Companions Along the Way Spiritual Formation Within the Quaker Tradition A Resource for Adult Religious Education Edited by Florence Ruth Kline with Marty Grundy Workshops Parts IV and V Bible and A Final Piece for Reflection Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends Fifteenth and Cherry Streets Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102-1479 The publication of this book was made possible by grants from the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Publications Granting Group, the Shoemaker Fund, and Friends General Conference. We want to express our appreciation to Patricia Loring for permission to reprint excerpts from her book, Listening Spirituality, vol. 1, Personal Spiritual Practices Among Friends, to the Family Relations Concerns Group of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting for permission to reprint its Pastoral Care Newsletter and to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting for permission to reprint excerpts from The Journal o f George Fox. Please contact the following for permission to order or reprint their material: PYM Family Relations Concerns Group for its Pastoral Care Newsletter Renee-Noelle Felice for her workshop (copyright Renee-Noelle Felice) All the other material in this publication may be reprinted without permission. We ask that you acknowledge the authors and not charge for the material. A cataloging-in-publication record is available from the Library of Congress. Copyright © 2000 by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Alison Anderson, Copy Editor Bruce McNeel, Layout and Cover Design Loma Kent, Cover Illustration J-A \ s Friends our way is to companion one another humbly, joyfully, and gratefully. We lived fully into this at the Companions Along the Way con­ ference; seasoned Friends felt privileged to be given the opportunity to pass on what they knew and those who received their teachings did so in the same spirit. There was the sense that we are making our spiritual journeys together and that ultimately we will all arrive at the same place. This kind of companioning hap­ pens when we, in turn, are companioned by God. The more that we are present to this Divine Companion, the more we are present to one another. It is in this spirit that this book is dedicated. Dedicated to those Friends who teach Quakerism by the conduct of their lives ■ B W o rksh o p s P art IV: Bible In this essay Paul Anderson discusses how to approach the Bible and how to use it for spiritual formation. Individual and group approaches are suggested for your use and exploration. Paul Anderson is Associate Professor of Biblical and Quaker Studies at George Fox University, having served as visiting professor from 1998 to 1999 at Yale Divinity School. He is editor of Quaker Religious Thought and served as editor of the Evangelical Friend from 1990 to 1994. His Ph.D. in New Testament is from Glasgow University, and his graduate and undergraduate degrees are from the Earlham School of Religion and Malone College. He is author of The Christology of the Fourth Gospel and is working on a book of essays on Quaker testi­ monies and convictions entitled Following Jesus - Essays on Radical Discipleship. Paul is also preparing the New Testament essays of Henry Cadbury for publication. Paul Anderson can be contacted at 503-538-8383 (day), 503- 537-0196 (evening) and [email protected]. How do we make good use of the Bible? We would Bible could have been reconstructed from his memo­ probably like to if we could, but at times we wonder ry alone. One can rightly ask where the spiritual for­ how to go about it. We may have known parts of the mations and contributions of Fox, Barclay, Woolman, Bible earlier in our lives and wonder where to start. and others would have been had they not been steeped Or, we may have been scared off from using the Bible in knowledge of the Scriptures, and the answer has a by persons claiming greater certainty than their ideas great deal of relevance for Friends today. All sectors merited. And yet, the Bible has been the single most of the Quaker family would benefit from a concerted important collection of writings in world history, and effort to make good use of the Bible for spiritual for­ it continues to be a major source of influence in the mation and this workshop will explore several ways to world today. Friends have always valued the spiritual­ do this. First, however, considering some basic ques­ ly formative effect the Bible has had on the reader, and tions may help. this workshop will explore several ways we might make use of the Bible for spiritual formation as well as answer some basic questions about the Bible. What is the Bible? Friends and the The Bible is the selected and canonized (approved) col­ . V' lection of Jewish and Christian writings experienced Friends have emphasized reading other good books as inspired, valued as useful, and esteemed as authori­ along with the Bible, but