We should always be suspicious of exegesis that seeks to bring the Bible into line with some contemporary social or political movement. It is true that such movements sometimes alert us to teachings of the Bible that we would otherwise miss. Examples are the movement against slavery and the civil rights movement. But in my judgment “movement exegesis” must bear a heavy burden of proof, since movements are typical sources of bias. I believe that bias appears also in egalitarian feminist exegesis, and in attempts to bring the Bible into line with current science. And, while we are at it, yes, denominational and theological traditions are sources of bias for similar reasons.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 14:18:25 +0000