"A More Christlike Word" (Bradley Jersak)

TITLE: A More Christlike Word: Reading Scripture the Emmaus Way
AUTHOR: Bradley Jersak
PUBLISHER: New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2021, (288 pages).

How do we read the Bible? What do we mean by the Bible as the Final Authority for our faith? How do we apply the Truths revealed? These questions might seem elementary but they are important questions that need to be asked frequently. The Bible is the revealed Word of God and the more we understand the Word, the better for Bible believers and practitioners. Like the two disciples struggling to understand the Scriptures when they were on their way to Emmaus, author and professor Bradley Jersak brings us back to the Emmaus experience in Luke 24, how Jesus helped shed light on interpretation. He does this by following Peter Enns's five words for biblical interpretation. 

• Genre-Calibration: Be aware of the genre of the text concerned;
• Christotelic: Reframe the story of Israel toward the Person of Jesus Christ
• Incarnational: Read the Bible both as God's Word and Christ the Living Word;
• Ecumenical: Be open to the different readings and interpretations from the different Christian faith traditions;
• Pilgrimage: Be humble to learn on the way.

The author resists the tendency toward extreme Bible literalism which could throw one off in contextual interpretation. Sometimes, one can be so text-focused that they miss out on the overall picture of the Bible. While it is important to read the text as they are, it is equally if not more important to recognize how the ancient writers apply the interpretation. See how some New Testament writers quote Scriptures from the Old Testament in ways that some modern readers might classify "out of context." There is a reason why they do so and this is how Bradley Jersak desires to impart to us, to read the way Scriptures were understood by the Bible characters themselves. Modern Bible literalism is not perfect and the author reminds us once again the importance to go back to the Emmaus way. For years, many Christians have found difficulty in understanding how to apply "inerrancy" and "infallibility" of the Word of God. Arguing that Jesus is the Word of God, Jersak takes pains to distinguish the Emmaus way from literalism. From "verbal plenary inspiration" to "The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy," he struggles to encounter Christ from within those faith traditions. He shares with us his own spiritual journey. From reading to Bible as "flat text" where every word has equal authority, he soon learns about "progressive revelation" leading up to a Christocentric view. The key thing was Bible literalism is not the only way to interpret the Bible. In doing so, he is able to attend to the many difficult readings such as the wars, the violence, the cruelty, and the many hard to understand Bible passages. From Jersak's struggles with "Penal Substitutionary Atonement" to the "myth of redemptive violence," we are given a fresh orientation to read the Bible with greater nuance. 

My Thoughts
Let me offer three thoughts about this book. First, learning to interpret the Bible must begin with a humble heart. This helps us be open to the Holy Spirit who is gently prompting and guiding our understanding. The human heart can be one of the hardest (if not the hardest) place to change. Whatever our traditional roots, we tend to be creatures of habit, and for Christians, that includes interpretation. The author has shared about his background growing up in evangelical circles, and associated with the fundamental adherence to a literal form of "inerrancy" and "infallibility." I believe this book would appeal a lot to those of us growing up in somewhat similar contexts. We need to recognize and be ready to accept that such a background could unwittingly prevent one from further nuancing the meaning of the text. For me, the main thing is to remain humble and open to how the Spirit is teaching us. The Bible is "inspired, inerrant, and infallible" but our interpretation is not necessarily so. That is why we need to stay humble.

Second, genre recognition is important but learning to classify which is which can be challenging in itself. One rule of thumb I have learned through the years about Bible interpretation is this. When in doubt about how to interpret, use the literal approach. Let the Word speak for itself. Let the Bible interpret the Bible. Learn to see Christ in the Word. In order to ensure we nuance our understanding of Bible interpretation, we cannot put a high view of Scriptures and a high view of Christ in any mutually exclusive manner. Just because we want to read the texts and interpret them for what they say, we cannot exclude Christocentric readings about how the Word of God is personified in Jesus. Both are important and we need to creatively find a way to let the two build our understanding of biblical truth. 

Finally, read the Bible as a big story. Jersak see Christ as the end revelation of the texts. He does this by proposing the trilogy of seeing the Bible through Christlike God; Christlike Way; and Christlike Word. Sometimes, I feel that our desire to be so faithful to the texts per se might have done our interpretation a disservice. We might miss the forest for the trees or to focus too much on the storm within the teacup. When we learn to interpret with Christlike endeavours, we will be able to let the text be the text while we learn the ways of Christ to let Christ illuminate the Scriptures for us. 

This book is a much needed boost to an evangelical world that is increasingly fatigued and ill-equipped to deal with the many questions and doubts about the difficult passages of the Bible. We do not need to jettison our traditions just to learn from Jersak's a more Christlike way. Use it as a complement, especially when dealing with passages that literalism struggles to explain.

Bradley Jersak is the Dean of Theology & Culture, a modular graduate studies program at St. Stephen’s University in New Brunswick, Canada. He is also the editor-in-chief of Clarion-Journal.com. Bradley and his wife, Eden, have lived in the Abbotsford area of British Columbia since 1988, where they served as pastors and church planters for twenty years. Bradley is the author of a number of nonfiction and fiction books, including A More Christlike God, A More Christlike Way, Her Gates Will Never Be Shut, Can You Hear Me? Tuning in to the God Who Speaks, and The Pastor: A Crisis. He has an M.A. in biblical studies from Briercrest Bible College and Seminary, an M.Div. in biblical studies from Trinity Western University/ACTS Seminary, and a Ph.D. in theology from Bangor University, Wales. He was also a Visiting Scholar at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, for post-doctoral research in patristic Christology.

Rating: 4.75 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Whitaker House and Speakeasy without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.