No, the Writers of the Bible Did Not Expect It To Be Taken Literally

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/tonyjones/2013/10/04/no-the-writers-of-the-bible-did-not-expect-it-to-be-taken-literally-questions-that-haunt/

What if when we try to interpret the virgin birth or the resurrection as historically true (rather than symbolically True) we’re just completely misunderstanding the original intent of these stories? What if people in antiquity were way more sophisticated than we are, and they would think we were impossibly thick to be interpreting their beautiful stories this way?

Image source and article: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/tonyjones/2013/10/04/no-the-writers-of-the-bible-did-not-expect-it-to-be-taken-literally-questions-that-haunt/

Rules: Christianity & Buddhism

http://www.wideopenground.com/function-of-rules-in-christianity/

…if you can’t do it for God’s glory, then don’t do it. We don’t need a list for this. Love God, and as we grow in love for God, we find ourselves knowing what is wrong and right.

Perhaps one of the most uncomfortable parts of Christianity is that Jesus doesn’t give us all the answers.

Image source and article: http://www.wideopenground.com/function-of-rules-in-christianity/

Schrödinger’s Bible

http://www.redletterchristians.org/schrodingers-bible/

(I think this is a great post but the title makes the geek in me giddy.)

Do we create a Bible that is totally understandable because it is actually totally understandable, or because we need it to be totally understandable? Is our real fear that in our limited thinking, anything other than a robust, tamper-proof, logical Bible will simply fall apart and mean nothing? Is the forcing together of contradiction a sign, not of clever hermeneutics, but simply of fear?

The lesson we can take from quantum mechanics is encouraging. While it contains contradictions, paradoxes and lack of resolution, it is not a collapsed house of cards, devoid of meaning. It is studied, it is progressing, and is even being harnessed.

Image source and article: http://www.redletterchristians.org/schrodingers-bible/

Do You Need a PhD to Understand the Bible?

“Short answer: yes.

But a longer answer is called for. And the longer answer includes the fact that you need more than one PhD to understand the Bible.

…But I am convinced that you don’t need a PhD to tell right from wrong, and to see what a false teacher like Ken Ham is up to.”

Article: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/2013/06/do-you-need-a-phd-to-understand-the-bible.html

Jesus Was Not Colorblind: Racial Slurs and the Syrophoenician Woman (Lectionary)

WOW! I’ve always wondered about this passage (Mark 7:24-37, about the Syrophoenician woman called a “dog” by Jesus) and this is the first interpretation that takes the text seriously AND finds good news in it.

It’s a brave, beautiful reading of scripture.