Journalists are fond of describing massive events—floods, earthquakes, hurricanes—in terms of their "biblical proportions." I’ve often wondered what that means. Presumably it has to do with size, such as the flood described in the book of Genesis. Or perhaps it has to do with events that change the direction of history. Interestingly, events which loom large on the biblical tapestry generally received little attention in other contemporary accounts. Such a simple observation indicates that the Bible is in constant need of interpretation and explanation if it is to be useful. More profoundly, the biblical narrative and its significant teachings happen in a time and place remarkably different from twentieth- and twenty-first-century Western society. Some historians describe the past as "a foreign country." Such differences mean that there needs to be constant translation from one situation to another. Needing translation are not only words and sentences but also cultural mores and philosophical presuppositions of one historical epoch into another. The title of this volume recognizes that a global age requires a new framing of biblical issues. If a tsunami had struck the Indian Ocean in the fifth century before Christ, the people of the Middle East would not have known of the event nor its impact. Not so when the whole world mobilized to alleviate the suffering of the 2004 tsunami victims. Not only did we quickly know about the event, people around the world also responded quickly. European and North American Christian churches immediately asked their co-religionists in Indonesia, Thailand, and India how they were and how we might respond. Europe and North America had the technological, financial, and material resources to move people and goods over long distances and capacities to attend to health, food, and shelter needs. For people in Bible times, such a response could simply not have beemn envisioned. The word global indicates a context unknown in the Bible. Hence for people who regard the Bible as Scripture—texts that reveal who God is and demonstrate what it means to follow the ways of God—there needs to be systematic study, translation, and discernment. Norman Kraus poses the questions well:"How do we read the Scriptures in our global world?" "How do we understand the Bible as authoritative across the multiplicity of cultures?" "How does the acquisition of new knowledge affect the discernment process?" For sixty years Norman Kraus has been helping the church to develop a deeper understanding of the Scriptures. His first book, published in 1958 by John Knox Press, dealt with biblical materials regarding the future as proposed by Dispensationalism in America. This current book summarizes a lifelong concern that students and translators pay more attention to the cultural context not only of those who inhabit the pages of the Scriptures but also the cultural context of writers, translators, and interpreters as well as that of each reader. The reason to exegete "one’s own world set in relation to exegesis of the biblical text" is in order "that one can move from text to proclamation." As missionaries in an overseas situation need to contextualize the gospel message, so do pastors, teachers, theologians in twenty-first century North America. We might say that our time is a foreign country to that of biblical times. In pursuing the task of contextualizing, Kraus deals with a variety of topics: a christocentric hermeneutic, cultural diversity, congregational pluralism, peace and nonviolence, spirituality, sexuality, technology, the shape of the church for the contemporary world. With topics like these, Kraus sometimes treads where readers might become apprehensive. He is a teacher. He likes to provoke thought. He asks for careful consideration and invites thoughtful disagreement. The real point for Norman Kraus is not merely scholarship. His concern is evangelical. "The goal of Bible study is not theoretical knowledge but practical behavior—justice, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." He presents a strong case for an Anabaptist style of interpreting the Scriptures and practices for the church. His pages on "generic anabaptism" do not present Mennonitism writ large. Rather generic anabaptism "represents a post-denominational perspective that seeks to dialogue across denominational lines." The chapters on Anabaptist spirituality and founding an Anabaptist-style congregation plus his stories from Japan highlight meanings for our time. The Assembly Congregation in Goshen, Indiana, illustrates this in goals for worship which, as Kraus reports, are to discover "a true identity as God’s people" and find "enablement for authentic discipleship." Indeed a congregation in Anabaptist perspective sees itself as a community participating in the history-long drama of redemption. Each chapter of Using Scripture in a Global Age demonstrates Kraus’s passion for serious scriptural study and vital congregational life. Along the way there are critical comments on misreading the Scriptures and inadequate church practice, especially in the concluding autobiographical chapters. Organizational types like myself will occasionally squirm at his critique of institutions. Without squirming and repenting there will be no change or growth. Every chapter in this volume invites discussion. I hope many people will seize the opportunity of reading this volume to engage in conversations about the urgent issues for the church explored here. —John A. Lapp, Akron, Pennsylvania, is Executive Secretary Emeritus of Mennonite Central Committee as well as Coordinator of the Global Mennonite History Project for Mennonite World Conference Using Scripture in a Global Age orders:
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