BOOK REVIEW, McKnight, S.

, The Blue Parakeet

The big question that McKnight raises, and offers an answer to, is: How then are we to live out the Bible today ( ! ""#!"

$%%&'$(H)*+ TH, B)B-, "! The Heart of the Bible Student! McKnight says that the honor of +od in our hearts is of first i. ortance: How do ) do this in a way that honors +od and e.braces the Bible as +ods /ord for all ti.es ( ! "0, 12, 0"#! The whole Biblical te3t is to be regarded seriously, and none of it overloo4ed without conscious and co. elling reason for doing so ( ! 12#! /e are not to elevate our own o inions or societys de.ands (5ustice, equality, rights, freedo., for e3a. le# or church traditions1 above it, so as to be sub5ect to the. ( ! 12#! /e need to be hu.ble towards the efforts of others in discerning Biblical truth! $ware that ones ersonal biases .ay result in blind s ots, we ought to be willing to consult res ectfully with the conclusions of others (which .ay be the written wor4s of scholars, ast or resent, and fro. cultures other than our own# ( ! 16#! 1! The Nature of the Sacred Text! Through faith given by the Holy 7 irit, we need to be convinced that +od co..unicates with us through the Bible, in truth and with love and authority, as 8ather to son ( ! 96,66#! However, no sentence, no word, in the Bible stands alone! $t the least, it has the literary conte3t of the words (and ideas# that surround it on the age! 0 (onte3t is everything ( !:;#! McKnight describes five .ista4en ways of characteri<ing the Biblical te3t, that ignore the centrality of conte3t to understanding ( ! ==>:=, :9#!

"# The Bible is a law book, a collection of co..and.ents and rohibitions! 1# The Bible is a book only of blessings and promises for each day , which has had the warnings and threats of +od urged fro. it! 0# The Bible is a sequence of Rorschach inkblots, consequently eo le find in the Bible what they have a redis osition to want to see!
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All page references are to, McKnight, S., The Blue Parakeet, Zondervan, 2008. McKnight refers to this as traditionalism. !t has, of co"rse, a m"ch greater conte#t$the %hole life of the h"man a"thor.

=# The Bible is a igsaw pu!!le, to be ut in ro er order, which then beco.es a syste.atic theology! :# The Bible is orchestrated by one "human# character, who has erfect insight and through whose eyes the whole of the Bible .ust be understood! There is an alternative which recogni<es the organic unity of the Bible: the Bible tells a 7tory ( ! =1#! )t is a story which has authors, characters, and a lot, a Beginning (+en ">""#, a $iddle (+en "1>&ev 1?#, and an %nd (Matt 1:@ &o. 9@ &ev 1">11#! McKnight e3 ands on the lot of the 7tory in this way ( ! ;2#: Plot (reating %ikons& (+en ">1# (rac4ed %ikons (+en 0>""# (ovenant (o..unity (+en>Mal# (hrist, the erfect %ikon, redee.s (Matt>&ev# (onsu..ation (&ev 1">11# Theme 'neness 'therness 'therness e3 ands 'ne in (hrist %erfectly 'ne

&,$A)*+ TH, B)B-, "! The $ethod! ( ! "16# "# 'ocate a passage in the Story! The Bible is unified by its overarching story! $s ects of a articular sub5ect .ay arise in various arts of the 7tory, each .a4ing their own contribution to a full understanding ( ! ;;>;2#! 1# 'isten to (od speak to us! Three suggestions are offered: i! read the Bible with (as o osed to, through the lens of# the +reat Tradition, that

is .indful of the *icene and $ ostles (reeds and the re>discoveries of the &efor.ation, but not sub5ugated to the. ( ! 16>0=#! ii! use tools to discern the conte3t of a assage (various translations, co..entaries and dictionaries of Biblical languages and literary genres, cultures, history and geogra hy# ( ! "9#: iii!
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listen to +od with absorbed attention ( ! "?0#!;

An Eikon, is the image of the Son of 'od into %hich (hristians %ill )e transformed. +ot an ade,"ate reference, )"t the )est ! co"ld find in the )oo-.

