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Reading In Communion: Scripture and Ethics in Christian Life
Alternate Cover Edition to ISBN 9781579101244.
- GenresTheology
177 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1991
34 people want to read
About the author
Stephen E. Fowl
27 books5 followersDr. Stephen E. Nowl is the chair of the Department of Theology at Loyola University Maryland.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 18, 2024
I really liked what this book had to say. I didn’t like everything about how it was said.
Worth a read though, especially for the last chapter which describes Bonhoeffer’s exemplary embodiment of “reading in communion.”
Worth a read though, especially for the last chapter which describes Bonhoeffer’s exemplary embodiment of “reading in communion.”
September 18, 2012
Absolutely fantastic exploration of re-discovering the disciplined practice of reading Scripture in Christian community in order to then embody what we understand it to be saying. Offers an excellent critique of finding "the meaning" of the text, and the need to listen to "the outsider."
October 26, 2018
This book asks: How should Christians embody Scripture?
Moral rules, the authors say, are “contextualized within the friendships and practices of particular communities.” These rules are likely “relatively stable and authoritative,” though “in principle open to revision.” (p. 10) Since “there is no way to talk about moral decisions apart from people’s contexts, convictions, and commitments,” it’s important not to overly focus on “decisions made by isolated individuals.” (p. 9)
In part, the book focuses on how to engage people who are different from ourselves. Outsiders “may have coherent beliefs different from ours” (p. 124) and we cannot assume that, if they “could stand in our shoes, they would agree with us, they would think like us, they would be us.” (p. 123) Outsiders are, in fact, different from us — we and the outsider are not disguised versions of each other — and we may need to engage with them in a way unlike the way in which we engage with our own communities.
This is well phrased:
The authors believe that “rules, principles, claims, values and the like” depend on human traditions and all humans aren't universally bound to accept the same systems. (p. 11) Scriptural interpretation, too, they say, depends on communal tradition. (p. 21)
However, the authors do believe that “all people are called to live as disciples of Jesus Christ,” and for this reason they assert that they do not maintain “a relativism about morality.” (p. 11) Personally, I happen not to see what makes discipleship of Jesus stand apart from everything else and how that one detail would turn a relativist moral system into a non-relativist one. This meta-ethics looks relativist to me, and I am happy with that.
Moral rules, the authors say, are “contextualized within the friendships and practices of particular communities.” These rules are likely “relatively stable and authoritative,” though “in principle open to revision.” (p. 10) Since “there is no way to talk about moral decisions apart from people’s contexts, convictions, and commitments,” it’s important not to overly focus on “decisions made by isolated individuals.” (p. 9)
In part, the book focuses on how to engage people who are different from ourselves. Outsiders “may have coherent beliefs different from ours” (p. 124) and we cannot assume that, if they “could stand in our shoes, they would agree with us, they would think like us, they would be us.” (p. 123) Outsiders are, in fact, different from us — we and the outsider are not disguised versions of each other — and we may need to engage with them in a way unlike the way in which we engage with our own communities.
This is well phrased:
“First, in our judgment of the world we also judge ourselves. We discover the ways in which our own lives, as communities and individuals, continue to reflect that ‘world’ of unbelief rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As James Wm. McClendon has suggested, ‘the line between church and world passes right through each Christian’s heart’. We need to allow the world to provide readings of us because we can too easily conflate the Church and the Kingdom, presuming that the world is not — or at least is not any longer — a part of our lives. So, for example, when we condemn racism or sexism as incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we need to allow the world to ‘read’ us by showing how the practices and institutions of Christian communities continue to be racist and sexist.” (pp. 47-48)
The authors believe that “rules, principles, claims, values and the like” depend on human traditions and all humans aren't universally bound to accept the same systems. (p. 11) Scriptural interpretation, too, they say, depends on communal tradition. (p. 21)
However, the authors do believe that “all people are called to live as disciples of Jesus Christ,” and for this reason they assert that they do not maintain “a relativism about morality.” (p. 11) Personally, I happen not to see what makes discipleship of Jesus stand apart from everything else and how that one detail would turn a relativist moral system into a non-relativist one. This meta-ethics looks relativist to me, and I am happy with that.
March 27, 2016
This book clearly put to words (and expanded greatly) what I have been thinking and feeling in part for years now. Retrieving a communal understanding of Scriptural interpretation, embodied within the community in order to build Christian character. This work has changed the way I view Biblical study and interpretation. I look forward to using this work to form the practices of my church's communal life.
