GROWING A REAL CHURCH IN THE AGE OF POST-MODERNISM
by Bob Wickizer
Scripture: 2 Kings 2:1-12, Psalms 50:1-6, 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, Mark 9:2-9
Title: Growing a Real Church in the Age of Post-Modernism
Author: Bob Wickizer
Text: 2 Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9
I want to launch today's reflection on a very serious note. The future of Christianity. The future of the Western world. The future of democracy. The future of the Episcopal Church. The future well-being of generations that come after us. All these things depend upon our understanding of a thing called "hermeneutics" and, in turn, what we proclaim as a result.
When you go out to brunch today after church, your friends will ask you, "What did your preacher talk about today?" and you will answer, "Hermeneutics," and they will reply, "Say what?" The word refers to a process we take for granted and don't think about much which is why it is dangerous. It just means the way in which we approach a piece of textual information in order to understand it.
For example, when you read a restaurant menu, you will automatically be biased as an American to think that French words describing food imply the food is superior or better prepared. Who doesn't think that sautéed food is better than food heated in oil? Or that
Les Légumes are better than vegetables
Les Fruits de Mer et Le Poisson is better than seafood and fish
Beignet is better than a doughnut?
And then there is the energy you are willing to devote to understanding something. The energy you expend in reading the menu at a drive through coffee shop will be far less than the time and energy you spend reviewing an offer letter for your next job. These are issues of hermeneutics.
Each of us has our own unique frame of reference for interpreting and understanding the communications of others. Our frame of reference is formed by our family of origin, our learning of a language, the history at the time, our education, the influence of others, the time-shifting of the meaning of words, our health and our body, and our desires. Failure or unwillingness t ...
Author: Bob Wickizer
Text: 2 Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9
I want to launch today's reflection on a very serious note. The future of Christianity. The future of the Western world. The future of democracy. The future of the Episcopal Church. The future well-being of generations that come after us. All these things depend upon our understanding of a thing called "hermeneutics" and, in turn, what we proclaim as a result.
When you go out to brunch today after church, your friends will ask you, "What did your preacher talk about today?" and you will answer, "Hermeneutics," and they will reply, "Say what?" The word refers to a process we take for granted and don't think about much which is why it is dangerous. It just means the way in which we approach a piece of textual information in order to understand it.
For example, when you read a restaurant menu, you will automatically be biased as an American to think that French words describing food imply the food is superior or better prepared. Who doesn't think that sautéed food is better than food heated in oil? Or that
Les Légumes are better than vegetables
Les Fruits de Mer et Le Poisson is better than seafood and fish
Beignet is better than a doughnut?
And then there is the energy you are willing to devote to understanding something. The energy you expend in reading the menu at a drive through coffee shop will be far less than the time and energy you spend reviewing an offer letter for your next job. These are issues of hermeneutics.
Each of us has our own unique frame of reference for interpreting and understanding the communications of others. Our frame of reference is formed by our family of origin, our learning of a language, the history at the time, our education, the influence of others, the time-shifting of the meaning of words, our health and our body, and our desires. Failure or unwillingness t ...
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