In one of my class we were had to read Brain McLaren's The Story We Find Ourselves In. This book was a relatively quick read for me, which is saying something for I am the world's slowest reader. There was one quote in this book that has hung with me for the past few days... here it is...
"I guess you could say that the Bible is a book that doesn't try to tell you what to think. Instead, it tries to teach you how to think. It stretches your thinking; it challenges you to think bigger and harder than you ever have. At least that's how it works for me. It not only records ancient conversations among human beings and God, but it also stimulates new ones, never failing to create a community for essential conversations that enrich all of life."
This comment is a little different then what I was taught as a teen in youth group. As a child I was lead to believe that the Bible was a "handbook" for life, a "users manual." The more I have grown in faith as well as experienced life and being exposed to writers like Brian McLaren have shown me that the Bible is so much more then these things I was taught. As I am more then likely going to end up in a form of Christian Education in a church setting, as well as being an ordained minister I need to be reminded not to oversimplify the Bible, or in that matter all aspects of the life of faith.
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