March 17, 2007

Postmodernism and the Bible: Introduction

By James Arlandson
In the late 1980s or early 1990s, a pastor reported this conversation (as I recall it) between him and a woman from his large congregation. She apparently wanted him to approve of something.Woman: I'm in a wonderful relationship with a man. I'm happy. And I believe God wants me happy.Pastor: Tell me. Is the man your husband?Woman: No, someone else.Pastor: But you're married, right?Woman: Right.Pastor: Then you're committing adultery, according to Scripture.Woman: No, that's your opinion! Pastor: No, it's not a matter of opinion. That's what the Word of God clearly says. Woman: No, that's your opinion! Then she stomped off, harrumphing."Opinion" seems to mean "interpretation." So this question needs to be asked: Would anyone living in the 1920s, for example, say to a pastor that "thou shalt not commit adultery" (the Seventh Commandment) is a matter of interpretation? Rather, the adulterer or adulteress probably would have said, "Yes, you're right. The...(Read Full Article)