Summary of John Collins's What Are Biblical Values?

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

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#1 The Bible says a lot of things, but it is not a speaking agent, and it is a collection of texts written over the course of more than a thousand years, which are neither systematic nor consistent. Is it possible to generalize about biblical values in a way that has overarching validity. -> The Bible is a written text, not a speaking agent. It cannot be interpreted like a movie script. It must be subject to a process of interpretation, in which our own presuppositions inevitably play a role.

#2 The Bible is a collection of texts written over the course of more than a thousand years, which are neither systematic nor consistent. We must interpret them in a way that is consistent with our own presuppositions.

#3 The Bible is a collection of texts written over the course of more than a thousand years, which are neither systematic nor consistent. We must interpret them in a way that is consistent with our own presuppositions.

#4 The Bible is a collection of texts written over the course of more than a thousand years, which are neither systematic nor consistent. We must interpret them in a way that is consistent with our own presuppositions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Oct 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798350040098

IRB Media

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Insights on John Collins's What Are Biblical Values

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The Bible is a written text, not a speaking agent. It is therefore difficult to extract meaning from it without subjecting it to a process of interpretation, in which our own presuppositions inevitably play a role.

#2

The claim that texts such as the Bible do not speak independently of interpreters is true in the literal sense. Texts do not convey meaning without the agency of authors and readers. Readers are constrained by the communities in which they live.

#3

The constraints on interpretation do not come only from communal tradition and social consensus. There are also constraints of language and grammar. The reader must understand not only his or her own interpretive tradition, but the linguistic world in which the text was produced.

#4

The argument is not just about objectivity, but also about the ethics of reading. Those who appeal to what the Bible says can mask or deny their responsibility for their interpretations.

#5

The Bible should not be reduced to instrumental use in the service of either traditional dogma or modern ideology. It should be respected for its integrity and not reduced to a means of either supporting or challenging modern faith commitments and ideologies.

#6

The Bible is not a systematic treatise, but a collection of writings that grew over a thousand years. It contains different theologies and emphases. To distill from it one set of values, we must reject another set.

#7

The Bible is often regarded as a