Re: [asa] On Job

*Each passage in the Bible should be treated
on its merits --- and that means determining the genre of the passage
before one proceeds further with intepretation.*

True, but we should approach each passage with some consistent, generally
applicable hermeneutical principles, including the one you mention here
about genre. Once such principle might be the integrity of all the
canonical texts, which means we do indeed need to consider how our
interpretation of any one passage will affect our interpretation of any
other passage. So I don't think it's *just* a slippery slope to ask, if Job
wasn't a real person, what about Elijah. This is another way of asking,
what hermeneutical principle shows the Job story to be mere allegory and the
Elijah story to be something else?

On 10/4/06, Don Nield <d.nield@auckland.ac.nz> wrote:
>
> Don W has introduced a "slippery slope" argument. I consider such
> arguments to be fallacious. Each passage in the Bible should be treated
> on its merits --- and that means determining the genre of the passage
> before one proceeds further with intepretation. If that means hard work
> for the reader of the Bible, so be it.
> Don N.
>
>
> Don Winterstein wrote:
>
> > Would you assign Jonah similar status? Then, how about Elijah calling
> > down fire on the captains of fifty? Once we get started, how do we
> > know where to stop?
> >
> > Don
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > *From:* Carol or John Burgeson <mailto:burgytwo@juno.com>
> > *To:* asa@calvin.edu <mailto:asa@calvin.edu>
> > *Sent:* Wednesday, October 04, 2006 6:37 AM
> > *Subject:* [asa] On Job
> >
> > Vernon commented: "Can such passages as Job 1:6-12 =
> > and 2:1-7 be 'interpreted' to mean something different from their =
> > account of actual meetings, actual discussions and actual
> > consequences?
> > =
> > And if, in your view they must be accepted as real events, what
> > might we
> > =
> > usefully glean from them?"
> >
> > The most reasonable interpretation of Job is that it is a morality
> > play.
> > To consider it as sober factual history is ludicrous. Sort of like
> > believing ALICE IN WONDERLAND.
> >
> > Burgy
> >
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> >
>
>
>
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Received on Wed Oct 4 17:02:53 2006