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PREAMBLE ARTICLE 1<\/span> WE DENY<\/strong> that God intended Scripture to relieve us of this responsibility.<\/p>\n ARTICLE 2<\/span> WE DENY<\/strong> that Scripture, which reflects the wisdom of the Creator, is simply sitting there waiting to be used irrespective of its various contexts.<\/p>\n ARTICLE 3<\/span> WE DENY<\/strong> that Scripture when handled in willful isolation from or dismissal of such strides is \u201cfaithful\u201d or pleasing to the Creator.<\/p>\n ARTICLE 4<\/span> WE DENY<\/strong> that (though it\u2019s a free country) a small number of largely white males living in one moment of the human drama are in a place to make statements that claim abiding normativity for all Christians for all time.<\/p>\n ARTICLE 5<\/span> WE DENY<\/strong> that any of our theological utterances can claim \u201cplain fact\u201d neutrality, and therefore reflect unfiltered the Divine mind.<\/p>\n ARTICLE 6<\/span> WE DENY<\/strong> that the Creator has assigned to us the task of sorting out and simplifying the richness and complexities of the human drama.<\/p>\n ARTICLE 7<\/span><\/strong> WE DENY<\/strong> that the binaries of Genesis 1<\/a> \u201cteach\u201d that amphibians, mammals that fly, live in the ocean, or lay eggs, or any other creatures of God\u2019s creation that do not fit the Genesis 1 binary, are outside of God\u2019s wise design.<\/p>\n ARTICLE 8<\/span> WE DENY<\/strong> that God\u2019s voice is easily replicated in our own.<\/p>\n ARTICLE 9<\/span> WE DENY<\/strong> that Jesus is rooting for us to write more statements.<\/p>\n Signed,<\/p>\n Pete Enns, Lansdale, PA (white male)<\/p>\n My dogs, Gizmo, Miley, and Stassi<\/p>\n My cats, Snowy, Marmalade, and Baron<\/p>\n My rabbit, Thumper<\/p>\n I\u2019m sure a lot of other people.<\/p>\n Please consider supporting the work of The Bible for Normal People<\/strong> by joining our online community. Visit us at Patreon<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/strong>Really? Another public here-I-stand \u201cstatement\u201d<\/a> that claims to set the record straight once and for all on a sensitive and complex issue our planet is dealing with? What is it with American Evangelicals and Fundamentalists?<\/p>\n
WE AFFIRM<\/strong> that God, having given us minds<\/a>, rejoices when we use them.<\/p>\n
WE AFFIRM<\/strong> that Scripture, by God\u2019s wisdom<\/a>, was written by actual people in actual historical contexts for actual contextual reasons, and that such contexts are central to proper biblical understanding and application.<\/p>\n
WE AFFIRM<\/strong> that humans, who are created in God\u2019s image, who are endowed with powers of reason, analysis, and an irrepressible curiosity, have thereby made enormous strides in understanding the cosmos, the nature of humanity, and the wonders of the world around us, and that many who have contributed to these strides are fellow believers in Jesus.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>WE AFFIRM<\/strong> that the Christian faith, though a broadly unified and distinct tradition, is both historically and globally not monolithic in its expression, and that therefore true Godly wisdom is found in humility and dialogue among the manifold voices of the Christian faith.<\/p>\n
WE AFFIRM<\/strong> that all our theological utterances, because we are not God but mere humans, are contextually generated and bounded<\/a>.<\/p>\n
WE AFFIRM<\/strong>\u00a0that human experience is rich and complex, presents us with numerous ambiguities, and therefore defies simple categorization.<\/p>\n
WE AFFIRM<\/strong>\u00a0that the binaries of Genesis 1 (which includes animals restricted to living on land, in the sea, or in the air) reflect\u2014by the will and wisdom of God\u2014ancient, ideal conceptions of cosmic order.<\/p>\n
WE AFFIRM<\/strong> that God is the infinite and inscrutable Creator, which is itself affirmed in Scripture, and therefore we should be careful to\u00a0claim to be speaking for God as if nothing could be more obvious.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>WE AFFIRM<\/strong> that public statements are largely written for the already convinced, are therefore belligerent by design, too often passive-aggressive in tone, and therefore are a colossal waste of time, not to mention make it that much more difficult for others to bear witness to Jesus.<\/p>\n