Philip Taylor

“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

“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

“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