Biblical Studies

It is an unfortunate truism that many of the sermons heard today are homilies taking verses out of context and, often, misapplying them to popular culture. It is rare to hear a sermon rooted in a careful exegesis of Scripture in context. I was fortunate to grow up in a small country church where the pastor preached sermons rooted in a careful reading of passages in context as well as Sunday school teachers who often did the same. Because several of the men at church supported the ministries of various men and, in consequence, received books from them, I was given these works, which I read. A salesman brought a set of Bible study aids by the house, which my mother bought for me (It was from one of those where I learned that the name Jehovah was a misrepresentation of Yahweh, a name that seemed more appropriate to Native American culture than Judaeo-Christian). During my high school years, I also worked for a home mission organization, providing access to more Christian works, and my senior year, I took four courses at Lancaster Bible School in Lancaster County. My sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school, I was involved in a Bible quizzing program similar to Youth for Christ, where I memorized the books of Mattew, I and II Corinthians, Romans, and Galatians. In later years, I memorized other shorter New Testament books and several of the Psalms although, with age, I only recall glimpses here and there.

While pursuing a degree in Bible at Tennessee Temple University, I focused on courses that provided background and study aids for the Bible rather than courses on specific books of the Bible. My rationale was that, if I became profieient at the tools for Bible study, I could read books of the Bible on my own, while reviewing various commentaries. While my master's degree was in Christian School administration, I also continued taking courses in Bible study and theology.

The most disappointing aspect of my college and seminary training was the authoritarian conservative-evangelical approach to the study of the Bible. Alternative viewpoints were mentioned but usually dismissed as "flawed" and "misleading." My high school education had been more open, emphasizing critical thinking and evaluation of ideas rather than this authoritarian approach to learning. While not all of my teachers took a firm authoritarian position, those who did not were often circumspect due to the school environment. Questions about biblical positions and policies, in particular, were often seen as "disrespectful" or indications of a lack of faith. As students, we were often told that, if we had questions about anything, we should simply follow what we had been taught and the practices common to the local ministry associated with the college.

In addition to my formal education in the study and interpretation of the Bible, I have also been influenced by a variety of Christian writers, especially Francis Schaeffer, A. W. Tozer, and James Sire. Because of my early interest in science, I also read many early works from the Creation Research Society, including the foundational study The Genesis Flood by Whitcomb and Morris as well as other books on science from a Christian perspective. Many of these books I passed on to my best friend when he enrolled at Liberty.

My original plan had been to work as a youth pastor and/or teach in a Christian school. However, those doors remained closed to me, and eventually, after earning a master's degree in English, I was accepted as an instructor at Chattanooga State Community College, where I served for nearly 30 years.

While studying and teaching world mythology, I began taking a closer look at what the Bible actually said in certain significant passages (Genesis, for one), and realized that the text sometimes did not say what I had been taught that it said, this despite a constant emphasis on the need for a literal interpretation of the Bible sustained by careful exegesis and close reading. The consequence of those insights inform the explorations here.

Some of the poems included reflect the ambiguities of the Christian life that are often ignored in conservative evangelicalism. I am reminded, however, of writers of the past like John Milton, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and others who wrote about their own struggles as well as those figures in the Bible, who also struggled with doubts, often emerging from the "dark night of the soul" with a stronger faith. Other poems focus on the mysteries of faith, and still others are polemics against what I see as troubling trends in contemporary conservative evangelicalism.