ILCW Questions

When the ILCW developed the Three Year Lectionary in the 70s, the committee asked itself a number of questions. Four of these questions are as follows:
1. Can this passage be expounded meaningfully today, can one preach relevantly on it?
2. Do the readings as a whole reflect the whole counsel of God?
3. Is the reading exegetically defensible? Are there textual problems in the Hebrew or Greek which render the meaning of a passage uncertain?
4. Is the reading ecumenical? How widely is it used to express past usage and current practice?

Are there passages in Scripture that are not relevant to the world today? Some might think of the many genealogies in scripture. Some might even think of the Oracles against the Nations in the Old Testament. Some might even talk about the Sexist comments by St Paul. But why were these things written if not for pastors, teachers, evangelists, and prophets to build up people in the truth. This question is better faced to our Preachers and Teachers. Are You able to Preach on any text of Scripture or just limited texts?

The second question also catches me off guard. I think it is a great thing to make sure we include texts or lections which help to express the full counsel of God. But does that mean each text has to express the full counsel or does it mean the texts must be brought from all over the Bible in order express the Full counsel of God? But does this not simply mean that we need to include as many unique texts or lections as possible.

Are these text scriptural? Are these texts accurate? Are these text exegetically defensible? There are only a couple of Texts that I really think are not exegetically defensible. John Chapter 8 and Mark 16 the various endings which are actually marked in most bibles as being questionable. I guess you could include entire books like Revelation, 2 & 3 John or even Hebrews. But then you also have to ask about Esther or Daniel. But these books are not marked for the average person, and therefore if you are going to exclude them you should really explain why.

The Fourth question is the one I have the most problem with. The Bible is the center of most Christians faith. Jesus should be the Center of our Christian faith, and the Bible is one way God has instructed us concerning Christ and Christianity. Therefore, if you are Christian then you subscribe to the Bible. Are there Biblical texts that are not ecumenical or accepted by Christians? Maybe you do not believe this, because there are some text denominations find difficult. But if it is a difficult text for a theology does that mean it should be over looked? The difficult texts should be taught and if possible related to other texts that are easily understood. Thank you.

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