The authors contend that the interpretation of Scripture happens best within practicing communities of faith who are seeking to faithfully embody their interpretations in community and in the world. Seeing the Bible as Scripture is a very different perspective than seeing the Bible as an ancient text among others and will result in different interpretive questions being brought to the text, namely, ‘how do we live faithfully in this time and in this place?’ Wise readings of Scripture and the world are made possible by the community of faith shaped and formed by the Triune God. The task of Biblical interpretation is a two-way dialogue between past and present in order that performance of Scripture becomes faithful to the God whom the Scriptures bear witness. Any discontinuities between 'then' and 'now' are primarily moral (our failure to faithfully embody Christian living) and not historical in nature. Thus, faithful interpretation is closely linked with Christ-like character which, formed through communal practices, allows the community to hear the Word of God over-against as the need arises. Failure of character can lead to misinterpretation and self-serving Biblical justification for practices that work against God's will for His people. As part of the development of character and seeking to faithfully embody the interpretation of Scripture the community shaped by the Triune God is open to the views and perspectives of outsiders who may be used by Christ to bring clarity and correction. The authors end with a discussion of how Bonhoeffer embodied this approach to Biblical interpretation and raise some intriguing questions about how his life could have turned out differently had he continued to be part of an interpretive community.
The authors contend that the interpretation of Scripture happens best within practicing communities of faith who are seeking to faithfully embody their interpretations in community and in the world. Seeing the Bible as Scripture is a very different perspective than seeing the Bible as an ancient text among others and will result in different interpretive questions being brought to the text, namely, ‘how do we live faithfully in this time and in this place?’ Wise readings of Scripture and the world are made possible by the community of faith shaped and formed by the Triune God. The task of Biblical interpretation is a two-way dialogue between past and present in order that performance of Scripture becomes faithful to the God whom the Scriptures bear witness. Any discontinuities between 'then' and 'now' are primarily moral (our failure to faithfully embody Christian living) and not historical in nature. Thus, faithful interpretation is closely linked with Christ-like character which, formed through communal practices, allows the community to hear the Word of God over-against as the need arises. Failure of character can lead to misinterpretation and self-serving Biblical justification for practices that work against God's will for His people. As part of the development of character and seeking to faithfully embody the interpretation of Scripture the community shaped by the Triune God is open to the views and perspectives of outsiders who may be used by Christ to bring clarity and correction. The authors end with a discussion of how Bonhoeffer embodied this approach to Biblical interpretation and raise some intriguing questions about how his life could have turned out differently had he continued to be part of an interpretive community.
November 22, 2016
Reared in American individualism, converted in an American free church tradition that emphasizes individual, personal conversion, and suffering through a language that has no plural "you," not reading as an individual is almost impossible. Fowl and Jones challenge the very fabric of most American Christians in their Scripture reading.
Reading in Communion is filled with insights concerning how to read the text from a different perspective. The most challenging, for me, is listening to the outsiders. Then, unexpectedly, they list Scripture as one of the chief outside voices. The repeated phrase, "over-against ourselves," challenges us to consider letting the Scriptures read us instead of the other way around. I'm reminded of a principle taught me in Seminary by Dr. Bruce Shields, "Letting the text ask you questions."
The closing chapter on Dietrich Bonhoeffer makes me want to go read more about this great German Christian who chose to challenge the status quo of Scripture reading in a season of the church's life in which most chose to only read Scripture for themselves.
Not always an easy read, this is a challenge to any of us who have trouble coming to Scripture with a willingness to be read instead of to read.
Reading in Communion is filled with insights concerning how to read the text from a different perspective. The most challenging, for me, is listening to the outsiders. Then, unexpectedly, they list Scripture as one of the chief outside voices. The repeated phrase, "over-against ourselves," challenges us to consider letting the Scriptures read us instead of the other way around. I'm reminded of a principle taught me in Seminary by Dr. Bruce Shields, "Letting the text ask you questions."
The closing chapter on Dietrich Bonhoeffer makes me want to go read more about this great German Christian who chose to challenge the status quo of Scripture reading in a season of the church's life in which most chose to only read Scripture for themselves.
Not always an easy read, this is a challenge to any of us who have trouble coming to Scripture with a willingness to be read instead of to read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews