Fall 2009 New Brunswick Theological Seminary

Tuesday, 6:20 - 10:00 PM

The Religious Act: Asking the Question

The lesson of truth is not held in one consciousness. It explodes toward the other. To study well, to read well, to listen well, is already to speak: whether by asking questions and, in so doing, touching the master who teaches you, or by teaching a third party.”

--Emmanuel Levinas “Beyond the Verse: Talmudic Readings and Lectures” (1994)

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Blog Response 1 for 9/8 class: "Reading as If..."

Based on your reading of the article "Reading As If," describe briefly what it means to "read ethically."

6 comments:

  1. Any type of information that is meant for educating lay people should be considered carefully before any information is dispensed. This isn’t exclusive to the Bible or religion altogether. No matter the organization, a code of ethics should be in place. These are a set of rules that define what behaviors are acceptable and unacceptable. This will allow for the establishment to be accountable and to uphold a high level of ethical and moral standard of practice. This is in part can be described as virtue ethics, which involve an emphasis on actions and they offer rules of conduct as their main source of moral guidance so to speak. When using virtue ethics one is directed to maximize utility, never to treat persons as mere means to one’s ends.
    The Bible and those that teach from it should not be exempt from this.
    The Bible should be approached with an open mind when reading it, BUT the knowledge that what is discerned from it can be used to influence those who are being taught from it. As religious scholars, we have the responsibility to not only read ethically, but to also look at all sides possible before we attempt to teach others.

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  2. Reading with Ethics

    The article “Reading as if” by Gary Phillips and Danna Nolan Fewell has raised some very interesting question for me in terms of the way I see the Bible. The Story of Czech Jew really opened eyes to the notion of reading with ethics. Their approach to reading is an ideal way to understand what it means to read with ethics. The Czech Jews in the article examined what is written, the writer’s agenda and hence what should be the reader’s agenda.

    I remember reading the Bible when I was younger. In retrospect I was reading the Bible in the context the world at the time. I was upset with Abraham for initially turning his back on Hagar and Ishmael. I was convinced Abraham was a “Dead-beat Dad”.

    The article made me realize that we have no choice but to read with ethics as described by the Czech Jews. However there is a thin line between reading with ethics and adding our interpretation to make us comfortable with the Bible. According Magonet in A Rabbi Reads the Bible, “First we should recognize what is actually in the Bible before we decide what kind of “book” or “library” it is. If donkeys only see stories about donkeys, perhaps nice people only see “nice” things in the Bible.”

    Where do we draw the line? The article also suggests that the Creation story in the Bible was influenced by the Israelites’ experience while they were in exile. So was the story written the way it was to depict a God that would deliver them from captivity? Should the reader understand God in this light?

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  3. The New Webster's Comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language: International Edition defines ethics as "the study and philosophy of human conduct, with emphasis on the determination of right and wrong: the basic principles of right action." I begin this way because after reading the article "Reading As If...", I was unclear on what it means to read ethically based on the arguments presented. Probably in my simplistic way of thinking, I just did not understand all of the arguments. However, what is clear is that the article says, "the Bible is a text that cultivates the best in us, and it is a text that exposes the worst side of our humanity." With this in mind, how one reads, interprets and presents his/her understanding of the Bible can determine if it is being used, as the article describes, as a 'weapon' or a 'tool'. So I go back to what Professor Rix presented in session one as working guidelines on reading ethically: Why is this text here? To what is the text responding? What is the text saying? What is the text doing? Whose interests are being served? What is at stake? Are lives at risk?

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  4. Reading as if
    When reading ethically, you have the principal of right and wrong which will influence your understanding and interpretation of the text. To be ethical is defined as to be in accordance with the acceptable principles of right and wrong that governs the conduct of a profession of a people.
    There are a lot of ethically issues in the Bible, therefore you should pray for a discernment of interpretation
    In the excerpts from ‘Reading As If’, the author suggests that in spite of your religious background many people are able to get the same understanding of a text because they apply their ethically principals to the reading. Their innate or learnt understanding of what is right or wrong brings them to the same conclusion irrespective of the origins of their beliefs.

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  6. To read ethically is to read with a sensitivity of the times we live in, the time and place of texts we read, peoples, cultures and their experiences. It is the ability to conscientiously acknowledge the reading habits that have been shaped by our own ethos and ethics. Reading ethically reminds us that many lives are depending upon our understanding of what is read and spoken. It thus behooves us to allow our minds to re-think what we think (with the aid of the Holy Spirit) as we consider the bible and the world around us.

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