!t is not clear to me %hat he means )/ this. 0oes he simpl/ mean as-ing the 1ol/ Spirit %ith confidence and h"milit/ for %isdom2

0# )iscern how to li*e! This ado ting and ada ting ( !"0, "6, 16# of the written word is to be in accord under the a3io., that was then, but this is now ( !";>"2, :2#!2 )t .ay result in: not doing so.ething in the Bible ( !"=#@ .or hing one thing into another ( ! "=#@ or loo4ing behind the te3t to gras a ti.eless rinci le ( ! ":#! McKnights thesis is that the Bible is a wi4i story that we can e3tend: the ongoing wor4ing of the Biblical story by new authors so they can s ea4 the old story in new ways for their day ( ! ;=#!9 McKnight does not thin4 this rocess can be safely erfor.ed by individuals, but .ust be done in larger grou ings, such as whole churches or deno.inations ( ! "0?#! ) a. not convinced by McKnights idea that 5ust as there was increasing understanding of the nature of +od fro. Moses ti.e, to Bobs, to Aavids, to 7olo.ons, to Bere.iahs, to Besus, to %auls, to %eters, and to Bohns, we are called to carry on that attern in our world today ( ! 12>19#! )s he clai.ing that resent day writers bear the authority of canonical authorsC McKnight says: *one of the wi4i>stories is final@ none of the. co. rehensive@ none of the. absolute@ none of the. e3haustive ( ! ;:#! /ould +od have us .uddle along, a.ending wi4is, continually searching for the 4nowledge of godly conduct, but never actually doing it because we never reach a conclusionC How can we be e3 ected to obey +od in such a .essC 6

1! The +urpose! ) a. to read the Bible, ulti.ately, so that ) will be changedDchanged in the way ) thin4, s ea4 and act! That is, transfor.ed fro. what E) a.F into what +od wants E.eF to be ( ! """#! The rocess, based on 1Ti.! 0:";, is: we beco.e infor.ed@ we get rebu4ed@ we are restored@ we beco.e instructed in righteousness ( ! """#!

McKnight here pic-s an "nfort"nate 4for his arg"ment5 e#ample, namel/ 6ev 2*7 *8 8, %hich concerns a prohi)ition on charging interest on loans. 1e claims that %e ignore this and dismiss it )eca"se it is not relevant in toda/s societ/. (.S. 6e%is %rote7 9here is one )it of advice given to "s )/ the ancient heathen 'ree-s, and )/ the :e%s in the ;ld 9estament, and )/ the great (hristian teachers of the Middle Ages, %hich the modern economic s/stem has completel/ diso)e/ed. All these people told "s not to lend mone/ at interest7 and lending mone/ at interest$%hat %e call investment$is the )asis of o"r %hole s/stem. +o% it ma/ not a)sol"tel/ follo% that %e are %rong... <"t ! sho"ld not have )een honest if ! had not told /o" that three great civili=ations had agreed 4or so it seems at first sight5 in condemning the ver/ thing on %hich %e have )ased o"r %hole life. 4Mere Christianity, >o"nt ?aper)ac-, 1@80, p. 335.
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Mess/ is, in fact, the %ord McKnight "ses of the process 4p. 1 05.

