Jesus, the Bible, and anal-retentiveness

"Jesus, the Bible, and Anal-Rententiveness" (by nakedpastor David Hayward) Anal-retentiveness describes the need to pay such attention to detail that the obsession becomes an annoyance to others (Wikipedia). What came first? The worldview of the biblical authors or the theology that shaped their worldview? What came first for us? Our worldview or the bible that helped shape it? The bible is a product of its time and the people of its time. Was it ever intended to be used to scrupulously micro-manage our lives? I believe the problem in Christianity and the church comes down to hermeneutics- how we interpret the bible. For example, in the Pauline corpus there exist verses that some claim condemn homosexuality. However, their are other verses in the Pauline corpus, as well as larger themes, that would prepare the ground for us to not condemn it. The first excludes homosexuals. The second includes them. It comes down to hermeneutics. Either we demand that everyone adhere to the ancient documents' rules as we interpret them, or we appreciate its larger themes and allow the bible to speak from this perspective. In my opinion it is dead-ended proof-texting to support our different beliefs, moralities or agendas. Some would believe this articulates a profound disrespect for the bible. In fact, I think appreciating the bible as it is shows a greater respect. We weren't supposed to get all anal over it. newsletter    art     community     books