Understanding the Bible contextually

This short article, by an Anglican minister Fr. Timothy Fountain, from South Dakota, presents a really helpful view, I think, on understanding the Bible contextually, He contends, and I agree with him, that "God is at work with the human race in various ages, with various needs, bodies of knowledge, and with blind spots. This is in contrast to militant Atheists who have an all or nothing approach to Scripture. and seem unable to read it contextually:

http://northernplainsanglicans.blogspot.com/

I'm always a bit flabbergasted when a militant atheist dismisses the Bible for not, say, including directions for nuclear fusion or for failing to include a statements of universal human rights for gays and lesbians. The implication always seems to be that God should have entered history in ancient Mesopotamia or Canaan or Jerusalem and spoken in the voice of post-enlightenment Western secular man. Part of what makes me shake my head at that is the absolute tone deafness that would require: God should have NO sense of whom he's speaking to. But subtly, behind that, is the modernist egotism that says "God should always be speaking in my terms and no one else's." That is, it's not just that God is condemned for speaking in an idiom that his listeners can understand, but God is condemned for not flattering us by always reflecting back as if a mirror our own historical moment and values. (And speaking of blind spots, the modernist critic believes that if God spoke exactly like a 21st century secular progressive, that would somehow be the timeless voice of omniscience--as if our own moment won't pass away and be viewed as primitive by future ages.)

and I agree with you.

I enjoyed reading that link.

For a time I was a Liturgical Minsiter. I took is serious enough that I would read the passages before and after the the subject passage to understand it in the larger context.

What I like about your link is that it points out the need to understand the historical and cultural context in which the passage takes place. I have now developed an appreciation for true scholarship, folks that actually learn that ancient languages and maintain that conection to the original source.