Sunday 27 April 2008

Sugden's Notes

Canon Dr Chris Sugden gave a lecture to some of his Church pals at the the Anglican Network of Canada, Vancouver. The lecture is presented almost as a set of extended notes. I'll likely expand on this lecture. For now, have a read of this passage:

The people of the land where he started, robbed of their Jewish identity as the people of God by those who insisted on over rigorous application of the law: those regarded as outside of God’s concern because they failed to live by these practices by reason of their gender or their race or their trade.

Ah right, like this principle is not extendable? No, not when there is a new over-rigorous application of law:

Recognising the Bible as God’s clear speech to us is not idolatry, because we do not become masters of the word. We are under the authority of the Word and expect it to confront us with new and even strange things. God does not reinforce our prejudices. There is a struggle on the interpretation of scripture.

I haven't seen his prejudices challenged, given the nature of selective literalism and the banging on with the one topic.

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