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Our lenses are three.
We need them all.
If we hope to see
Wide and far and small.
But, no! There are four.
Insight leads to reflection.
A mirror you lack
For your own introspection.
And now yet another,
Brilliant not muddy,
Pieces and prisms
From centuries of study.
In my Grasshopper Greek series I proposed that we need three “lenses” for looking at the Scriptures: a telescope to bring ancient texts closer, a wide-angle lens to see texts in their context, and a microscope to look closely at the original language of the text. A final lens was “the mirror,” the ability to reflect on our own lives in view of the truth we’ve discovered in God’s Word.
Several of my blogger friends have helped me see that there is a fifth lens, if you will, that we need. It’s the ability to see how a passage was interpreted and translated through the ages. You see, there was a gap in my collection of “lens.” I was very good at focusing on the distant past and also at doing exegesis and hermeneutics in the here and now. But these activities should be balanced by a historical perspective and also a global perspective. It’s not enough to just trace an interpretive thread through the centuries from the ancient fathers to the modern day. Instead we need to follow the many prisms through which God’s truth has been viewed in many times and many places. Jewish interpretation is a starting place. But also Orthodox and Roman Catholic. More recently, there is a great deal of interpretation coming out of Africa. I’m sure that is true in other places as well.
So this fifth lens seems more like a kaleidoscope than anything else. Two brightly colored bits in my kaleidoscope lately have been the commentaries in the footnotes of my Tehillim edition of the Psalms and the Celtic Daily Prayer book from the Northumbria Community. It’s enjoyable to read such different takes on the Scriptures and the Christian life.
What do you think about the kaleidoscope? And what resources have you discovered that have added new colors and perspectives to your interpretation of the Bible?
Great post, David. The resources that’ve influenced me most are Orthodox and Judaism (which are, to be honest, surprisingly similar). Not too original, I admit. You’ve made me curious about Celtic prayer, though, and perhaps I’ll look into that.
David this is a really great post and I’ve found it really helpful. I love the idea of the kaleidoscope as the fifth lens. I shall now go to bed and dream of the different colours! Thanks
David first time I read you blog recommended by Jane. I find that the interpretations offered by ordinary people are very rich, especially when using non text based versions of the bible. I call this Remembering the Bible (RB) and the approach that i have been developing is hihgly influenced by Gerald West of the Ujamma Institute, SA.
Janet, thanks for visiting. I’d like to hear more about RB. Reading aloud is such an integral part of our family devotional life. And it seems that the way we perceive the Scriptures is so different when we hear them vs. read them. This topic is especially important when considering the rise of mp3 Bibles and podcasts and also the issue of orality in places like Africa.