Philip Taylor > Philip's Quotes

“Literal interpretation, in the sense of initial dictionary meanings of words, has no privileged place in communication, including that of the Bible.”
― John W. Hilber, Old Testament Cosmology and Divine Accommodation: A Relevance Theory Approach

“The incarnation of the Son of God is the most extraordinary example. God took on human nature to make his gracious attributes personally experienced by humankind (John 1:14–18).”
― John W. Hilber, Old Testament Cosmology and Divine Accommodation: A Relevance Theory Approach

“Luther and Calvin were explicit that the intent of Scripture was not to teach natural science, and their employment of accommodation served to relieve Scripture of that task. But beginning in the seventeenth century, scholars expected Scripture to serve as a framework for comprehensive knowledge of the world, including the interests of natural science. Demonstrating scientific concord became a necessary task to prove the validity of the Bible. By the time of Old Princeton, an old earth was commonly accepted among educated conservatives, who continued the tradition of scientific concordism.”
― John W. Hilber, Old Testament Cosmology and Divine Accommodation: A Relevance Theory Approach

“Following from this, it is not accurate to say that until the Enlightenment, there was an untroubled consensus to read Gen 1 as six ordinary days. An unbroken stream of pre-Enlightenment exegesis of Gen 1 felt free to interpret the days as other than normal (although “day-age” models, strictly speaking, did not emerge until the age of science). It may not have been the majority opinion, but an important minority of influential theologians throughout the ancient and medieval period deviated from literal interpretation. Therefore, attributing nonliteral exegesis simply to the church’s compromise with Enlightenment science does an injustice to complexities in the history of interpretation.”
― John W. Hilber, Old Testament Cosmology and Divine Accommodation: A Relevance Theory Approach

“This method of accommodation is similar to those found in Ps 58:4–5 and 1 Sam 28:11–15. In those two cases, erroneous assumptions in the audience’s encyclopedic entries about snakes and the underworld are allowed to remain in order to efficiently communicate the relevant point.”
― John W. Hilber, Old Testament Cosmology and Divine Accommodation: A Relevance Theory Approach

“As a clue to contextual relevance, we might ask to what use did later Old Testament interpreters put Gen 1?”
― John W. Hilber, Old Testament Cosmology and Divine Accommodation: A Relevance Theory Approach

“One can speculate as to why creation ex nihilo seems less important to biblical authors than transcendent sovereignty. Had it been more important, it would be explicated or implicated more strongly. Certainly, it is not expressed in the terms we might wish to find. But the doctrine is nevertheless there, assumed by orthodox Israelites, implicated in Isaiah, Proverbs, and Psalms, and likely implicit in Gen 1 even though it is neither explicated nor implicated in that particular passage.”
― John W. Hilber, Old Testament Cosmology and Divine Accommodation: A Relevance Theory Approach

“We don’t have to fit in or form community because we will soon be leaving. As long as it doesn’t personally impact us, we are not concerned with understanding the cultural story or social, political, and economic life of our neighbors. Ultimately, this “just visiting” mentality has allowed Christians to avoid their calling. In the “just visiting” mentality, we focus on texts that tell us our citizenship is in heaven, that we are not “of this world,” but conveniently forget the requirements of that citizenship—namely, to be God’s representatives for and in the world.”
― Paul S. Williams, Exiles on Mission: How Christians Can Thrive in a Post-Christian World

“But a third way of living as a stranger in a foreign land is to live as an ambassador. An ambassador is still a stranger who still might miss home, but they’re not resentful, and they don’t feel trapped. Neither are they disengaged, because they know they’re living in a strange land on purpose. They’ve been sent there. They have a job to do. They try to understand the dominant cultural story in their new country, but they are completely secure in their own. They know they can expect all the help that they need from their home country. God’s call on Christians is to this third way.”
― Paul S. Williams, Exiles on Mission: How Christians Can Thrive in a Post-Christian World

“Are we angry at the persecution and suffering we’ve experienced because of our faithful witness to Christ (in which case, we need to forgive)? Or are we resenting the loss of influence and status that the cultural Christianity of the recent past has afforded us (in which case, we need to repent)?”
― Paul S. Williams, Exiles on Mission: How Christians Can Thrive in a Post-Christian World

“Our willingness to maintain our allegiance to Christ is fundamentally challenged in the context of exile. The feeling of being captive aliens, trapped in a culture that is rejecting our values, generates fear that we don’t belong, that our identity is being overwhelmed, and that we will be rejected if we don’t fit in.”
― Paul S. Williams, Exiles on Mission: How Christians Can Thrive in a Post-Christian World

“world” and is named by it—is crucified with Christ. It is put to death and buried with Christ. It goes down, into death, under the waters of baptism, from which we rise to a new life and a new citizenship. Baptism is thus an intensely political act. It is the spiritual equivalent of burning the flag of a nation along with our passport and identity papers and then embracing a new citizenship, under a new authority, and with an entirely new set of rights and responsibilities. We are transferred from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of light (Col. 1:12–13). Henceforth, our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20) and our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev. 3:5).”
― Paul S. Williams, Exiles on Mission: How Christians Can Thrive in a Post-Christian World

“Inviting people to become Christians and then to start training to stand in battle as a test of their faith does not seem like a good selling point! We are tempted to reduce discipleship to positive aspects of pastoral ministry, such as healing and pastoral care, alongside serving in various church programs and community projects.”
― Paul S. Williams, Exiles on Mission: How Christians Can Thrive in a Post-Christian World

“Although the rights of Christian citizenship are incredible, the cost of obtaining them is absolute.”
― Paul S. Williams, Exiles on Mission: How Christians Can Thrive in a Post-Christian World

“Being absolutely clear on Christ’s lordship as our primary allegiance and our heavenly citizenship as our core identity is the starting point for a right ordering of our relationships, attachments, and desires in all areas of life, including our posture toward contemporary society.”
― Paul S. Williams, Exiles on Mission: How Christians Can Thrive in a Post-Christian World