I've been proofing the galleys of a republication of my book Liberating the Bible. I can't remember if I've put this last paragraph of Part 1 of the book on the blog before or not, but even if I have it's worth putting it on again. It is, I think, one of the best things I've ever written. You'll find it on page 134 of the published version of the book. It goes like this:
"Let me suggest that you think of the Bible as invitation. The Bible doesn't dictate truth to us. Rather, its ancient authors say here are the experiences and understandings of some of you ancient forbears in the faith. Generation after generation of faithful Jewish and Christian people have found meaning, hope, comfort, and challenge in these pages. So come on in. Learn what we have to say. Do the difficult work of really understanding our ancient texts on their own terms. Then do your own discernment. We did ours, now you do yours. We hope that what you read here will light your path to God, but we cannot relieve you of your duty to discern God's truth for you and your world. We don't all say the same thing. We didn't all understand God the same way. We didn't understand the universe and human nature the way you do. But come on in. Learn from us. There is great wisdom here. Learn from us, but don't just parrot back what we had to say. We invite you not to rote responses and easy answers. We invite you to the hard but sacred work of study and discernment. May God be with you in that work. Amen."
"Let me suggest that you think of the Bible as invitation. The Bible doesn't dictate truth to us. Rather, its ancient authors say here are the experiences and understandings of some of you ancient forbears in the faith. Generation after generation of faithful Jewish and Christian people have found meaning, hope, comfort, and challenge in these pages. So come on in. Learn what we have to say. Do the difficult work of really understanding our ancient texts on their own terms. Then do your own discernment. We did ours, now you do yours. We hope that what you read here will light your path to God, but we cannot relieve you of your duty to discern God's truth for you and your world. We don't all say the same thing. We didn't all understand God the same way. We didn't understand the universe and human nature the way you do. But come on in. Learn from us. There is great wisdom here. Learn from us, but don't just parrot back what we had to say. We invite you not to rote responses and easy answers. We invite you to the hard but sacred work of study and discernment. May God be with you in that work. Amen."
No comments:
Post a Comment