Reading the Bible in a World Context
In the modern world we must continue these internal dialogues of the Bible. For the Bible is no longer the book on which our culture builds consensus; its reception differs widely in various subcultures. It competes with other traditions. It has been a long time since the younger generation entered a world with no alternatives. Young people are confronted with religionless interpretations of life, non-Christian religions, and other Christian denominations. In this situation, the relevance of the Bible must be demonstrated in dialogue with secularization, interfaith dialogue, and interconfessional or interdenominational dialogue. An appreciative study of the Bible cannot conduct these dialogues in a vacuum. These kinds of studies make it clear that participation is meaningful because such open dialogue can shed new light on the Bible. (Theissen, Bible and Contemporary Culture, Fortress, 2007, p. 76).
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