BY
D R .
C H U C K
F R O M M
scribed by Andrea Hunter
BACK to BASICS G O D ' S WO R D
TH E TE X T O F O U R L I V E S
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he written/spoken/embodied Word of God touches us and forms us in myriad ways. We encounter it through not only the living Word Jesus within us when we embrace Him as savior, but by the way the authoritative text of Scripture is communicated: via speech, touch, fragrance, sound, prayer, song, visual art, performance art, live and scripted drama. Our communities of Christian faith are literally formed by the “Text.” Each is a textual community. Textual community is a term I discovered when working on my dissertation conceptualized by Bryan Stock.* To paraphrase his and others’ description, it is a group knit together, whose very life, process of thinking, sense of personal and shared identity and relationships with each other and those outside are organized around an authoritative text. And the community is formed by education and the varying systems (in our case, Christian faith traditions/religion) that communicate the text through interpreters.
FLUENT IN THE LANGUAGE OF COMMUNICATION Have you ever thought of your pastor or worship leader as a charismatic (gifted) interpreter of the text? Maybe not, but look at Paul and his epistles. Look at N.T. Wright, John Piper, C.S. Lewis, Amie Semple Macpherson, James Boyce, Calvin, Luther, the Wesleys, Annie Armstrong, John Knox or anyone of a hundred Psalm, hymn, and spiritual songwriters through history, or film directors, or visual artists. See how vividly and poignantly Rembrandt tells the story of “the prodigal son.” They don’t simply read you Scripture, they interpret it. Now it’s true, it can be interpreted clearly… or not; truly… or not; in the Spirit…or not, but the text is, unquestionably, at the center of the community and forms it. Most Christians wouldn’t question that, but the ramifications are mind-boggling. The shorthand term for communication technology is media. And the function of media is mediation. Just as Jesus is the mediator between God and man, mediation connects the text to the community and forms it. This means taking the substance, the matter, the content that we wish to commu-
