Learning to Read the Bible

 

Scripture is our song for the journey, the living word

   passed on from generation to generation

   to guide and inspire,

   that we might wrestle a holy revelation for our time and place

   from the human experiences

      and cultural assumptions of another era.

God calls us to be doers of the word and not hearers only.

         from A Song of Faith, United Church of Canada, 2006

We finished up our three week discussion of prayer in its various expressions and forms yesterday. and once again I was impressed by the insights and readiness to learn from the participants. This was my eleventh week of leadership through three study groups in 2021, with a combination of in-person and virtual earlier in the year and entirely online for this most recent study. Sometimes the technology has been a...challenge...but Rev. Isaac has helped us navigate through the mysteries. With a few exceptions the participants have been seniors and it's amazing how well we do with a format which was unknown to us only a short while ago -- Ike might beg to differ!

At the end of yesterday's session I asked participants to ponder what we might look at together in the Fall. I wondered about a series on reading the bible. Delving into scripture is something we would probably agree is important even if we are often mystified and even alarmed when we do so. In our United Church tradition we are more inclined to listen to the bible on Sunday mornings than read devotionally. .And while we decry biblical literalism which actually twists and tortures scripture in the service of empire and supremacy, our tendency might be toward biblical indifference. 

I mentioned a working title borrowed from John Dominic Crossan's book How to Read the Bible & Still be Christian.  I do feel that this is possible but it requires intention and devotion on our part. 

Do you think we can learn how to read the bible so that it can be a "Word of Life?" 

Are there other subjects you wish were the focus of study groups? Perhaps it should be A Song of Faith!

The Spirit breathes revelatory power into scripture,

   bestowing upon it a unique and normative place

   in the life of the community.

The Spirit judges us critically when we abuse scripture

   by interpreting it narrow-mindedly,

   using it as a tool of oppression, exclusion, or hatred.

 

The wholeness of scripture testifies

   to the oneness and faithfulness of God.

The multiplicity of scripture testifies to its depth:

   two testaments, four gospels,

   contrasting points of view held in tension—

all a faithful witness to the One and Triune God,

the Holy Mystery that is Wholly Love.

   from A Song of Faith, United Church of Canada, 2006