the Bible has long been the tative by believers. These factors contributed to the primary written source of inspiration and guidance for canonization process, which distinguish these writings the people called Quakers. Central to the Quaker from other helpful or religious writings. approach to Scripture has been a prayerful approach to the Scriptures. How do we choose a good translation? Reading Scripture on First Day after meeting Choosing a good translation is important. I would was a very formative event in the life of young John recommend getting the study Bible edition of a ver­ Woolman, for instance, and Friends have long empha­ sion where you can. The New Revised Standard sized Bible reading as part of one’s regular devotional Version has the advantage of using gender-neutral life. W iliam Penn said of George Fox that the entire pronouns as much as is fitting with the original lan­ 157 guages, and it is presently preferred by most scholars. The Torah (the Pentateuch: Genesis to Evangelicals have used with appreciation the New Deuteronomy) is called “the five books of Moses” International Version, and I might even suggest using because it contains the Mosaic Law. These five books these two versions side by side at times. were the first of the 66 books to be gathered. One of the best (and underrated) translations of The Writings contain books of history, poetry, the New Testament is Heinz Cassirer’s God’s New wisdom, and worship. Covenant. All of the New Testament writers, of course, The Prophets contain writings of major and were Jewish, and in this lucid version, Cassirer, a minor prophets, as well as the prophetic communities Jewish philosopher, has produced a translation that which preserved their traditions. sheds fascinating light on the nuance and meaning of the material - from a Jewish perspective. I recommend The Apocrypha it highly! The Jerusalem Bible, a translation organized The Apocrypha consists of later Jewish and pre- by Catholic scholars, is also excellent, and Today’s Christian writings. As intertestamental writings, they English Version is also helpful. For more traditional are considered of secondary authority within Catholic versions, see the New King James Version and the Bibles, and they are not included in Protestant Bibles. New American Standard Version, both of which make The New Testament (27 books) use of text-critical findings absent in older versions. Gospels and Acts describe the ministry of Jesus Several excellent paraphrases have also come and the beginning of the church. out recently: the newly revised Living Bible is very The Letters of Paul and other letters portray readable, as is Eugene Peterson’s The Message. In the counsel and encouragement provided by early these two paraphrases (as with J. B. Phillips’s version a Christian leaders to individuals and groups as the generation ago) the authors aim at linguistic equiva­ movement grows. lents designed to convey the thrust of an idea in mod­ ern English rather than focusing on the narrow ren­ The Apocalypse of John (Revelation) portrays derings of particular words. God’s sovereignty in human affairs and the eventual triumph of justice in the world. How Do We Approach the Bibley / j Therefore, you might well ask questions like these: .................................................................................. ........ .......................... ................... V.-' • What sort of material is this? As you begin your approach to Scripture, remember • To whom was it first addressed and by whom? to consider the genre of a piece. There are poems, • What are the sorts of things going on in the situa­ parables, royal histories, laments, prophetic narratives, tion of the audience(s)? and psalms, to name a few. A poem will function dif­ ferently from a parable, and a royal history will betray • Are there particular literary features in this book? emphases different from a prophetic narrative. Some­ • Are there connections with other texts we know of? times you will also find different kinds of material • Are there any clues to the development of the within the same book, so take note as to when a Psalm material (and its pre-finalization functions) that moves into a lament, or whether you have poetic con­ would be helpful to know? In other words, structions within the context of a narrative. how did the form of the material affect its earlier It is also helpful to realize that there are many functions and meanings? smaller canons within the larger canon as well as par­ These sorts of explorations alert one to how the ticular ways in which the material is organized. text says what it says, therefore clarifying particular Consider these groupings: meanings along the way. The Hebrew Scriptures (39 books) To summarize: In interpreting any of these books, 158 understanding the context out of which they Approaches to reading the Bible emerged helps one appreciate their message and for spiritual formation: meaning.