What do you do with the Bible if you don’t believe in Biblical inerrancy? I don’t know what my answer is yet, but I can safely say that I’ve been pondering that question for several years now. Maybe I’ll always ponder it.

 

This excellent piece on interpreting the Bible (warning: not brief) sums up a lot of where I’ve been “living” intellectually the past few years.

 

If there’s room for outdated cultural assumptions and expectations in the Bible and everyone brings their own baggage with them in interpreting it, what’s left? Is it merely a response to God, as some suggest? Is it a message from God garbled by human fallibility?

 

I know what I don’t want it to be: a weapon. I don’t think there’s anything in God that would have us use any knowledge to manipulate or belittle other people. The notion that God is full of compassion and mercy rings very true for me, and I think that is ultimately the desire of God for how we relate to each other, too.

 

More, probably lots more, to come on this topic. Over, say, the next 50 to 60 years, God willing. :)

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