Page 2 – Lloyd Pietersen – Reading the Bible After Christendom
A sizable chapter four is devoted to the Anabaptist movement and the way that their subversive approach to Scripture during the Reformation provides insight for the present context. This chapter is key to understanding the author’s reasoning as well as the tone of the After Christendom series since it is sponsored by the Anabaptist Network.
The only major movement of the Reformation Era that rejected the use of the state as an arm of the church was the Anabaptist movement. This unpopular viewpoint drew criticism and even persecution from Catholic and Reformed movements alike. From the margins of society the Anabaptists faced a situation not unlike our own where their understanding of Scripture did not require maintaining the wealth and power of the status quo.
The author cites four Anabaptist hermeneutic principles. First, Anabaptist theology was Christocentric seeing all of the Bible as pointing to Jesus. They saw Jesus not merely as a redeemer but also as “…the example to imitate and the teacher to obey.” Second, they focused on a communal reading of Scripture. So much of our Bible reading and interpretation is personal today leaving us outside the experience of the early church which received and interpreted Scriptural writings in community.
Third, the Anabaptists focused on openness to the Spirit for understanding the Scripture more so than on reason, education and tradition. Fourth, they oriented their understanding of Scripture toward obedience rather than interpretation or knowledge. Their goal was not merely to establish good doctrine but to live out the teachings of Christ within their communities. Pietersen asserts that reading the Bible after Christendom will require all four of these elements.
The second section of the book walks through the entire Bible tracing the implications of post-Christendom. Seeing Christ through the construct of prophet, priest and king can reinforce the divide between clergy and laity and focus on authority at the expense of the poor. It is recommended instead that we evaluate Scripture through the threefold lens of prophet, pastor and poet.
The author is suspicious of any overarching or controlling metanarrative that aims to unite all of Scripture without paying attention to its distinctive voices. The traditional approach of creation-fall-redemption-consummation, forces a uniformity of voice upon the Scripture that is not found in the text. He does not suggest ignoring tradition but rather paying attention to the little stories while developing our understanding of the great story.
The Old Testament in particular provides a vivid example to his approach. The text presents both a dark and violent side to God as well as a compassionate side that demands social justice. A Christocentric view would necessarily resolve this apparent contradiction in the person of Christ. To Pietersen this means that God revealed in Jesus has “…recovered from his violent past” and presents him as “…a God who really does change and learns from his textual past.”
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