Where Do We Begin? Part 1

One might think of the Bible as a book that demonstrates how God has acted in a relationship with his people. According to Dr. George Ladd, the late Professor of Theology at Fuller Seminary, “Scripture is the word of God written in the words of men.” [ref]George E. Ladd, New Testament and Criticism, 1966), 12[/ref] For him, acts and words are an inseparable unity.[ref]Ladd, Criticism, 27[/ref] God has delivered these acts and words in a variety of literary forms, among them narrative. According to Fee and Stuart, narrative or story comprises about forty percent of the Old Testament. [ref]Fee and Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, 89[/ref] Narrative is the primary genre of the Gospels, [ref]Fee and Stuart, How to Read, 127[/ref] and an underlying substructure of the writings of Paul according to Richard Hays. [ref]Echos of Scripture in the letters of Paul. xixx-xxv[/ref]

My argument is that the church’s understanding of the Story of God in Scripture is, for the most part, seriously fragmented. Understanding the whole Story is not a concept that is celebrated in the church at the in our present timeframe.

I have deep concerns for the church moving across a cultural divide, that members on each side of the divide (Modern and Postmodern) have ample opportunity to have a holistic look at the overarching Story of God as it is presented in Scripture. These blogs are intended to be a challenge to the church to understand what her story is and how to become the people of God living as his recreated humanity, as a light to this present evil age. Knowing the story will help in answering the question: How are the people of God to advance the gospel as they improvise the Story of God for the sake of the world?

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