When I lost my
teaching job, this opened an exciting opportunity for me to study
theology. That summer I took Biblical
Greek courses in Toronto, and in September I enrolled in a M.Div. program at
Heritage Theological Seminary in Cambridge, Ontario. The first day I felt oddly out of place there. Not only was I significantly older than most
students, I had to get used to the idea that I was surrounded by Baptists. What was I doing there? At a welcome BBQ, I chatted with Dr. Bill Webb,
a very amiable professor. He made me
feel at home, as he showed real interest in my background. He told me that he, too, was preparing to
publish a book, and he realized that this could make or break his professional reputation. Later, in Greek Grammar class, I discovered
that he was a true scholar with strong analytical skills. As a Math-Science major,
I could certainly respect his academic approach. On his office door he had a quote from
Erasmus, "When I get a little money I buy
books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes." As I loved books, I could relate to that as
well.
In the second
semester (?) I took Dr. Webb’s course on Hermeneutics.
Years earlier
I had talked with somebody, who asked me about our church (denomination). I told him that it was very orthodox. He was not convinced. He said, “But what is their response to the
New Hermeneutics? Most churches are
destroyed by this dangerous development!”
At the time I had no idea what Hermeneutics was or how it was changing or
threatening the churches. Perhaps it
made me a little suspicious as we started in this course.
In the first
lecture I learned that Hermeneutics seeks to provide a structured methodology
by which we can decide how to interpret biblical instructions. Do women need to wear hats (in church)? Do we need to greet each other with a holy
kiss? (Or would a holy hug or even a hearty handshake do the job?) Is it
shameful or ungodly for a man to have long hair? (When I was a teenager, it was popular for
boys to have long hair. At that time all
Dutch banknotes showed men with long hair, yet we were assured that such would
go against the will of God!) It gets
even more complex if we want to consider all the Old Testament instructions; in
fact some of those rules (particularly about sex slaves) are disgusting for
most of us today. Hermeneutics aims to
provide us with a tool for deciding how biblical instructions ought to be
followed by the church today. This should
help us to avoid personal and cultural biases.
At the start
of the course, Dr. Webb drew a diagram on the board, as shown. He clarified, “Look, when we deal with
ancient scriptures, we must consider these aspects: First there is the author
-say Paul- and the cultural context in which he wrote (left). Now, centuries later (right) we have somebody
trying to understand this text. The
reader, too, is affected by his cultural context.” He wanted to go on, but I asked, “Where is
God? When we are dealing with the Bible,
God is ultimately the author, right? He
wants to relate a message to the people then and the people now! So, where is He?” Dr. Webb replied, “Oh! He will come later!” Well, I may have missed Him, but as far as I
could tell, God was kept outside this course.
Later, it made sense, though; the whole methodology seemed based on
scientific thinking. God rarely fits
into such rigid schemes, and in such an approach there can be no room for
guidance by His Spirit. After the first
lecture, I paid careful attention in class: something seemed fundamentally
wrong.
For much of
the course Dr. Webb lectured on his forthcoming publication, “Slaves, women,
and homosexuals” (published in 2009). In
his book he introduces a “Redemptive hermeneutic” or “Redemptive Movement
Hermeneutic” to argue that the Bible often shows a movement from a rather
primitive or dark ethic to an increasingly just and bright one. So, when we read Paul’s instructions, we
should not take these at face value.
Rather, we should see in which direction Paul is going, compared to the
Old Testament teaching. Perhaps because
the slavery passages in the Old Testament are so repulsive, Webb starts with
this theme to build his case. New
Testament instructions regarding slavery are less repulsive, and although
slavery is still an accepted practice at the time, we can see a movement to a
better world where slavery will be abolished.
When Paul writes to Philemon about his run-away slave, Onesimus, he
recommends Phil to set him free. Webb considers this a bright spot, like a
skylight to a better future. Today, we are to continue in Paul’s footsteps, not
by literally following his instructions, but by taking the next steps in the
same direction, for surely- that’s what Paul would have done.
