Biblical writers are neither geographers nor astronomers - they are theologians. They describe with profound accuracy the relation between God and persons like you and me, a relationship between the Creator and the creature; they coordinate our knowledge of the God who loves with our experience of being loved; they tell the story of the God who leads us through difficulties and document it with our experience of being guided. We are not presented with a functional god who will help us out of jams or an entertainment god who will lighten tedious hours. We are presented with the God of exodus and Easter, the God of Sinai and Calvary. If we want to understand God, we must do it on his terms. If we want to see God the way he really is, we must look to the place of authority - to Scripture and to Jesus Christ.
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene H. Peterson, pages
62, 63
Monday, November 02, 2009
How often?
Profound. How often do I try to understand God on my terms, in my own way, on my timetable? Honestly, far too often is the answer.
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12 comments:
Great book and great author. And profound quote to be sure!
I've been thinking I need to get into his books again, and that's one of his I have at home.
On his quote: otherwise it's a god of our making, and that's idolatry.
I'm best when I relax with things as they are and learn to let God be God, and seek to abide and live by his revealed will given to us in Scripture. We face the world, the flesh and the devil, and to be changed to be like Jesus is profound indeed, so it's no wonder we Christians at times look bad, while others seem to be coasting along just fine. (not to excuse us!)
Thanks, Susan.
...at the same time people need to be reminded more and more of Jesus (not of how great and good we are) when they see us and how we live, surely!
Long obedience in the same direction. I like that, too. May Jesus be seen in us.
>They describe with profound accuracy the relation between God and persons like you and me
Well, they certainly don't explain it for people like me!
Please could you explain what is meant by "profound accuracy"? How does it differ from any other sort of accuracy? Or "precision", profound or otherwise?
When you study those words carefully and thoughtfully, they amount to no more than mere gibberish, don't you think?
No, Maalie, I think they are profound. And I think they explain "people like you" quite well - profoundly so.
A broken clock is accurate twice a day. Profoundly so :-)
@Susan,
I love this book! Peterson is one of my favorite authors and guides. I think he has a really keen, ahem, B.S. sensor when it comes to living in the fear of the Lord.
@Maalie,
"When you study those words carefully and thoughtfully, they amount to no more than mere gibberish, don't you think?" Are you referring to Peterson's particular words, or to words in general? Because Peterson is well schooled in poetry and has one of the best commands of the English language of any author out there. He is a veritable wordsmith, in my opinion.
you are on a roll maalie!
Poetry is not fact Andrew. Because it sounds pretty doesn't make it true. Something is accurate or it is not. You cannot qualify accuracy. The term "profound accuracy" has no actual meaning. This is just another example of the weasle words so beloved by fundamentalists like microevolution and pangaea.
It doesn't alter the fact that the earth is some billions (not merely a few thousand) years old.
Why, hello Simon. It's good to hear from you. How are you - is it getting to be spring time where you are.
Yes, Maalie's on a roll for sure. He thinks we're quite an ignominious lot, I'm afraid.
Good thing his opinion matters less than God's or I could be quite offended by his use of terms like "weasle words".
Maalie, one thing I can't figure out. If you think we're such a lot of loosers, why do you waste your time on us? Why on me in particular as I am the one that surely is the more offensive "fundamentalist" given I'm supposed to be a hard core scientist. Oh wait, does hard core lack actual meaning for you?
Maalie you are being pedantic. You know very well what Susan is saying and the value of words as adjectives.
If we did not love the use of words and use words as adjectives as well as putting down mere fact, we would have a much duller life.
Maalie, what you say makes absolutely no sense. Peterson writes: "Biblical writers are neither geographers nor astronomers - they are theologians. They describe with profound accuracy the relation between God and persons like you and me, a relationship between the Creator and the creature...." They can, in fact, describe with accuracy the relationship between man and God because they share the truth about God and man (or so from Peterson's Christian perspective). Remember that accuracy describes how close a measured datum is to its "true" value. In other words, accuracy is a reflection of how close something is to the reality it expresses. Of course we cannot fully describe the infinite God, but when true things are said of him (and from him, in the Christian view), then this can be said to involve accuracy.
Your semantic range of "accuracy" is too limited, I'm afraid. What Peterson means by accuracy is, of necessity, shaped by standard lexical usage in conjunction with his own literary intentions. Using the former to discern the latter is what real reading is about.
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