If you’re a subscriber to Christianity today, please take some time to read this interview with Dr. John Walton. Prof. Walton is an important voice in advocating that we read the ancient texts in their original context. To this end, he emphasizes that we need to recognize that, while the Holy Scriptures were written to a specific people, they were written for everyone. The key to reading the Bible in this fashion is to understand where the ancients placed their emphasis. Here’s how Walton puts it:
Think about the place you live. You could talk about that place as a house or as a home. You could talk about how it was constructed, or how it became your home, how it functions for you, how it’s ordered for your family. Both stories are important, but they’re different stories. They’re interrelated because you need the house to have the home. The ancients, however, were more interested in the home story—how God ordered this world for us.
Now, go and study,