The importance of themes

I believe everyone sees two different types of passages in the bible. They have primary passages and then passages that they translate through the lens of their primary passages. The first they value as very important, the second they don't throw out (usually) but just give them less attention. Dean Ahrens (jackass from undergrad) reads the same bible as I do and comes up with different conclusions than I do. Where I see grace and love and freedom, he sees obedience and denial and respect. Charismatics also see the bible differently, as do people who believe in liberation theology, and people who believe in the openness of God. While there is some difference between what they think a specific passage says and what another group thinks it says, the primary difference in beliefs has to do with emphasis. A certain group thinks that God values some of his truths over other ones and those should be emphasized first.

Everyone does this because there is no other option. The bible is huge and there are so many things to talk about. There are only so many Sundays to preach, only so much one person can write on. People have to choose what they spend time on. If charismatics can preach year round on such a small percentage of the text that they focus on, there is no shortage of options to make the most important.

The other problem is that the bible is seemingly contradictory or at least very confusing. This also makes you choose. Should we encourage people to stay single (Corinthians) or get married (Genesis)? Should we focus on the God of the torah, that had so many rules that must be followed to please God, or the God of Paul that says there is nothing you can do to please God, he is already pleased. Should we focus on the prepositions of proverbs that show you how to achieve in life, or on Jesus who says you should not store up treasures on earth? Should you emphasize discipline more than grace? Parenting more than prophesy? Theology more than Christian life? There is an unending amount of choices, and we haven’t even gotten to dinosaurs.

This is why I think it is so important to focus on themes and emphasis’s of the bible. I think it is important to know if the bible talks more about money than spiritual warfare. I want to know if the bible emphasizes Grace more than discipline, not if the seminary my pastor emphasizes discipline more. Should we have messages on homosexuality when it is only mentioned in a few passages? What about the end times when most of our beliefs come from our readings of obscure passages at the end of Daniel that don’t make it to the children’s story?

I want to learn to think this way more. I want to care about what God cares for the most.