Call and Response

If you haven't heard it, hear it. What a powerful statement that really captures the feelings of someone told to shut up and get over it! The voice of conscience is a powerful one and it should not be silenced.

"Not Ready to Make Nice"
-Dixie Chicks

Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I’m not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I’m still waiting
I’m through with doubt
There’s nothing left for me to figure out
I’ve paid a price
And I’ll keep paying
I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should
I know you said
Can’t you just get over it
It turned my whole world around
And I kind of like it
I made my bed and I sleep like a baby
With no regrets and I don’t mind sayin’
It’s a sad sad story when a mother will teach her
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger
And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they’d write me a letter
Sayin’ that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over
I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should
I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should
Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I’m not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I’m still waiting

Here's an interesting intro to some different methods of looking at the Bible. Not comprehensive, but a start.

I went to a peace march this weekend and my sign said "Swords into plowshares=God's Political Platform." I love prooftexting for peace. However, I recognize that it is not compatible with my beliefs surrounding Biblical Interpretation. I tend to be all about Scripture+Reason+Experience+Tradition, in no particular order, with all of the above acting as checks on the other. But in truth, I have to say I lean more towards experience than anything else. I feel called toward certain interpretations because of my experience of God in my life.

Anyway, who cares about all that, right? But I am soooo tired of seeing blog conversations where people just keep arguing past eachother because they don't recognize that there are different schools of Biblical interpretation. And that Scripture interpreted only by using other Scripture was not handed out by Jesus, but Westminster. And that Scripture only is a Reformation thing, not an entire history of Christianity thing. In fact, people who have no knowledge of the midrash Jewish traditions and assume that Paul's reference to other texts in his letters to the churches is done in the same spirit as modern prooftexting just make me want to give up.

Could we get a little instruction on the history of Christianity in the churches? I mean is it that scary to admit that learned theologians framed these ideas, not the big Guy himself? Or is this going on, and people are just getting from that instruction to a completely different place than me somehow?