any of the Bible authority. In the Old Testament I can’t separate laws that seem to have meaning today from the Martha Stewart laws (those having to do with sewing and cooking). In the New Testament Espistles, Psalms, and Proverbs, I see human authors who had insight and were thoughtful, but weren’t necessarily writing out divine law. I give the most credit to the words that Jesus actually spoke, but am skeptical about how well they were preserved and some of how they’re interpreted by the modern church.
I’m inconsistant becuase there are different levels at work. What are we asking? “According to the Bible, does this writer/passage have divine authority?” (Is this a commandment from God or a suggestion from man?) or “According to the Bible, is this specific thing right?” (in which case we can decide line-by-line) or “Do I think, barring any premises, that this is law?” (which is really the bigger question: Is the Bible, or at least part of it, truth?)