Connecting the Dots — Too Much or Too Little?

If it didn't happen so often, it would be surprising the way things I encounter from quite different places seem to tie together.

For instance, I'm reading Richard B. Hays The Conversion of the Imagination which is about the way Paul uses, interprets and re-interprets scripture. One of the notable things is that Paul seems to expect his correspondents to know the scriptures quite well — well enough to pick up his references, quotes and allusions. Considering the number of Gentiles to which he writes, it's a bit surprising. Obviously, Paul expected the Gentile Christians to have become well versed in scripture, even though it wasn't their background at all. Unlike Paul, however, many of the gurus of our current time suggest that such an expectation is unrealistic — it's one thing to expect people who grew up in the church (i.e. analogous to Jewish Christians) to follow references to scripture, but you can't expect new believers to learn that stuff. So the Bible becomes harder and harder to find in so many of our worship gatherings — intentionally so.

Quinn Fox contrasts that approach to Starbucks, who've made an art form out of getting their customers to learn a whole new vocabulary and culture.

Perhaps we ask too little of people, not too much. I wonder. So does Nathan Colquhoun in his post on TheOoze. Except instead of contrasting the church with Starbucks, Nathan compares it to Playboy.

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