Once the
students would accept the emotionally charged slavery example, they could buy
into Webb’s hermeneutic and be prepared to adopt it for other issues too. Yet,
I objected. I had taken anthropology
courses and seen examples where slavery can exist in a mutually beneficial -rather
than an abusive- way. Even Kevin Bales,
who writes about modern slavery in his book “Disposable People” shows some
examples where this is true today. Therefore,
it is not an indisputable fact, but rather a subjective view for the western
world of modern times that “slavery is inherently evil”.*
The diagram
is mine. In it I try to sketch the idea
of Webb’s redemptive hermeneutic model. Horizontal:
time. The dots reflect “slavery passages”
in the Bible; a low dot suggests an embarrassing passage whereas a high level
dot would be much more acceptable in today’s culture. The red line suggests the movement that Webb
discerns or imposes on the evolution of our treatment of slaves.
Often I took
Dr. Webb to task. Usually he would then
scribble a note to make an adjustment in his manuscript, but I never got
satisfactory answers. I don’t remember
all the things I said in class, but here are some of my concerns: First, in my
understanding, Dr. Webb has a different agenda than St. Paul. Paul writes, “Whether you are a slave or
free, transform your environment from within: by living as a Christian.”
According to Webb, however, Paul seeks to change the structures themselves,
i.e. abolish the practice of slavery, rather than transform the relationship by
the love of God.** Second, although
there are numerous passages in the Bible showing a discontinuity between the testaments,
there is no mention of an ongoing change over time. A third serious concern is, “Who decides what
is the better ethic? If Scripture itself
does not tell us, who will?” If Paul’s instructions are no longer normative,
who or what is going to determine what we ought to aim for? We may think it is obvious that abolition is
always the godliest thing to do, but what would we base this on? It seems to me that Dr. Webb derives his
ideal scenarios from the common opinion in the enlightened western culture of
today! Ultimately that seems to be the
standard to which Paul also must aspire!
Rather than transforming today’s culture through the apostolic teaching,
we must re-interpret the apostolic teaching in the light of the secular culture
of today?
In his
publication Dr. Webb is using this same methodology to determine the proper
status of women and homosexuals in the church.
He concludes that there is no biblical movement towards a greater
acceptance of homosexuals, while he does detect such a trend on the position of
women (in the church). So, in the end
his approach and publication serves to push the churches to open the offices to
women.
Dr. Webb
told us that his redemptive hermeneutic had become non-negotiable for him; I
guess that implies a full commitment. I
think that’s scary. We should anchor our lives in Christ alone, who comes to us
by His Word and Spirit. And Paul is his
apostle; his words are also authoritative.
We may not cling to ‘Christ plus my hermeneutic’, not even ‘Christ and
Calvin!’ I still respect Dr. Webb, even
as a Brother, but I am convinced his hermeneutic is destructive. Adopting it, one can no longer be a disciple
of Paul, for one must always wonder, “Well, that’s what you write, Paul. But what is it you are really after (or
should be after)?” The new hermeneutic will prove to be of inferior
construction that cannot stand the test of judgment. 1 Cor. 3: 12 – 15
I was
surprised and disappointed that I seemed to be the only one (at that time and
place) who publicly objected and challenged Dr. Webb’s hermeneutic. Privately one professor agreed with me, but
publicly I heard no challenge or condemnation.
Even though I fought this hermeneutic during my studies at Heritage,
after my graduation I no longer saw it as my task to publicly address the
issue… until now.
Behind Dr.
Webb's views I now see a world-wide web, woven by the Evil One. It entangles many church leaders and
teachers, and in its deception the Enemy seeks to destroy the church. According to Dr. J. van Bruggen, the new
hermeneutics is now making strong inroads in the Reformed churches in The
Netherlands. This brings many pastors
and elders to re-interpret Paul, for instance on the matter of female pastors
and elders in the church. Such a change
has not yet been accepted, but the momentum exists and the common opinion seems
to be that the acceptance of ‘women in office’ is just a matter of time. However, it’s not the acceptance of women in
office that will be the turning point. If the new hermeneutic is already embraced,
the Horse of Troy is within the walls!
Apparently the same has happened in the CRC.
*Granted
that slavery in practice brings out the worst in humankind, often leading to
terrible abuses, I would in most cases fight for abolition myself.
**In the Old
Testament we may see an example in the Hebrew slave girl in Naaman’s
house. Naaman was a general in the enemy
army, and the girl was taken captive in a raid.
Most Jews might have recommended the slave girl to poison her abusers. Yet, the girl showed God’s love to the
leprous general by recommending he visit the man of God.
For a more
professional review of Dr. Webb’s book: http://www.sbts.edu/documents/tschreiner/6.1_article.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment