As we slowly move through January and cast of those silly resolutions we promised we would stick to only two weeks ago and prepare ourselves for what 2022 has to bring we thought it would be good to do a little preview of the theme we are going to be tackling over the coming months (with some guest posts in-between to break things up).
So drum roll please……
From the beginning of February we are going to be looking at some of the themes in a book by Peter Enns. Peter is an Old Testament scholar (don’t let that put you off) and you can read a little more about him here (https://peteenns.com/about/). In some Christian circles he would be classed as a heretic and in others who may not want to use the H word, he is considered controversial (maybe his bad boy status has got you interested again).
The book is called How the bible really works : In Which I Explain How An Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers—and Why That’s Great News and can be bought for about £2.99 from all good electronic book suppliers if you want an e-copy. If you need to feel the paper between your fingers then you can pick up a paperback copy for around £8. You don’t need to buy the book to follow along but the option is there. Each week we will be looking at a theme from a chapter and giving you a run down of the ideas, our take on it and offering some questions to help us tackle this age old issue of the Bible and what we are suppose to do with it.
So here I am going to list some of those odd bits, the bits we just choose to ignore because it makes our head hurt and we aren’t sure what the solution is. I am sure we could all add more to this list.
Balaam’s Donkey
Multiple creation stories
The end of Mark
The end of Job
The bit where bears protect the honour of a prophet with a receding hairline by killing children
Paul seems to think a rock followed the Israelites around in the wilderness
Jesus tells the disciples to buy more swords
Proverbs isn’t sure how you should deal with a fool
God doesn’t appear or speak in the book of Esther
God seems to be ok with the idea that there are other gods – just that they shouldn’t be worshipped or followed
God tries to kill Moses after sending him to free the Israelites
Jesus gets angry with a fig tree
Jesus causes a lot of pigs to drown
Questions
Which book of the bible have you never read or if you have read them all always avoid?
Which is the strangest bit of the bible? (Not just from the list above)
If Hollywood was going to turn part of the bible into a film/series which part would you want them to look at?
How would you describe your relationship with the bible?
We are meeting Sunday night at 7:30pm for those who wish to join us at Cullercoats Crescent Club. Please remember to do all you can to help keep everyone safe – Masks, space, hands, test and trace – you all know the drill now.
Has been a part of BeachcomberFX since his arrival in the North East in 2014. He is well travelled (at least in the UK) having lived in Manchester, Nottingham, Derbyshire, Southport, Doncaster, Berwick and Edinburgh. Supporter of Newcastle United, will watch any sport.
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I’m helping at Aidan’s youth club tonight sorry