In many ways, the ‘history’ Schweitzer describes exemplifies the awful dead end of seeing sources as the ‘real deal’. Again and again, these ‘histories’ explain away the only real evidence they have – the texts – in favour of their accepted agendas. On this basis, other positions follow: there must not have been messianic thought on Palm Sunday’s entrance, because none thought of Jesus that way John the baptist did not ask about Jesus being the Christ, because he would not have used that term etc. Especially if the claim of the whole Bible, including gospels, is that they relate God’s actions in history.Īnd example of an interpretive shibboleth is the way the theme of the so-called messianic secret is assumed to mean no-one anywhere thought of Jesus as the Christ, even as a possibility (exceptions to Peter, and later the other members of the Twelve). There’s no justification in the method of argument that a theological or doctrinal claim is automatically non-historical. This seems to be pursuing ‘neutral’ historical truth – but no one is neutral, everyone is committed. The people Schweitzer surveys are no intellectual midgets, but all hold to starting positions and interpretive shibboleths that are frequently flimsy in the extreme.įor example of an assumed starting position is the facile division between ‘the Christ of faith’ and ‘the Jesus of history’. It’s a self-assured survey of mostly self-assured enlightenment thinkers whose self-assured positions extremely clever-dumb. The Quest of the Historical Jesus by Albert SchweitzerĪ book famous for being ‘important’ – make of that what you will – but not a straightforward read. Quick comment: The Quest of the Historical Jesus This entry was posted in Books, Christian living, Ministry and tagged Church on 22 September, 2020 by Chris. It’s full of ideas, it set me to think of ways we can be better neighbours, and it can promote something that Smith repeatedly extols – conversation! Perhaps Smith covered this is his earlier work, Slow Church, but it still needs some coverage here.īut moving from these matters, I think this is a book worth reading with others to expand our view of what a church can be and do. I expect that ‘flourish’ (used in the subtitle) will always be a flexible term, but think some terms do require more precision. But what does Smith mean by this reconciliation? And who does it? I can’t tell if he thinks churches and Christians to some extent bring about reconciliation, or if it’s a completed work of God, or some other formulation. To limit myself to one example, take ‘reconciliation.’ This appears to be a kind of place-holder for the (true) idea that God is doing something for the whole of reality (‘the healing and reconciliation of all creation’ on p.18, or ‘a way that bears witness to the reconciling love of Christ’ on p.147). The second complaint is of theological looseness, of major terms going undefined. There often seems to be a hidden phrase at the end of sentences like, ‘We have been poor at …,’ or ‘The church has failed in …’: ‘by we I mean others.’ I sense – maybe I’m oversensitive – that there are many moments of too-easy judgmentalism. I have a couple of niggles, though, one of these is probably just a personal preference but the other is more important.įirstly, the less important complaint, about a matter I notice in Christian books from time to time. He is also equally generous in acknowledging the range of reading skill levels: there’s a clear effort to avoid snobbishness. He mentions material from technical manuals, through journalism, fiction and non-fiction, as well as the Bible. To say that reading is secondary in this work is in no way to minimise its significance, but to place reading in service of a greater purpose.įor Smith, reading is broad. As part of this – a very major part of it – is to read well and to read widely. It seems to me that Smith’s primary argument is that local churches can and should aim to make their neighbouring communities flourish. The surprise for me on reading this book is that it’s not about reading, not primarily. Reading for the Common Good: How Books Help Our Churches and Neighborhoods Flourish by C.
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