Tag Archives: Scripture

Competency one: developing a shared biblical imagination for mission

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Mark Love

Communities of faith participating in the life of God in a new missional era have the capacity to develop a shared biblical imagination. The really big word in this sentence is “shared.”My sense is that there are few biblical texts … Continue reading →

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One Thought on God and Scripture

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Mark Love

If you start with certain notions of God, e.g. that God is undivided, changeless, eternal–a view given to us by Greek philosophy and now wed to much Christian theology, particularly reformed varieties–then Scripture has to share those qualities to represent … Continue reading →

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Not all biblical texts are created equal

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Mark Love

My first semester in grad school, I took Tom Olbricht’s course, Religious Teachings of the New Testament. (It was before we believed in theology at ACU. Apparently, we believed in religion). The first lecture changed my life. The rest of … Continue reading →

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Why “Bless Your Little Heart” is a Work of the Flesh and other Observations on an Ecology of the Word

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Mark Love

In the last post, I suggested that congregational leadership could be thought of around two movements: discerning and joining. Specifically, leadership is responsible for maintaining the conditions whereby the congregation can discern the mission of God and join it. Leadership … Continue reading →

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Out of Answers?: you’re not out of God

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Mark Love

I have the privilege of teaching the Bible to college freshman. For most of them, the Bible is mostly a set of impressions. Even if they know some Bible stories, they really know very little about the Bible. They think … Continue reading →

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How to Read Your Bible More Better, Drei

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Mark Love

Beyond all the techniques for reading, the most important thing you bring to the text is questions. The kinds of questions you ask of a text determine to a large extent the kinds of answers you get back. So, in … Continue reading →

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How Better to Read the Bible, Deuce

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Mark Love

Slow down. Read longer sections. This piece of two-fold advice runs counter to our ADD culture.We want to dip into the Bible, grab a nugget of inspiration and get on with our day. Problem is, not much of the Bible … Continue reading →

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How Better to Read Your Bible

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Mark Love

Cultural, biblical literacy is pretty poor and getting worse. I know this because the freshman survey course I teach on the Bible at a Christian college is long on inexperience. Even the kids who grew up going to Sunday School … Continue reading →

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The Diversity of Scripture: Holy God, Holy Bible

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Mark Love

Anyone who reads the Bible closely knows that there it possesses impressive diversity. Not all perspectives in Scripture are the same. Some of the differences we find in Scripture are insignificant, but some of them are more substantial and make … Continue reading →

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Meaning and the Spiritual Value of the Original Audience

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Mark Love

I don’t think all readings of texts are created equal. Some are better than others, and its better to have good readings than poor ones. I certainly don’t want to encourage an environment in which everyone’s private, idiosyncratic reading of … Continue reading →

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