$* ,G$M%-, McKnight gives the final third of the boo4 to a study of wo.en in .inistry! By his own .easures he .a4es three .ista4es! "# He did not adhere to his own dictu.: discernment is a shared acti*ity, what a local church or local deno.ination does ( ! "0?#, according to McKnight! )t is the consensus within a consultative grou ! Todays churches, we can be sure, are doing their own wi4is on this issue! McKnight conducted his analysis alone! 1# $gain, he did not adhere to his own dictu.: that was then, but this is now,"? He etulantly refused to acce t that the nowDwhat was considered a ro riate in our day and cultureDwas that (so.e# churches did not want wo.en astors! *o churchD <eroDeven considered her Ea for.er student of McKnightF to stand behind a ul it ( ! ":0#! 0# He .isinter reted this as ect of the 7tory: i! )t is true, that so.e *T instructions contain rinci les that .ust be e3ecuted differentially de ending on culture! %aul says he .odified his way of life, where ossible, to suit the .indset of those he was with ("(or 6:"6>10#! "" However, s ecific biblical instruction that is based on historical fact, rather than on cultural .ove.ents, ertains at all ti.es and in all laces (or, at least, between the 8all and (hrists return!# /hen %aul says, ) do not er.it a wo.an to teach or to have authority over a .an (" Ti. 1:"">"=# he connects it with the fi3ed events of the creation, and not to any <eitgeist! McKnights cultural considerations (such as the new &o.an wo.an# are therefore i..aterial! *ote that %auls articular concern in this assage is who .ay i. art authoritati*e teaching! ii!
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7cri ture .ust be co. ared with scri ture in order to be correctly inter reted! /o.en did instruct, ro hecy, and ray! "1 Het, there are Biblical

!n m/ vie% McKnight "ses this as an "nproven mantra, and is s"ffering from Bchronological sno))er/,C the "ncritical acceptance of the intellect"al climate common to o"r o%n age and the ass"mption that %hatever has gone o"t of date is on that acco"nt discredited. Do" m"st find o"t %h/ it %ent o"t of date. Aas it ever ref"ted 4and if so )/ %hom, %here, and ho% concl"sivel/5 or did it merel/ die a%a/ as fashions do2 !f the latter, this tells "s nothing a)o"t its tr"th or falsehood. 6e%is, (.S. Surprised by Joy. 1arco"rt <race and (ompan/7 San 0iego, 1@... p. 20&.
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Some specific e#amples of this c"lt"ral sensitivit/ are the prohi)itions against7 eating )lood 4Acts 1*71@8215E %omen %earing gold Fe%eller/ and )raided hair 41?et 7 5 or not %earing head coverings 41(or 117105E %omen as-ing ,"estions p")licl/ in a ch"rch meeting 41(or 1&7 *5.
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See, e.g., Acts 171&, 2713818E 1872.E 217@E Gom 1.7183E 1(or 117&8*E ?hil &728 E (ol &71*.

assages that li.it the involve.ent of wo.en in the church! "0 Merging these ideas, and satisfying the. together, gives the total biblical icture: na.ely, wo.en .ay artici ate in the .inistry of the church, but only under the authority and guidance of .en! "= ": McKnight is e.otionally involved with this sub5ect: he is indignant over the light of a favored, fe.ale student ( ! ":0#Din fact he dedicates the whole book to this student ( ! 1"=#Dand he a ologi<es to all the fe.ale students he has ever taught ( ! ":?#!

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H.g., 1(or 1&7 &8 .E 19im 27@81*.

Ahat happens o"tside the ch"rch is another iss"e7 %omen, even in Script"re, do ta-e "p positions of leadership over men.
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Space does not permit it here, )"t a thoro"gh8going ref"tation of McKnights thesis can )e fo"nd at7 Schreiner, 9homas G., 2008. A Review o S!ot M!"ni#ht$s 9he <l"e ?ara-eet Part % 4online5. 4cited 1.th March, 20105. Availa)le from http7II%%%.c)m%.orgI<logI?ostsIA8Gevie%8of8Scot8McKnight8s89he8<l"e8 ?ara-eet8?art8J. 0r. Schreiner has )een the :ames <"chanan 1arrison ?rofessor of +e% 9estament !nterpretation at 9he So"thern <aptist 9heological Seminar/ since 1@@3 and serves as the Associate 0ean of Script"re and !nterpretation.