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The British did it. Americans do it. ALL.THE.TIME. And now?
For some south Sudanese Christians, their opportunity vote for independence from the largely Muslim north is more than a condition of a peace accord ending a two-decade civil war — it’s the divine will of God.
They believe the independence of their nation was foretold in the Bible more than 2,000 years ago. Isaiah 18 is one of several passages that refers to the land of Cush, which describes the people as tall and smooth-skinned and the land as divided by rivers.
“It used to be read so many times on Sunday,” said Ngor Kur Mayol, who drove to Nashville from Atlanta earlier this month to vote in the independence referendum. “It mentions a lot the way we were suffering in for so many years and how that same suffering, we’re going to end it today, to vote for independence.”
The interpretation is not so far-fetched, said Ellen Davis, a professor at Duke Divinity School who has been working with the Episcopal Church of Sudan to strengthen theological education there since 2004.
Some south Sudanese believe independence in Bible – Yahoo! News.
I cannot blame them, but I find it interesting on several levels that this is happening.
But you do see how easy it is, right… to interpret the bible by your current position in life? Especially in the way of eschatology?
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- 99% of Southern Sudanese Vote for Independence (waronterrornews.typepad.com)
Joel L. Watts holds a Masters of Arts from United Theological Seminary with a focus in literary and rhetorical criticism of the New Testament. His interests include exploring the role of mimesis in human civilization, specifically in the study of religion and media, as well as science fiction and the way in which it has allowed mythology to be explored in light of scientific discoveries of the past century. He is the author of Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark: Introduction and Commentary (Wipf and Stock, 2013) and a co-editor and contributor to From Fear to Faith: Stories of Hitting Spiritual Walls (Energion, 2013).
Website: → Unsettled Christianity
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yes, it is easy to read the bible from the position you are in life, in the case of Sudan, it is a good thing. Unless you want to shout down the praises of genocide.
Nope – like I said, sometimes it is a good thing. Sometimes it is a hopeful thing… Sometimes, though, like reading it through the lens of the earlier religious settlers of this land, it is a bad thing.
Gotcha. I think we are on the same page. Almost. Sometimes subjectivity is a good things, but it has its limits.
I agree with you, actually. I mean look at the subjective use of the Psalms. They still bring comfort.
You suck for deleting my comment.
maybe, but I do have rules you know and every once in a while I get the wild hair to keep to them