There are two things I struggle with in the approach, and I think it comes out in your blog.
1. How can we do this sort of Biblical theology without being more contextual and aware of our own positionality in the way we read and interpret Scripture. Even with a high view of Biblical revelation we have the hermeneutical task of applying ancient words in the modern / postmodern world... And we two are both old white men. ???
2. Some things of your approach tend towards essentialism or cultures, ethnicities, people groups. We abandoned the idea of race as an essential (creational given?) category long ago.. If race is a social construct then culture, ethnicity and most identity categories (except those attached to human bodies.. e.g. sex, body size and shape??) are also social constructs, (including sender and sexulaity?).. While cultures (and languages) associated with ethnicity are different and need to be valued and respected , they do change over time, and especially with migration, and there is mixing and blending of cultural forms, and the gene pools of ethnic groups.
We would I think both agree that all who are in Christ form a new humanity, and that this is a primary identity for citizens of heaven... But in a not yet perfect church, living in a far from perfect society, navigating this is all very tricky.
Interesting stud John.. thanks.
I have a lot of sympathy with the Reformed aproach to Scripture and it's implications for social life, economics and politics.. I reviewed Kaemingk's book sympathetically a few years ago https://williamtemplefoundation.org.uk/blog-review-christian-hospitality-muslim-immigration/
There are two things I struggle with in the approach, and I think it comes out in your blog.
1. How can we do this sort of Biblical theology without being more contextual and aware of our own positionality in the way we read and interpret Scripture. Even with a high view of Biblical revelation we have the hermeneutical task of applying ancient words in the modern / postmodern world... And we two are both old white men. ???
2. Some things of your approach tend towards essentialism or cultures, ethnicities, people groups. We abandoned the idea of race as an essential (creational given?) category long ago.. If race is a social construct then culture, ethnicity and most identity categories (except those attached to human bodies.. e.g. sex, body size and shape??) are also social constructs, (including sender and sexulaity?).. While cultures (and languages) associated with ethnicity are different and need to be valued and respected , they do change over time, and especially with migration, and there is mixing and blending of cultural forms, and the gene pools of ethnic groups.
We would I think both agree that all who are in Christ form a new humanity, and that this is a primary identity for citizens of heaven... But in a not yet perfect church, living in a far from perfect society, navigating this is all very tricky.