"We need a way of approaching Scripture that will move us very concretely from our overreliance on information gathering to an experience of Scripture as a place of intimate encounter." - Ruth Haley Barton, Sacred Rhythms
Valley of Dry Bones - Dr. Cyndi Parker | 7.7.24
Whenever we pick up the Bible, read it, put it down, and say, "That's just what I thought," we are probably in trouble. The technical term for that kind of reading is "proof-texting." Using the text to confirm our presuppositions is sinful; it is an act of resistance against God's fresh speaking to us, an effective denial that the Bible is the word of the living God. The only alternative to proof-texting is reading with a view to what the New Testament calls metanoia, "repentance" - literally, "change of mind." - Ellen Davis, "Teaching the Bible Confessionally in the Church"
Uzzah and the Ark - Paul Burkhart | 6.30.24
We do not invite the text into a transformation of its original meaning, into a new application geared toward our thought forms; rather, the text invites us into a transformation of allegiances and commitments, which will manifest itself in behaviors appropriate to our social worlds. - Joel Green, "Practicing the Gospel in a Post-Critical World"