Did God Go Silent?

"Prophetic imagination breaks out of the closed system and says, 'That's not God's last word'".- Walter Bruggeman

When I went on a YouTube theology binge yesterday, I admit that this phrase hit home for me. I think this phrase struck me so hard because I entered into an interesting dialogue with my pastors this week about affirmations of faith and why we like some and dislike others. It seems the overriding idea was this: we like the sound of some because they appear to be alive- they use present-tense words like 'making' instead of 'made'. For me, this is quickly becoming a foundation of my personal theology: that God did not stop talking when the Council of Nicea formed the Bible as we know it.

Therefore,  I have some problems with some theology that is floating around in the world right now. In fact, one of the phrases I cringe to hear is, "God said it. I believe it. That settles it." Let's just ignore the fact that is often used in ways that are exclusionary and hurtful (which should be red flag #1 that something is not right in how that phrase is used; because, in my admittedly limited understanding of God, I do not think that God is in the business of intentionally hurting people just because they do not believe the "right" way). But, like I said, we are ignoring this for now.

Why I have a problem with that phrase is this: let's say that God really did say whatever you believe God said. How do we know that God has given the final world on the matter for all time and eternity? For example, let's look at how Paul says women should be treated in Corinth.There were scholars who, for many years, said that women should be silent in the church. Well, last time I checked, all but a few churches have agreed that this was not "God's" final word on the matter (and I am so very, very thankful).

Actually, in my view of Scripture, I see a God who is constantly evolving with the culture. I see God who is willing to save Sodom and Gomorrah for a few righteous souls at Abraham's request. I see God who gives second chances to King David for all of his nonsensical acts instead of killing him (but the wages of sin is death, right?). I see God move from the God of the law to the God who encourages us to love one another so that we can fulfill the law.

So, if in this thing we call Scripture, God is constantly evolving, why is it that we, as the church, have created this closed system where we will only hear Scripture and then be so bold as to say that God has nothing else to say on the matter? In doing so, we close our ears to further instruction that God may have for us- and, okay, I'll be so bold as to say, that does not sound like a good thing to do.

All that being said, I love Scripture. I love the way the writers have imagined God throughout the generations and presented God to us. I also tend to think I have the prophetic imagination that Bruggeman describes when talking about the prophet Jeremiah: I know that we have yet to hear God's last word.

Never place a period where God has placed a comma. God is still speaking.