Friday, October 3, 2014

Chapter 11: The Lost World

Chapter 10 is available here.  Chapter 11 is titled  "Functional Cosmic Temple" Offers Face-Value Exegesis''. This chapter mainly argues about the kind of exegetical principle one should use while reading the biblical text. The author argues that in interpreting a text, it is important to understand what the author is trying to tell to the primary audience. Those in the 21st century are not the primary audience of the Genesis text, and therefore, we shall not be getting the meaning of the text right unless we plough through the historical context in which the text was first composed. Some readers try to read scientific truths in the Scripture saying that all truths is God's truth.There is a danger is doing such thing. For example, the scientific truth that we now consider is the truth may change few decades later. Moreover, such reading may be reading much more than what the author intended. Since God has spoken through human author, who is situated in a particular cultural and historical context, to read the Scripture correctly, it is essential to take this conditions into consideration while trying to get the meaing right. Concordists way of reading the text does injustice to the author's intention. (Concordists read the text such that the text will concord with the scientific finding of the day.)

Genesis text is in a way a response of the author to the prevailing religious view of the day. The general belief then was polytheistic; the Genesis author offers a monotheistic view. 

Even while reading religious text of the Buddhists or Hindus or Muslims or Sikhs, how important it is to try to understand as the author intended his audience to understand!

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