Bibles for Everyone?

The invention of the printing press in 1440 is arguably one of the greatest inventions of all time. It revolutionized the way in which we communicate and relate to one another. The printing press made it possible for the common person to have their own copy of the Scriptures to read and study.

We value greatly our individual personal Bibles, for they have made truth accessible and dare I say palatable, to our unique needs and lifestyles (just take a stroll through your local Christian bookstore at all of the different “kinds” of Bibles: for the environmentalist, the patriot, the pre-teen, etc).

Clearly the benefit of giving out Bibles to people of all cultures (and demographics) has been great however in the process of individualizing the Bible to such an extent has something been lost?

Christian theologian and ethicist Stanley Hauerwas writes, “No task is more important than for the Church to take the Bible out of the hand of individual Christians in North America.”

Hauerwas argues that full access to the Scriptures completely unguided by Church tradition or biblical training leads to a situation where any interpretation is viewed as “valid” an in effect the Bible becomes stripped from its true authority to speak into our lives and our culture.

Have we over-emphasized a “personal” approach to reading/studying the Scriptures?
What does a more “communal” approach look like?

How have our “niche” translations (the “Green” Bible”, Pre-Teen Bible, etc.) been helpful or harmful in our culture?

1st Church of the Narcissist (The Next Evangelicalism pt.2)

"The cultural captivity of the church has meant that the church is more likely to reflect the individualism of Western philosophy than the value of community found in Scripture. The individualistic philosophy that has shaped Western society, and consequently shaped the American church, reduces Christian faith to a personal, private and individualistic faith" (p.30).

The individualism of our culture has so seeped into our faith practice and church expression that much of our "faith" looks more like a faith in the ways of our culture than it does the redemptive power of the gospel.

Sermons have been constructed in a Dr. Phil psychotherapy style so that people can live their "best life now", instead of what it means to be the people (plural) of God at work in the world. Worship music has been infused with "I" so that one can "feel" God close by. And sin has been reduced to a checklist of personal morality instead of challenging the sacred community to work and pray against the evils of structural and corporate sin.

Rah calls this individualism for what it is: Idolatry.

This critique is not of one particular church, but rather our natural bent has Westerners (all of us and our churches are guilty of this individualism). As such I'm wondering: How can we move further and further away from a "personal"/"individual" expression of our faith towards one that reflects God relating to all of his people? What are some "warning" signs of church/person's faith that has been corrupted by individualism? What will the effect be when we abandon the golden calf of individualism?

Addicted to the Market

In Cornel West's Race Matters. West makes a poignant commentary on the individualism we experience in excess as Westerners. West writes:

Never before has the seductive market way of life held such a sway in nearly every sphere of American life. This market way of life promotes addictions to stimulation and obsessions with comfort and convenience...The common denominator is a rugged and ragged individualism and rapacious hedonism in quest of a perennial "high" in body and in mind.

What has the "market way of life" cost us as human beings? What has been lost by way of community (from promotion of "self" to a deep seated fear of those different than us)? How does living the Kingdom look different than living the market?